Diversity, equality and inclusion aren’t new concepts. And making UK workplaces more representative of society, whether in terms of local communities or on a national scale, shouldn’t be an abstract aim.

Looking into diversity more deeply across UK businesses, however, seems to reveal some pressing issues and discrepancies.

 

 

Diversity in UK law

 

The Equality Act of 2010, which enforces the Equality Duty, made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of nine protected characteristics aimed at preventing unlawful treatment and ensuring consideration at all stages of the recruitment process, and yet, as of the period October to December 2023, disabled people’s employment rate was 54% compared to the national UK rate of 82%?

This stark contrast underscores ongoing challenges in fully realising the ambitions of the Equality Act, even over a decade later.

In addition, the Office for National Statistics reports the 2023 median gender pay gap at 14% for employees performing the same role.

These are clearly not markers of a diverse, inclusive or equal workforce. Nor are they statistics that show the equality act has been a roaring success.

Of course there are nuances within statistics, and no reasonable person would claim that these are easy issues to reconcile.

But, fourteen years into the UK’s formative diversity and inclusion legislation, progress still seems, from these sobering numbers, to be frustratingly slow.

 

 

D&I in Recruitment

 

The recruitment sector is unique in its dual perspective on these issues of diversity, inclusion and equality.

As a UK-wide search and recruitment partner, specialising in executive-level positions within PE-backed businesses, we, at Blair West, are often approached by companies seeking to find the best candidate for a role, whilst also actively aiming to meet their equality objectives and develop the overall diversity make-up of the organisation.

Alongside this, as a Newcastle-based employer ourselves, we need to regularly consider how inclusive our own business is and the extent to which we ensure equality within our people culture.

So, what are the developments and debates currently being discussed in terms of workplace diversity at recruitment level?

 

 

The bad news…

 

A recent survey by the REC, at the end of 2023, paints a less-than-positive picture. Half of the UK companies surveyed state that they do not express a desire to hear from candidates from underrepresented groups in their recruitment processes.

The REC CEO, Neil Carberry, suggests that more needs to be done to promote the business benefits of a diverse workforce. And recruitment remains an underused point at which a company can achieve this.

 

 

A brighter picture…

 

More positively, a recent Financial Times article highlights several companies who have successfully addressed issues of diversity and inclusion and seen encouraging results.

According to FT partners, ServiceNow, ‘inclusively breeds innovation’,  with business leaders reporting an upturn in positive relationships within communities and professional organisations since addressing this aspect of their practice.

Conversely, having limited points of view within a business is said to produce limited ideas.

One takeaway from the article is that, rather than seeing D&I as a necessary factor in making a business more accessible and equitable from an employee perspective, developing a more robust inclusion process also has significant benefits for the employer.

 

 

Benefits for all

 

Taking this idea further, Global Management Consultancy, McKinsey & Company advocate for what they call, the ‘holistic impact’ of diversity within business. Their 2023 diversity report states that businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity at board level are 27% more likely to show above average profits than companies in the fourth quartile.

Moreover, companies with ethnically diverse board members are 13% more likely to outperform those in the bottom D&I quartile.

These persuasive findings not only reinforce ideas about the mutual positivity of diversity within a workplace, but also reveal the tangible rather than merely abstract benefits.

 

 

Objective Interviewing

 

Perhaps, in recruitment terms, it is the interview stage of a business’s D&I strategy where most attention needs to be given. The UK CIPD produces a comprehensive guide to inclusive best practice in recruitment, revealing the need for consideration at all stages of recruitment. The CIPD document reports that currently, as of publication in 2022, less than 20% of businesses make an effort to remove unconscious bias by making objective testing part of their process.

They report that only 28% of UK employees train their HR professionals effectively on objective interview practice, a crucial aspect of fulfilling the Equality Duty. And perhaps this is only the tip of the iceberg.

We may assume that, in 2024, every business is familiar with the concept of unconscious bias in relation to the protected characteristics mandated by law.

However, some recent debate suggests there is actually another level of discrimination in relation to a tenth, hitherto neglected factor…

 

 

A tenth protected characteristic?

 

There is a growing body of research around the issue of class bias within the diversity and inclusion agenda. This perception of an individual can function independently or be compounded by other forms of exclusion.

In the context of evolving employment law, a recent LSE study raises the question of whether class should be protected under law, in the same way as disability or marital status. It can, and has, been argued that this is a prevailing, but often invisible means of inequality, be it in the recruitment process or in the treatment of employees with regards to promotion and CPD.

Within the educational sector, initiatives such as Free School Meals and pupil premium funding have sought to create a more level playing field for children from financially underprivileged backgrounds.

However, once students have completed qualifications and left education, this attempt to address class inequality essentially disappears.

 

 

Class Discrimination

 

Although often perceived to be an invisible characteristic, factors such as accent and postcode can be said to remain indicators of socio-economic background which are rarely thoughtfully considered within the workplace.

Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington argues that collective unconscious bias against people whose class may be marked out as inferior ‘challenges meritocratic ideals’ held by many in our society.

The idea that a person can become anything they want to be, if they simply work hard enough would surely be contradicted if we examined the extent to which class formed a barrier to employees achieving equal success.

It’s certainly worth asking ourselves of our assumptions about politeness and appropriate dress are ‘more often than not simply norms of the middle/upper classes’.

Does a person’s accent or appearance actually make them less able to perform successfully within a given role?

 

 

Redressing Class Bias

 

One company actively seeking to redress the balance in terms of class discrimination is national charity, Smart Works. Set up in 2013 in North London, and opening its Newcastle centre in 2018, Smart Works is a dressing and coaching service for women seeking employment.

Clients receive a bespoke consultation where they are given two high quality interview outfits. They also benefit from a 1:1 coaching session with an expert interview coach. The charity has been phenomenally successful, with 69% of clients securing a position in a month.

But, perhaps this is not so phenomenal after all. Notwithstanding the important work being done by Smart Works, are we really surprised that if an interviewer’s first impression of a candidate adheres to our cultural norms of class as a marker of capability, this renders them vastly more likely to be successful in the process?

 

 

Partnering for Inclusion

 

Without wanting to end on a hard-sell, one route for companies aiming to set equality objectives and navigate a D&I landscape whilst wanting to recruit the best candidate to meet their needs is partnering with an experienced search firm. This can be invaluable in navigating the complexities highlighted in this blog.

Far from simply being a mediator, at Blair West we genuinely feel that an important part of our role is to assist businesses in making diversity, inclusion and equality fundamental, and unbiased, considerations within all recruitment processes we support with.

If you would find it useful to have a discussion regarding a potential hiring process, feel free to get in touch.