DISABILITY RANKED AS TOP DEI CONCERN FOR UK EMPLOYEES
Global technology consultancy, Thoughtworks, conducted research into the relative benefits of office, hybrid and home working. The survey revealed that just 28% of employees think UK businesses do enough to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, with disability progress being the biggest concern for 40% of UK workers.
The survey of 2,000 UK employees aimed to identify where businesses need to improve diversity, equity and inclusion support in the workplace. “For many businesses, the future of work has been centred on location – the relative merits of home, office or new hybrid models. However, it's clear that it is more about how people work – and here the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion become pivotal considerations,” says Amy Lynch, head of diversity, equity and inclusion at Thoughtworks UK.
Disability was the top concern for employees, with 40% stating that British business decision makers need to do more to improve inclusion, equity and diversity programmes to support employees with disabilities.
Social mobility was identified as a key area for improvement, specifically when supporting people from lower income families for 39% of respondents, and those from socially deprived areas for 31%.
Age discrimination in the workplace was a concern for 30% of employees, becoming a main priority for 36% of those aged over 55. Gender discrimination was a concern for around 25% of UK workers, yet women were almost twice as likely as their male colleagues to call for businesses to address the gender imbalance.
Nationally, 31% of employees aged under 35 still believe UK businesses need to do more to support LGBTQ+ workers, dropping to just 12% for the over 55s.
London-based employees ranked improvements on race and ethnicity issues of higher importance with 25% labelling it a primary concern, compared to 17% of people nationally.
A review of specific industry progress identified the sport, arts and retail sectors as having the highest level of diversity, equity and inclusion support. Meanwhile the motoring and agricultural sectors ranked last in terms of DEI progress.
“Our study suggests British workers believe there is still a long way to go for most businesses – and the scale of groups and issues that need to be better understood is significant. Business leaders need to embrace a strategic response to this, to adopt processes that allow them to embed DEI issues in their culture and daily decision-making,” adds Lynch.
