Additional progress toward more diverse representation
We are building customized multi-year strategies for each functional area of our business in order to attract, develop and support diverse talent in the advancement of their careers at United. Our officers and HR teams monitor how hiring, promotion and attrition are impacting our progress using talent dashboards and develop ways to use that data to inform our strategies and programs.
Building on our commitment to increased transparency, we are sharing our US workforce demographic data for the third year in a row.
Measurable highlights from 2022 include:
1. Higher representation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups
Our US workforce saw a 3% increase in representation of women and 6% increase in representation of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups when comparing December 2020 to December 2022.
2. New hires are improving diverse representation
Representation of women and traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in our new hire management and administrative population is higher than in January 2022: 5% higher for women and 9% higher for people from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
3. Voluntary turnover remains low
In a time period known by many as “the Great Resignation” when many employers experienced layoffs and a spike in voluntary exits, we actually grew, bringing in almost 2,000 new management and administrative employees. Our team members are staying with us to build careers, as evidenced by our voluntary turnover rate of only 7%. We remain a destination for lifelong careers, with an average tenure of 16 years of service for United employees.
4. Progress has been made at senior levels
We made progress in our efforts to have our leadership reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. In 2022, almost half of all promotions at the Senior Professional and Senior Leader level were of those belonging to underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Growing diversity in our leadership will continue to be an essential focus in 2023 and beyond.
Improving data
In disclosing the workforce statistics, we note that the data reflects metrics on gender, race and ethnicity because we have the most reliable data in these areas. We recognize that there are additional dimensions of diversity not reflected in our reporting, and we are working to expand the collection of demographics to these additional dimensions in years to come.
As a first step, we have continued our Self-ID Campaign, “Getting to Know You,” which was launched in 2021 and then relaunched in 2023. It’s a voluntary and confidential self-identification initiative that US-based employees can use to share additional dimensions of their identities to better inform our understanding of our diversity and drive inclusive employee experiences.
Our DEI commitment moving forward
- For even greater transparency, we have committed to publishing our latest EEO-1 Report in 2023
- As a signatory of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 25by2025 Pledge for gender balance in aviation, United reports key diversity metrics, and we have committed to increase the number of women in senior positions and underrepresented areas by a minimum of 25% by 2025.
In 2023, we plan to focus on:
- Ensuring that management and administrative new-hire interview slates reach 95% in order to include a diverse makeup of candidates
- Continuing to meet our United Aviate Academy and Calibrate diversity goal of 50% of students who are women and/or people of color
- Increasing representation of women at the manager level and above
- Increasing representation of people of color at the manager level and above