Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace
What Are the Benefits of EDI for My Organisation?
Creating an equal, diverse, and inclusive company culture can provide you with numerous benefits for your business and can save you money.
Employees who perceive a lack of EDI in the workplace are more than twice as likely to hold back on new ideas and market solutions – and are almost 30% more likely to leave, costing almost £100,000 per existing employee.
Likewise, an article from Mckinsey & Company tells us how those companies with the least gender *and* ethnically diverse executive teams are 27% more likely to underperform on profitability.
Some more benefits of EDI within your organisation can be:
- Increase your talent pool when hiring
- Broaden your creative thinking in-house
- Help you understand your customers better
- Break down any cultural or language barriers
- Improve your company’s overall reputation
What Exactly Is Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace?
“EDI ensures fair treatment and opportunity for all. It aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination on the basis of an individual or group of individual’s protected characteristics.”
So essentially, EDI refers to how people should not suffer in any way due to any of their characteristics. This could include their age, race, gender, disabilities and more.
You can find a full list of protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.
What Is An Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy?
Every business is encouraged to have an equal opportunities policy in place. This should form a part of your overall EDI policy, and should protect employees’ rights and ensure that your business is complying with the Equality Act in relation to the list of protected characteristics above.
Your overall equality, diversity, and inclusion policy should include documented procedures that promote EDI in your workplace. This could include some of the EDI principles that we detail below.
At Inc. Consulting, we fully recognise the importance of equal opportunities for all. Due to this, our policy also includes some unprotected characteristics that are not yet recognised.
Once your EDI policy is agreed and in place, actively building on it and advocating it within your everyday company culture is essential in forming an inclusive organisation.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Principles
EDI best practices vary from organisation to organisation. However, here are some of the basic principles you should consider:
- Understand your current bassline
- Reconsider your hiring process
- Limit your use of jargon
- Develop strong branding and values
- Build a sense of belonging
- Support flexibility in the workplace
- Consider your employee benefits packages
- Provide equal opportunities for all
- Make EDI measurable
- Our EDI in the Workplace Services
Begin your EDI journey by connecting with Jo Miller, who can use your current data to offer insight and guidance on your D&I strategy.
We, as a company, have also been through the EDI workshop with Jo. This involved celebrating areas in which we’re doing well. But also building a strategic and measurable ongoing plan to help us progress further.
Jo will work hard to understand the specific issues within your organisation so that she can build tailored and targeted interventions using the following methods:
- Data Science
- Neuroscience
- Behavioural science
From this, together we can formulate a plan that is based on physical evidence. There is no guesswork here. We will focus on the science of inclusion to measure the exact benefits to your business.
Our EDI packages include:
- EDI Foundations: For start-ups and small businesses of <10 people who need the EDI basics.
- EDI Discovery: Offering you an EDI baseline using an analysis of your policies, practices, and processes - with targeted solutions.
- EDI Making It Happen: Tailored support to implement those solutions and measure your investment in EDI - including training programmes and workshops.
- EDI and the Board: Tailored and compassionate workshop(s) with your Board to introduce the fundamentals of EDI and the role of the Board.
- EDI and Covid-19: Tailored support to understand and mitigate the EDI impact of C19 on your business strategies (including digital exclusion and gender inequities).
FAQs: Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace
What does equality in the workplace actually mean?
Equality in the workplace means that every employee is treated fairly and given equal access to opportunities, regardless of their background, identity, or personal circumstances. This includes equal pay for equal work, unbiased recruitment processes, fair progression pathways, and a culture where everyone feels respected and valued.
Why is workplace equality important for businesses?
Equality isn’t just a moral obligation — it directly benefits business performance. Organisations that prioritise equality tend to see higher employee engagement, stronger retention, better decision-making, and increased innovation. A fair environment also enhances employer reputation, helping attract top talent and improve long-term organisational growth.
How can employers promote equality in the workplace?
Employers can promote equality by reviewing recruitment processes, eliminating bias from decision-making, offering equal development opportunities, conducting pay audits, and setting clear policies around discrimination and harassment. Encouraging open communication, providing training, and ensuring leaders model inclusive behaviours also make a significant difference.
What are common barriers to workplace equality?
Common barriers include unconscious bias, inconsistent hiring practices, lack of diverse leadership, outdated policies, and cultures that don’t encourage open dialogue or challenge unfair behaviours. In some organisations, inequality is unintentional — but it still impacts progression, wellbeing, and trust if not addressed proactively.