Survey Reveals Widespread Concerns Over DEI Discrimination and Financial Struggles Among American Job Seekers

The June 2024 special edition Freedom Economy Index survey, a joint project of RedBalloon and PublicSquare, reveals that American job seekers face substantial financial hardships and perceive widespread discrimination based on diversity, equity, and inclusion criteria in hiring processes. The survey, which polled 100,000 employees and job seekers from RedBalloon's national database, indicates that 74.7% of respondents feel their personal financial situation is somewhat or much worse than a year ago, with 37% having delayed bill payments to survive this year.

Nearly half of U.S. job seekers report being financially worse off, and one in five state their finances would last less than two weeks if they lost their jobs today. The findings also highlight concerns over DEI-related hiring discrimination, particularly in California, where job seekers experience it more frequently than in states like Texas or Florida. Verbatim responses included accounts of applicants only receiving callbacks when they omitted racial or gender identifiers, suggesting systemic biases.

A significant 75.4% of job seekers believe artificial intelligence is being used to automatically screen out resumes that do not align with preferred DEI profiles to meet corporate quotas. This perception is supported by anecdotal evidence, such as one respondent noting, "I was unemployed for 3 months and only received call backs if I did not include that I am white." Additionally, 63% of job seekers express worry about workplace repercussions if their conservative or Republican affiliations are discovered.

The survey, accessible via RedBalloon's platform, also explores workplace culture preferences, finding that 76.5% of job seekers would accept lower pay for a merit-driven, positive environment over a DEI-dominated one. RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes criticized this trend, stating, "The fact that over 75% of job seekers believe AI is being used to screen out resumes that don't align with DEI quotas is a damning indictment of the corporate embrace of woke ideology over merit and competence."

Michael Seifert, CEO of PublicSquare, emphasized the need to abandon DEI initiatives to restore America's economic legacy. The methodology involved surveying 949 respondents from May 22 to May 31, with a margin of error of +/- 3% at a 95% confidence level. These results underscore deepening economic anxieties and ideological divides in the U.S. labor market, urging a reevaluation of hiring practices and workplace policies.