This installment of DCI’s exploration of diversity benchmarks focuses on the diversity profile within the Transportation and Warehousing sector (NAICS code 48/49). After initially focusing on two sectors (Finance & Insurance; Professional, Scientific & Technical) where many jobs require college or advanced degrees, this sector includes many jobs that do not require educational credentials. There are 29 industry groups represented within the Transportation and Warehousing sector.¹

The employment profile within this sector will be compared to the overall labor force demographic employment rates. The chart below displays the ratio of representation within the Transportation and Warehousing sector to the representation in the overall labor force. The chart presents the results in a standardized way by setting the representation in the general labor force to 100%. As an example of how to interpret these comparisons, a ratio of 83% Asian employees indicates that the percentage of that demographic group employed in the Transportation and Warehousing sector is 83% of the average Asian employee representation in the general labor force. As a reminder, the results are ordered from the highest to the lowest and DCI is only reporting on groups where the representation is greater than 2%.

In contrast to the Finance and Insurance sector and the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector, Black men and Hispanic men (242% and 150% respectively) far exceed their percent in the general labor force. Conversely, women of all race/ethnic groups fall short of their percent participation in the general labor force. DCI uses the 80% benchmark to identify practical significance and found Hispanic, White, and Asian women to be underrepresented in the Transportation and Warehousing sector.2 It is also worth noting that, in the more heavily professional sectors, Asian employment exceeded the average participation rate of Asian employment in the general labor force; whereas, in the Transportation and Warehousing sector, Asian employment is below that average. In fact, Asian employment is only slightly above the 80% threshold of underutilization.

This installment clearly demonstrates that vastly different diversity profiles occur based on the type of work involved. In the Transportation and Warehousing sector, Black and Hispanic employees exceed the labor force average, but only due to the high levels of Black men and Hispanic men employed in the sector. However, there is a clear and stark gender gap. This may be the result of a perception that the jobs in Transportation and Warehousing sector are not traditional female roles and so women are often not imagined as the preferred job applicant or candidate. It could potentially also reflect self-selection by women who would prefer to work in industries where they are more represented.

While this newly available data is a useful benchmark to make high-level employment comparisons, opportunities exist to further the review at a more refined level to identify and mitigate potential employment barriers for specific industries, regions, or subfields. For that type of deeper dive on your organization’s workforce demographics, as well as the development of additional diversity metrics, we invite you to
contact DCI.

Next week, look for our upcoming release in this series, Diversity at a Glance, where we will explore the Health Care and Social Assistance sector.