CIPD -

Diversity and equality

Basic data needs

As a minimum you should have the following information:

age – either actual age or in small, five-year age bands – preferably 19–24, 25–29, 30–34 and so on in line with government statistics and therefore useful for comparison
ethnicity – follow standard guidelines on this. (See the EHRC website)
gender.

The above are fairly easy for most organisations to gather and individuals are used to and usually happy to share this information.

Disability – some people can be reluctant to disclose information about a disability, especially if it is not visible. People may:
- not want to be labelled
- be concerned that they will be treated differently – perhaps not promoted
- be worried that their confidentiality will be breached.
Sexual orientation – as with disability, some people are nervous about disclosing what they see as private information.
Religion and belief – many people also consider this to be personal information that is not relevant in the workplace. However, there has been a lot of case law since religion and belief laws were brought in which show that it’s important to be aware of the differences there may be in your business.

Though it may be more difficult to gather this data, you should persevere as it will give you a fuller picture. Encourage people to share information by telling them clearly that it will be used to help build a picture of the business and then support a fresh approach to diversity. Reassure them that the data will not be used to identify individuals.

Additional useful data

Being able to cut data by the different diversity strands (above) is invaluable, but it’s really helpful if you can also gather and cut data by:

labour turnover
staff satisfaction/engagement
length of service
full- and part-time working
flexible working take-up
permanent/contract working
exit.

Employment relations data

It’s essential to also cut diversity profile data by the following:

absence and sickness rates
bullying and harassment claims
refusals to the right to request flexible working
unfair dismissal claims
grievance and disciplinary action – and outcome
discrimination claims
requests to work on beyond retirement age (and refusals)
ill health and early retirements
performance management
redundancy selection.

It’s particularly important that you’re able to analyse your recruitment, training and other processes, as this data may help you in identifying where the business needs to take action – whether this might be in policy or in relation to a particular part of the business, manager and so on. You should gather data on the following:

applicants
new recruits
if possible, those who fall out of the recruitment process and when – for instance pre- or post-interview
promotions
training take-up and, if possible, outcomes
inclusion in talent management, leadership, management or other development schemes.

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What are these?

Additional information for the tool 'How to Build your Own Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion'

Basic data needs

Additional useful data

Employment relations data