Beyond the Numbers : Building Trust to Share Equality Information

In this episode of The Inclusive Edge, The Power Of Diversity I tackle the challenge of gathering equality information to drive workplace inclusion and unpack why trust is key to encouraging employees to share personal data 

I explore:

• The importance of equality data in identifying gaps and fostering equity.

• How to meet legal obligations under the UK’s Public Sector Equality Duty.

• Tips for respectful language, accessible systems, and clear communication.

• Real-world success stories that turn data into action.

Discover how transparency, thoughtful framing, and engagement can transform equality monitoring into a tool for meaningful change. Listen now to learn how to build trust and make data count

Transcript

Andrea Derbyshire (00:10)
Welcome back to the inclusive edge, the power of diversity, a podcast that dives into the heart of workplace inclusion. I'm Andrea Darbyshire, your host. And today I'm going to be unpacking a crucial but often misunderstood topic, encouraging your employees to share their equality data and equality monitoring information. Having robust equality information about your workforce is really critical for helping you to create an inclusive work but it's a delicate process to collect this information and it needs to be handled in the right way as you need to make sure people understand number one why you're asking them for this personal information, number two how it will be used and number three help them to feel confident that this personal data is confidential, respected and secure. 

In today's episode Beyond the Numbers, Building Trust to Share Equality Information I'll explore collecting equality information matters, what the legal requirements are for public sector organisations to collect and publish this data, some strategies for helping you to frame the questions, ensuring accessibility and building trust, and I'll also be sharing some examples of good practice and who is doing this well. So let's get started. Equality information, it's the foundation of an inclusive workplace and it helps organisations to know whether it's and people using its services are representative of the community that it serves and whether their employment processes and surveys of staff experiences show that equitable outcomes or there's differences in experiences between different groups. So where your data does show that there are differences, it can help you to know where you need to focus your attention and improve.

So it could help you to identify that disabled people are underrepresented in your workforce or females may be underrepresented at a senior level. And if you know that and you've got that data, then you can take positive action. You can set goals and aim to improve. So for public sector organisations, it isn't just a best practice.

It's a legal obligation under the Public Sector Equality Duty which is part of the Equality Act 2010 in the UK. And the Public Sector Equality Duty has three aims and that is to actively eliminate discrimination, to advance and promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations between people different protected characteristics.

And to fulfil that duty, public sector employers need to collect and analyse equality information and use it in their decision making processes. So for example, if your equality monitoring data shows that certain racial groups are underrepresented in particular roles, you can then use that information to put in place a targeted positive action recruitment initiative to try and recruit and...

and retain a more diverse workforce. sector organisations, they have to produce and publish an annual equality monitoring report on their websites every year. Other employers don't legally have to do that, but it is good practice if they want to understand how fair, diverse and inclusive their workplaces. And equality monitoring, shouldn't be a tick box exercise.

organisations should put in place a clear framework that outlines number one what data they collect so covering the protected characteristics under the equality act number two how they will collect it what methods they'll use to collect and record the information and number three what they will do with the data so collect and analyse it identify trends and then take action and address any disparities, disproportionality and inequalities that are showing in the data. And when we're collecting this information, we need to consider the language that we're using because the questions that we're asking are about personal information, about people's race, sexual orientation, disability. So every word matters. So it's recommended that when you're collecting the information, you ask people to share their information.

Historically the word declaring was used and that can sound scary to people and it can make them feel like they've done something wrong or they're having to share a big secret. So I recommend that you use sharing instead. It's a small but it's a meaningful shift that can make the process feel less intrusive for people. And Stonewall have got a great guide. It's been around for many years. It's called Stonewall's What's It Got To Do With You Guide and they recommend in the guide
to use the language, we invite you to share your equality information to help us to create a workplace where everyone can thrive. And that framing it in that way just emphasises people have got a choice and the purpose of asking the question, it makes people more likely to participate. And the way that you frame the questions themselves is equally important and they need to be clear and inclusive.

For example, instead of asking, do you have a disability? Some people might not recognise that they're protected under the Equality Act for Disability because they don't identify as a disabled person but they actually meet the definition of disability which is someone that has a long health condition or impairment that affects their daily activities. So instead you could say, ask the question as, do you consider yourself to have a disability or long term health condition? or impairment that affects your daily activity. You should also include a prefer not to say option because although we want people to share, they can choose not to. If you give them a prefer not to say, it's empowering people to choose whether they want to share their information or not. I also suggest that you give people lots of opportunities throughout the employment cycle to share their information with you. That could be when they're submitting an application form. when someone's been appointed and that you're onboarding then to the organisation or during the annual review. It shouldn't be a one and done process. And accessibility and confidentiality, they're non-negotiable when you're collecting people's equality information. So here's a few tips on how to get it right. Offer multiple ways for employees to share their information with you.

So if you've got a self-service platform, you could encourage people to go on and update their individual records through self-service. You could provide hard copy equality monitoring forms for people to complete and return. You could offer a telephone line or a drop-in service for people who want to speak to someone and go through the questions and or just need a little bit of extra support.

And you also need to explain to people exactly how the data is going to be handled and reassuring employees that the information is protected. So be really clear about who's got access to this information and that it's only going to be used for statistical monitoring purposes. You could potentially put together some frequently asked questions to put people's minds at rest. And I know when I worked in the Royal Liverpool a number of years ago, we did a large scale data cleanse project and we had a dedicated area on the intranet that included lots of information about the quality monitoring, why we were collecting the information, how the information was going to be used and shared and that was accessible for everybody but it's just transparency helps to build trust.

And we need to communicate strongly as well because if people don't understand why you're asking for the information, they're just not going to share it with you. So advocate for getting your senior leaders to really champion the importance of equality monitoring and how it's going to be used to make positive changes. Because when senior leaders explain its value and share examples of its impact and how it's been used to drive change, you'll find that employees are much more likely to engage.

For example Lloyds Bank, they had a senior executive create and share a video that explained why they were collecting the information and how equality data had been used in a positive way to develop targeted leadership programmes for underrepresented groups. That authenticity resonated with employees and it increased the response rates.

Also try to engage with your staff networks and your unions because they can co-create messages and they can also step in and be another, just another place for people to go to ask questions and if you get them on board, they're trusted advocates and it can also increase your response rates. Try to share your messages in a range of different ways so you could have videos, you could have webinars.

You could produce posters and leaflets and leave them in staff canteens and communal areas and you could send out targeted emails with clear calls to action, include regular updates in your newsletters from the senior team and also updates on response rates as well.

I also recommend that you set clear targets and track your progress because this will show employees that you're serious about using the data in a positive way to drive change. But firstly, you do need to have a good baseline data to be able to do any meaningful monitoring and data interpretation. So you should really set some data quality targets. That could be something like 80 % completion rate for each protected characteristic and then regularly review you're doing in terms of achieving that target and share updates with employees.

Equality monitoring information is much more than just collecting data, it's about building trust and making people feel safe to share that information and fostering inclusion and driving meaningful change. So just be transparent about why you're collecting the data, always use respectful language and accessible systems and show employees how their contributions can lead to action, so what are they going to get out of... of this, if they provide this information, what difference is it going to make? How is it going to improve their working life? And when it's done thoughtfully and meaningfully, equality monitoring can become a really powerful tool for helping you to create workplaces where everyone belongs. And that's it for today's episode. So to all of our listeners, thank you for tuning into the Inclusive Edge, the power of diversity. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review.

And let's continue working together to build workplaces where every voice is heard and everyone can thrive. Until next time, stay committed to inclusion, stay on the inclusive edge and keep driving positive change in your workplaces.