Diversity and inclusion issues in the workplace have consistently grown over the last three years, according to Google search trend data, carried out by compliance eLearning provider, DeltaNet International.
The research found that over the past three years (April 2020, April 2022) ‘Bullying, harassment and discrimination at work’ searches grew by three-fifths (62.5%) and ‘Disability discrimination at work’ searches increased by half (51.25%)
Also ‘Racial discrimination at work’ searches rose by 40.3 percent and ‘Age discrimination at work’ searches grew by almost a third (30.6%)
Additionally, ‘Gender pronouns in the workplace’ searches online rose by 500 percent, with ‘Unconscious bias at work’ searches increased by 58 percent – including a spike in March 2022 coinciding with International Women’s Day.
If employers were hoping that the issues of diversity and inclusion were just a passing storm to be weathered, they would be very wrong. Societal and legal pressures are coming together as employees demand change.
Equality legislation
“The data reveals that discriminatory issues continue to rise in the workplace; business leaders and HR teams are responsible for tackling these issues to provide a safe and welcoming working environment for all employees to thrive in,” said Managing Director at DeltaNet International, Darren Hockley.
“We believe that diversity and inclusion must be at the core of an organisation; we want to help employees and employers evolve from a compliance-based model to embracing true cultural change.”
Whilst the prevalence of Covid during this reporting period could account for a proportion of claims due to shielding requirements for many employees and their dependants requiring adjustments to their roles – it certainly does not account for it all.
“Creating a diverse and inclusive culture starts with education to change behaviours and reduce discrimination,” adds Mr Hockley.
What can organisations do to tackle this?
Improving diversity and inclusion awareness among employees and managers is important to reduce discrimination in the workplace, both in the UK and globally.
Diversity and inclusion must be at the core of an organisation.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
