Companies still have work to do to improve diversity and inclusion, according to 59% of UK employees.

GetApp surveyed 1,001 employees to better understand how companies are approaching diversity and inclusion and whether they do enough to promote it.

GetApp’s new study reveals that over half (59%) of respondents believe their company still has a lot or a bit of work to do to progress diversity and inclusion policies within their workplace.

19% of the employees surveyed do not have a diversity and inclusion policy in place within their company. Of this proportion, 11% asserted that their company has no intention of implementing one. 

A further 19% of respondents revealed that not many employees come from racially diverse backgrounds whilst 14% stated that no employees come from diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, when asked about the diversity of the leadership team, 37% of employees believe it to be a bit diverse, and 32% said it is not at all diverse. Of the 45% that stated that some employees come from diverse backgrounds, the most common form of diversity included age and generation diversity (at 61%), followed by gender diversity (53%) and ethnic diversity (50%).

It is revealed that 23% of the employees surveyed have either been personally discriminated against or have known someone who has been discriminated against in the workplace. Of those that experienced discrimination, 29% encountered racial discrimination, 27% age/ generation discrimination, and 23% gender discrimination. Of this proportion, 28% filed a complaint that wasn’t taken seriously by managers.

57% of respondents believe it is very important to work for a company that supports social movements such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights. However, somewhat worryingly, 28% of employees believe it is not very important and 15% said it is not at all important. Of those that stated it is not at all important, the majority were male between the ages of 55-60.

The survey revealed that after the Black Lives Matter movement, 44% claimed that no conversations or meetings took place discussing ways to improve workplace diversity and inclusion. However, 46% affirmed that either ‘a lot’ or ‘a few’ conversations and meetings had occurred. Although 20% of that proportion reported that their company hasn’t yet delivered on its initiatives since they were first discussed.

In terms of gender diversity, GetApp found that 15% of respondents believe men have more growth opportunities within their companies. Of this, 46% were male and 53% were female. Additionally, 20% believe men are paid more than women, of this proportion, 44% were men and 66% were women. Finally, 40% believe that their company is not transparent when it comes to employees getting pay raises and promotions.

Overall three-quarters of the respondents stated that diversity is important to them, however 20% asserted that they feel unaffected by it, whilst 5% say it is not important to them. Of the 5% that don’t think it’s important, the majority were males between the age of 55-60.

Sonia Navarrete, content analyst at GetApp UK, comments:

The results from GetApp’s recent study on diversity in SMEs reveals the inequalities and disparities present within many UK businesses. The survey also divulged some concerning mentalities when it comes to the importance of diversity and equality, with almost one third (28%) of employees believing it is not very important to support social movements such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights, and 15% believe it is not at all important.