Report: Diversity and inclusion at work: facing up to the business case

Organisations have a key part to play in tackling inequality, encouraging diversity and creating an inclusive workplace culture, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s latest report.

Key findings

• Prejudice and bias (whether unconscious or not) still exists in the workplace, and this is associated with discrimination. This in turn is associated with negative outcomes for employees (Jones et al 2016, Triana et al 2015).
• The factors maintaining inequality begin at the first touchpoint of the employee lifecycle: access to jobs. Multiple pieces of evidence shine a light on the issue of bias in recruitment, from job advert wording to call-back rates for interview (Gaucher et al 2011, Quillian et al 2017).
• Organisational inclusion climate and support for diverse groups is likely to underlie the success of any diversity initiatives.

The report outlines the evidence on diversity and inclusion at work, to help guide organisations’ efforts and galvanise action to remove barriers to equality. It makes key recommendations to help businesses to drive change at specific points in the employee life cycle alongside wider cultural and policy considerations.