Fewer organisations in Mainland China implement D&I policies in 2019

Less than half of organisations in Mainland China have formal diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies and practices in place, a slight decrease from last year. Amongst those who do, there has been reduced adherence to such policies. This is one of the key findings in the Hays Asia Salary Guide 2019, a report that highlights salary and recruiting trends based on responses from Hays Asia operating markets Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. 

The report reveals that incrementally, fewer companies in Mainland China (51 per cent in 2018 vs 47 per cent in 2019) have been putting diversity policies into place. In addition, the number of employers stating that these policies are ‘well’ and ‘fairly well’ adhered to has fallen from 52 per cent in 2018 to 43 per cent in 2019.

“As the diversity of a company is known to translate to greater creativity and innovation, it is alarming to see that the adherence of policies is falling, and it is essential that employers look into tactics that ensure that their policies are not only implemented, but also followed.,” says Simon Lance, Managing Director of Hays Greater China.

Overseas Hires and Gender Diversity

Mainland China has seen a decline of overseas candidates employed in its companies, with a decrease from ten per cent in 2018 to six per cent in 2019. Yet, when it comes to organisations stating that they would employ or sponsor qualified candidates for skills-short areas, this trend is reversed at 60 and 67 per cent respectively.

Similarly, the number has dropped from 37 per cent to 35 per cent when it comes to the percentage of women in management positions. However, Mainland China leads the way in having female leaders, compared to the Asia-wide average of 30 per cent.

Flexible Options

In Mainland China, slightly more than three in five (64 per cent) employers offer some form flexible working options. Flexi-time (voted by 41 percent ) is the most common option provided by employers, followed by home or remote working (voted by 30 per cent), and informal flexible working at line manager's discretion (voted by 18 per cent).

Correspondingly, employees are making use of the options available to them with 34 per cent taking advantage of the work-from home option and 20 per cent the informal flexible working option. However, only 19 per cent are opting for the flexi-time arrangement.

“While flexible working practices can be enjoyed by all staff, regardless of gender, the ability to work from home and flexible working hours are particularly advantageous for working mothers, enabling them to balance family obligations with their careers,” comments Simon.

“By extending these options further, employers could see even greater improvement in diversity operating in the upper echelons of organisations, thus enhancing innovation, improving staff retention and attraction rates, as well as encouraging new role models for the next generation of a diverse profile of managers.”

Comparing with Asia

According to the 2019 Hays Asia Salary Guide, slightly more than half (52 per cent) of Asian companies currently implement diversity policies, a marginal rise from 2018 (51 per cent). Singaporean companies are most likely to have such practices in place with the highest number of companies (57 per cent) saying that they had no such policies coming from Hong Kong (34 per cent). In addition, 56 per cent of Japanese companies, 49 per cent of Malaysian companies and 47 per cent of companies in Mainland China claim to implement diversity policies.

Employers in Asia have noted a decline in the adherence to diversity practices, with those saying that they are adhered to ‘well’ falling from 22 per cent in 2018 to 15 per cent in 2019. Companies in Japan see the greatest level of adherence with a combined 59 per cent saying policies were adhered to either ‘well’ or ‘fairly well’. Only 43 per cent of employers in Mainland China could say the same.

Conversely, these positions are reversed, where Mainland China and Malaysia have 35 per cent and Japan just 19 per cent of women holding managerial positions. Companies in Hong Kong saw a rise of women in management in 2019 with 33 per cent up from 29 per cent the year before, while companies in Singapore fell one point to 29 per cent.

The proportion of foreign employees rose overall across Asia from 13 to 15 per cent in 2019. These statistics are somewhat skewed by Singapore’s increase from 19 to 28 per cent and Hong Kong rising from 14 to 18 per cent. One in ten (13 per cent) Malaysian companies are from overseas, while the proportion of foreigners in companies in Japan and Mainland China both fell to ten per cent from 13 per cent and six per cent from ten per cent, respectively.

Despite the fall in the number of foreign employees operating in Japan and Mainland China, the proportion of companies stating they would consider oversees candidates for skills-short positions increased. For instance, 67 per cent of employers in Mainland China and 65 per cent in Japan would do so. Furthermore, almost half (49 per cent) of employers in Malaysia would also employ overseas staff, while companies in Hong Kong (44 per cent) and Singapore (35 per cent) saw a greater proportion saying that they would not consider hiring from abroad.

Get your copy of the 2019 Hays Asia Salary Guide by visiting our website or by contacting your local Hays office.