2020 brought with it a global health crisis and ignited global activism for racial justice. Governments and Companies strategic aims were rapidly overhauled to attempt to meet these new, pressing demands. While the government took the lead on the daunting task of solving for a-once-in-a-generation pandemic, employers seemed to take the lead on addressing and adopting anti-racist practices.
The COVID-19 vaccine brings hope of a future we are all desperate to get to. Similarly through the advent of bigger and better Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals, Corporate America is trying to reckon with inequality and racial justice in the workplace of today for a better tomorrow. These solutions usually include diversifying the talent pipeline, a company-wide roll out of unconscious bias training, and creation of employee resource groups.
While each of these solutions provide a piece of the puzzle, there is a multi-million dollar piece that seems to always be missing: educating employees about their Benefits.
Racial Disparities in Quality Healthcare Access and Retirement Savings
Racial disparities in health care coverage and wealth are rampant in the U.S. These disparities are not a result of individual or group behavior, but are due to systematic inequality in access and quality of healthcare available to, and economic instability of, BIPOC.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10.6% of Black and 16.1% of Hispanics were uninsured compared with 5.9% of Whites. When it came to mental health services, 8.7% of Black and 8.8% of Hispanic adults adults received mental health services compared with 18.6% of White adults.
When it comes to retirement planning, although half of all U.S. households are at risk of falling short in retirement, 54% of Black and 61% of Latino households shared that risk compared to 48% of Whites, according to the National Retirement Risk Index.
This means that while employers spend millions of dollars annually to provide health insurance coverage, mental health resources, wellbeing activities and financial incentives and tools to their employees, these programs are underutilized by the ‘diverse’ talent that they have already spent so much time and money to attract and hire into their workforce. The overview of benefits during new hire orientation or during annual Open Enrollment are failing to properly educate and support employees who may be first generation college graduates.
Privileged Poor and Doubly Disadvantaged Employees
Harvard graduate and professor Anthony Jack coined the phrase ‘privileged poor’ to describe poor kids who gained the opportunity to attend private high schools which not only academically prepared, but also culturally prepared them for college. On the other hand, ‘doubly disadvantaged’ kids, although also academically gifted, usually come less exposed to the norms and unspoken expectations of college.
Once these college graduates join a company, there is a new ‘invisible curriculum’ to learn: employee benefits. Does the company’s benefits guide explain what a medical premium is and how it differs from a co-pay or co-insurance? Does the 401(k) retirement plan document explain what a tax-advantaged retirement account is and the importance of investing early? Does it go on to explain how an employer match is essentially additional income? Do announcements of wellbeing initiatives include language which links the activity of walking, meditating, etc. back to the employee’s own health? Without these frameworks in place, employees are unwittingly left to learn and navigate benefit plan offerings and wellbeing programs on their own.
Embedding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Employee Benefits Literacy
A company’s DE&I goals are incomplete if they do not include breaking down barriers for employees to access quality physical and mental healthcare and to financially invest in their own future. Just promoting employee benefit offerings and wellbeing programs won’t eliminate health and income disparities. However, by creating a common language, whereby employees can understand and engage in their benefits with agency, they can better bridge the gap for themselves and their dependents. The impact of that change nets a return on investment not just on a multi-million dollar benefits budget but also in increased job satisfaction, employee engagement and retention.
By reworking the one size fits all approach to employee benefits literacy, Corporate America will meet one of the most vital needs of the BIPOC employees they have pledged to support.