As inclusive work environments continue to be highly sought after by employees, UK businesses are facing increasing pressure to up the ante when it comes to their equality, diversity and inclusivity (ED&I) efforts.

While many businesses are making significant strides with their ED&I policies and initiatives, it appears that this enthusiasm is not universal. According to the findings of our ED&I 2024 report, the percentage of organisations that have an ED&I policy has only increased by a single per cent in the past 12 months. This indicates that progress in addressing ED&I concerns within the IT, change and transformation space is currently moving at a slow rate.

Unfortunately, we also discovered that 22% of our respondents havent’t received any ED&I training from their current employer, while 75% said they aren’t involved in any ED&I activities for their organisation. This shows that ED&I may still not a focal point for everyone, which leads us to question what potential barriers could be causing this to happen.

Barriers to ED&I progression

Our ED&I report found that, of those who faced bias within the hiring process, 72% said that they then went on to face bias in their workplace, making unconscious bias a major obstacle to ED&I progression. Without sufficient training to identify the signs of bias, many organisations could be unaware of the prejudice embedded in their teams. This can go on to cause inequality and reduce both employee satisfaction and retention.

Many organisations may have already taken steps to introduced comprehensive ED&I policies and initiatives to help foster inclusion and equality within their workplace. In fact, we found that 86% of the organisations our respondents work for have an ED&I policy currently in place.

However, it’s not enough to merely create these initiatives and expect cultural change to happen. If tangible actions aren’t being consistently used to back existing policies, such as blind CV screening and gaining employee feedback, stagnation can quickly take hold. With little to no progress being made, organisational change and buy-in will be much harder to achieve.

Financial barriers could be another obstacle, particularly for smaller businesses that might not have extensive budgets for ED&I experts, new hiring practices and extensive diversity training for their teams. The perception that implementing such processes will be expensive could be misleading organisations into delaying the process of starting or improving their ED&I efforts.

The significance of ED&I and its importance in the modern workplace could also be a barrier in itself. Many organisations will understand just how important it is to have such policies in place but could be fearful of getting the process wrong or are unsure of how to act appropriately when it comes to combating discrimination.

This is evident in our report findings, with 6% of IT, change, and transformation leadership teams not taking strict against intolerance or discrimination. Worryingly, the percentage of this stat has tripled since our report last year, which is a surefire sign that ED&I progress within these organisations is not going in the right direction.

Finally, our report found that representation in senior positions also remains another hurdle to diversity and inclusion within certain industries. For example, Property & Construction (14%), Utilities (23%), Retail (22%) and Life Sciences & FMCG (20%) were all found to have a very small minority of female professionals in leadership positions.

The impact of slow ED&I progression

Making slow progress when it comes to ED&I implementation, whatever the cause, might not set off alarm bells for everyone. But overtime its impact will become far-reaching and highly detrimental.

ED&I centred workplaces with diverse teams at the helm can reap the benefits of better business performance, enhanced employee experience and wellbeing and increased productivity. Naturally, if little is being done to foster an inclusive work environment these benefits will be less attainable.

Teams are likely to quickly lose interest and enthusiasm for even the best ED&I initiatives if progress isn’t being made. As our research suggests, this appears to be happening across the IT, change and transformation space, with 75% of respondents admitting they aren’t involved in any ED&I activities for their organisation. This lack of participation can prevent teams from gaining a greater understanding on ED&I related concerns and how to identify and combat them.

Slow progress in ED&I can also cause high levels of scepticism amongst the ranks of an organisation, making it more challenging to gain buy-in and support for introducing future ED&I efforts or invigorating existing ones.

Most importantly, slow ED&I progression can desensitise teams and create a foothold for discrimination, bias and intolerance, making the workplace an unsafe environment for employees of different genders, sexual orientation, race or backgrounds.

Promoting positive change

To move their ED&I efforts in the right direction, organisations need to start making changes from the top. It’s paramount for leaders to not only back their organisations ED&I efforts, but also be actively involved in them and be held accountable for their progression. To champion ED&I within their organisations, leaders should incorporate different perspectives into their decision-making process, work to build diverse teams through inclusive hiring practices and ensure policies promote equality and allyship.

Varying their approach to ED&I will also be beneficial because it can help to maintain employee interest. This could include initiatives such as mentorship programs, employee feedback sessions and diversity-focused seminars. Equality and Diversity training and resources are also available from various non-profits and government organisations, for those with tighter budgets. Personalising these initiatives so they are more relevant to the unique makeup of their teams can also promote a deeper understanding and make them more effective.

It's also paramount for organisations to create opportunities for open communication with their employees regarding their ED&I concerns. This can help to pinpoint obstacles and tackle any feelings of scepticism, while also highlighting possible areas where improvements need to be made and how to achieve this.

The path to creating inclusive work environments can be an arduous one, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. While it can be easy to get lost in documents and jargon, its integral for organisations to remember that, at its core, ED&I is about people. If that remains at the forefront, it will be far easier for them to start making steady and consistent progress to positive change.

If you'd be interested in finding out what else we uncovered from our ED&I 2024 report, you can download your own copy here.