MENTAL IMPAIRMENT
PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT
ETHNIC MINORITY
LGBTQ+
AVERAGE ACROSS DIVERSE GROUPS SURVEYED
19%
17%
17%
16%
10%
DIVERSITY TODAY
Exhibit 6: Percentage of workers from diverse groups claiming to have been frequently treated less favourably by colleagues at work Source: Newton research.
only 9% of respondents from ethnic minorities feeL uncomfortable discussing ethnicity in the workplace
The UK is currently more diverse than ever.
Not only is this true in terms of ethnicity, with those identifying as White British dropping 1 2 percentage points between the 2011 and 2019 England and Wales censuses 1 , but also in relation to other forms of diversity
understanding how social and political identities create discrimination and privilege are a feature of organisational initiatives in 34% of cases, and a big focus in 16%. Two thirds of workers feel prepared to address intersectionality in the workplace. Our research indicates advances have been made on what might be termed more traditional measures of diversity, focused on gender and ethnicity. There are still issues around other notions of diversity, however. Around a fifth (21%) of workers with disabilities or physical health conditions feel uncomfortable talking about these at work. This rises to 37% among workers with mental health conditions. This group was also the least confident about changing matters in their organisations, with only 43% feeling they could discuss their ideas with senior staff and 27% saying they did not feel empowered to create meaningful change for all in the workplace. Gender diversity seems to occupy a middle ground, with 16% of LGBTQ+ respondents saying they felt uncomfortable discussing gender-related issues at work. All these groups say they are more likely to be treated less favourably, on a regular basis, than average workers. This situation is particularly marked in the case of LGBTQ+ workers, where almost a fifth of respondents claim to have endured less favourable treatment – a damning situation in 2023.
For example, in the 2021 England and Wales census around 3.2% of the population identified as being gay or lesbian, bisexual, or having another sexual orientation. 2 This compares to 2.7% of the UK population in 2019. 3 Related to neurodiversity, the frequency of autism spectrum diagnosis, to take just one measure, has increased 787% in the last two decades. 4 How is this diversity being accommodated in the workforce? Only 9% of respondents who identify as being part of an ethnic minority feel uncomfortable discussing ethnicity in the workplace. Furthermore, 59% of ethnic minority workers feel confident about communicating ideas relating to meaningful change to their bosses, which is significantly higher than the average of 45%. This is an encouraging statistic and suggests that as diversity increases so does the empowerment of minorities in the workplace, although of course there is more work to be done to embed this empowerment into working culture. And 50% of respondents say their workplace acknowledges intersectionality (the premise that the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage). In other words a person’s various social and political identities combine to create multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage. Such frameworks for
50% of respondents say their workplace acknowledges intersectionality
almost A FIFTH of LGBTQ+ respondents claim to have been frequently treated less favourably than their peers.
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