How to ask an employer about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

An organisation’s approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace has a big impact on staff turnover, skills, innovation, and reputation. But it can also be key to feeling valued, motivated, and safe at work. While a growing number of employers are becoming more transparent with EDI through publishing their employment data and EDI policies, it’s not always easy to get a feel for an organisation’s day to day approach to EDI as an outsider. Some employers may say the right things on their website and social media, but why should you have to wait until you’ve accepted a position to find out whether it’s just lip service?

The interview process is an opportunity for you to get to know the organisation and whether it’s right for you when it comes to their approach to EDI. It’s understandable to feel that you should use the time for questions to further impress the interviewers and that asking about EDI might appear too challenging and intrusive, potentially putting an employer off from hiring you. But would you want to work for someone who is that offended and threatened by questions on EDI? When framed tactfully, these questions can help you get the information you really want to learn about what matters to you when it comes to workplace culture. Here is a selection of questions you could ask that could give you a valuable insight into EDI in a workplace:

“What are the most important values for the organisation?”

If you feel reluctant to ask directly about equality and diversity, this is a good opening to see if employers proactively highlight EDI as their most important values. It may be indirect, but their failure to mention issues relating to diversity could speak volumes.

“What does progression look like here? What has turnover looked like, generally?”

This is another indirect question, but, if an organisation has a high turnover and individuals don’t feel they can progress there, this could be a red flag indicating a lack of opportunities, a negative culture and poor leadership. People can often just move on, of course, or some organisations have quite flat structures, but if there does appear to be a pattern, it is worth asking “do you have a sense of the factors behind the turnover?”

“How important is diversity to you and what do you think is the benefit of EDI in the workplace?”

This is a more direct approach. A good organisation should be able to talk about the value and benefits of supporting EDI and a question like this should show their understanding of the business case for EDI.

“How diverse is your leadership / senior management team?”

Many organisations will profile their senior team on their website but if you’re interviewing with an organisation that doesn’t, posing this question can reveal their approach to EDI when it comes to progression and leadership. A diverse leadership team is often a sign of a more inclusive and creative culture. If the leadership team and your interview panel aren’t diverse, there is still an opportunity here to ask how the leadership team is committed to diversity and look out for plans and ideas to increase diversity at the top and across the organisation through different strategies and recruitment plans.

“Do you have an EDI strategy and related programmes?”

It could be a real red flag if an organisation has no strategy or programmes in place to implement EDI values and it’s a good question to ask to find out whether an employer understands the business case for EDI and is willing to commit the resources required to do it properly. An employer might be going through a transition to improve their approach to EDI, so, even if there is no strategy in place, listen out for any concrete and detailed plans to implement these in the near future. A related question could focus on asking how the organisation applies EDI within their recruitment processes to reveal how genuine they are when it comes to casting a wide net to secure the best and most diverse talent.

“Do you offer any EDI training for staff and new starters?”

This is another way of identifying whether an employer is willing to commit resources to EDI and value the importance of awareness of EDI principles across the whole organisation.

It may feel uncomfortable asking some of these questions in an interview, especially if you don’t get the response you want, but, given the importance of a collaborative, inclusive culture that embraces diversity for people to thrive in their workplace, we hope you feel the benefit of exploring this issue with a potential employer.