Diversity and inclusion statistics | 31 D&I Stats and Trends for 2022

Today many companies regard diversity and inclusion as a competitive advantage. This is a far cry from the past where workplace D&I initiatives were often looked down upon and perhaps even seen as having a potentially negative impact on the business.

However, it is now proven that there is a statistically significant correlation between having higher levels of diversity in company leadership and an increase in profitability when compared against relevant industry competitors.

So what do the stats say?

Diversity & Inclusion statistics

Diversity & inclusion is an important factor for the majority of today’s candidates: 76% report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers (Glassdoor)
57% of employers say they have updated their recruitment strategies to build a more diverse workforce (Myshortlister)
In a survey by Monster, 30% of companies revealed that they don’t have any form of D&I strategy in place (Monster)
Diverse teams are 87% better at making decisions (PPM)
In the UK 78% of white people were employed, compared to 66% of people from all other ethnic groups combined (GOV)
At the end of 2020, just 3.5% of leaders in the FTSE 100 were from ethnic minorities, down from 7% in 2019 and 8% in 2018 (Green Park, 2021).
Companies that have a diversity and inclusion policy but do not provide evidence of a diverse and inclusive workplace are viewed more negatively by minority groups (Wilton, 2020)
Diverse leadership and management have been shown to improve company revenue by around 19% (InStride)
35% of HR leaders say diversity, equity, and inclusion are among their top five priorities for 2022 (Gartner)
Only 47% of managers feel prepared to have conversations about race with employees (Gallup)
Social mobility is still lacking. 60% of respondents in professional and managerial positions come from a white professional background. With only 34% coming from an ethnic minority and low socio economic background (KPMG)
Almost 70% of companies say that the work employees do to promote DEI is very or extremely critical (Mckinsey)
34% of employees have received antiracism training in the past year (Mckinsey)
70% of companies think that remote work will allow them to increase diversity in their hiring (Mckinsey)
Millennials are 83% more likely to be engaged at work at inclusive companies (Deloitte)

Gender diversity stats

73% of senior business leaders say they are highly committed to gender diversity, and close to 50% say they are actively working to improve gender diversity (Mckinsey)
87% of companies say they are highly committed to gender diversity vs 56% in 2012 (Mckinsey)
Women occupy just 20% of board seats globally (Deloitte)
Companies with female CEOs have significantly more diverse boards than those run by men – 33% women versus 19% (Deloitte)
Over 40% of board seats among French companies are now occupied by women (Deloitte)
Black women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles across the UK workforce, with 92% calling for systemic change (LSE, 2020)
Blind applications lead to between 25 – 46% more women being selected (Bulitin)
Gender diverse companies are 15% more likely to notice higher financial returns. (McKinsey)

LGBTdiversity stats

31% of LGBT respondents reported that they have experienced discrimination or harassment within the past five years (Williams Institute)
63% of LGBT employees of color said that religion was a motivating factor in their experiences of workplace discrimination compared to 49% of white LGBT employees (Williams Institute)
Nearly half (48%) of transgender employees reported experiencing discrimination (being fired or not hired) based compared to 27% of LGB employees (Williams Institute)
67% of LGBT employees reported that they have heard negative comments, slurs, or jokes about LGBTQ people at work (Williams Institute)

Neurodiversity stats

According to one study an autistic professional can be up to 140% more productive than an average employee when properly matched with a job that fits their skills (HBR)
89% of people want their company to be inclusive of individuals with intellectual disabilities (Clearcompany)
In the U.K. the unemployment rate for autistic people is as high as 78%, while in the U.S. that number jumps to 85% (HBR)
In a 2020 report on U.K. employers, 50% of managers surveyed said they would not hire neurodivergent candidates. (HBR)