Last month, we reported on Liz Truss's plans to scrap 350 public sector roles up and down the country, which are concerned with the promotion of diversity and inclusion.  You might be forgiven for inferring from this that discrimination in the workplace is a shrinking problem. However, two reports published over recent weeks might beg to differ.

What does the research say?

Research conducted by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) suggests that two in five black and minority ethnic workers have experienced racism in the workplace in the last five years.  Most commonly, this takes the form of so-called ‘racist jokes or banter’.  However, more than 20% of research participants also reported being subjected to more serious acts of bullying and harassment.  The impact of such behaviour is unsurprising, with almost a third of participants complaining that their experiences had negatively impacted on their mental health.

In a separate report, the recruitment company ‘randstad’ has published research suggesting that gender discrimination continues to be a serious problem.  Of the 6,000 workers surveyed across various sectors, 72% of women reported being witnesses to or having encountered inappropriate behaviour or comments by male colleagues.  Indeed, fewer than one in five of the women surveyed said they had never experienced gender discrimination.  And interestingly, given our recent articles on this subject, 73% of women felt their employers were not doing enough to support employees going through the menopause.

What now?

If you are interested in reading more about this research, follow the links below:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/still-rigged-racism-uk-labour-market

https://www.randstad.co.uk/about-us/diversity-inclusion-wellbeing/workplace-gender-equality/

If you would like to talk to us about the challenges you are facing within your workplace, please get in touch.  Do you need to review and update your policies and procedures?  Do your line managers need training, in order to give them the confidence to deal with problems as they arise?   Whatever the issue, we are here to help.