The majority of workers cover their identities in some way, new report finds

While DE&I and wellness programs have tried to help employees be their authentic selves at work, new research finds that many are still downplaying, or “covering,” their identities.

Some 60% of workers say they’ve engaged in covering at work in the last year, according to a new report from Deloitte and the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU Law. The report, which is based on a survey of 1,269 US workers at companies with more than 500 employees, indicates that many companies have a ways to go on their DE&I journey.

Uncovering a concept. The framework and research on identity covering was developed nearly 20 years ago by Kenji Yoshino, a law professor and director of the Meltzer Center.

Different from passing, when a person tries to conceal their belonging to a group, covering is when an individual acts to downplay or make a known identity less obtrusive. There are four types of covering outlined in the report—appearance, advocacy, affiliation, and association—and while some may be fairly straightforward (like appearance-based covering), others may be less apparent. A mother who doesn’t talk about her children may be exhibiting affiliation-based covering, the report said, and an immigrant who doesn’t challenge a xenophobic joke may be demonstrating advocacy-based covering.

Some groups may be more likely to cover than others. For example, 68% of nonbinary and/or transgender people and 69% of non-heterosexual people reported covering. And those who have multiple identities may also be more likely to cover. All Black LGBTQ+ people surveyed said they’ve engaged in covering in the last year, while 86% of Asian women and 93% of Black disabled people said the same.

Curiously, white men cover at a higher rate (54%) “than would be expected,” the report noted, noting they may downplay their identity due to the negative perception of their traditionally privileged status. One respondent said, “As a white man, I try to avoid sharing any ‘struggles,’ as they would likely be put down/belittled.”

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of workers who cover reported that it has negatively affected them, including their ability to focus, the way they view themselves, or their work performance. What’s more, more than one-half (53%) felt covering was expected by their company’s leadership, and this decreased their commitment to their organization.

What employers can do. Yoshino told HR Brew that recognizing covering may be the next phase of the DE&I journey. “It takes a certain point in the maturity curve of DE&I for covering to become a live issue,” he said.

“We don’t want people to go around psychoanalyzing each other,” Yoshino cautioned, but to reflect on if they’re presenting a culture of belonging. “We want to look at places within an organization where, explicitly or implicitly, employers are demanding or pressuring individuals to change, modulate, or edit their identities.” He used the example of people who downplay their ages, which could be a reaction to an organization where people in power are all within a certain age range.

The report recommended that leaders share their own covering experiences with employees and uncover their identities—by, say, mentioning that they’re leaving work early to pick up their child—to show employees that they don’t need to hide their own and help foster a psychologically safe environment. These acts can be especially helpful to more senior employees, who, the report found, are most likely to cover. “It can be the small, more gestural moments where I’m inserting these grace notes of my human personality into my workplace interactions,” Yoshino said.

Finally, Yoshino said that employers should focus on active allyship. “Allies are much more effective than affected people in challenging bias,” he said, noting how a non-Latino employee speaking out against an offensive joke will have a larger impact than someone advocating for their own community. “This is a critical solution in the DE&I space, and it also works for covering.”