Our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Predictions for 2023
Each year brings brilliant steps forwards (and shameful setbacks), and as we reflect on the previous year, we can see high hopes of where we can expect improvements.
It’s important that companies keep up or they risk losing their employees, brand equity, audiences and communities. See the top trends we’re expecting to happen in 2023, and head to our socials to let us know if you agree.
Flexible working:
As the nation has retained a love for working from home and we’re coming to the end of the UK’s trial for flexible working, we’re expecting more companies to be flexible with their working hours in 2023.
But, no one company will be doing the same. Flexible working can include remote or hybrid working, shortened work weeks/days or variable schedules – and we’re expecting businesses to employ one of these methods to create a system that benefits everyone.
Gender Identity:
Last year, we saw huge improvements in people’s understanding of gender identity. Although we want to give a big clap to those now providing gender-neutral toilets, we’re expecting this to go further in 2023 with more focus on employee well-being, health benefits for those transitioning and the use of inclusive language in the workplace.
An Office full of Generations:
We now have 5 generations in the office – bringing with it wide ranging expertise, needs, desires, goals and ways of communicating. We need to ensure we are listening to the varying needs of all of our workforce.
Using this opportunity correctly by helping all ages work collaboratively and utilise their different skill sets can increase your profitability by 36% (Mckinsey & Company)
But, remember not to stereotype a generation – just because they’re Gen Z, doesn’t mean they live on TikTok and have Gemini hair (Brian O’Leary)
PR to go through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training:
2022 saw more PR disasters from brands and companies not matching their advertising claims to their actions – or not seeing a problem until their audience let them know there was one (Adidas, FIFA, Balenciaga).
We’re expecting PR and D&I training to finally meet in 2023, otherwise, brands risk losing their equity and loyal audience.
Doing more than the bare minimum:
Just because your business looks more inclusive, doesn’t mean it is. We’re expecting businesses to look beyond recruitment this year, and instead set a Diversity, Inclusion and Equality strategy that doesn’t allow for tokenism – instead creates a truly diverse workforce with equal opportunities.
When considering this, we’d recommend that you need to train your HR, recruitment and senior management or acquire outside resources to have a non-bias perspective. See our training and programmes to see how we can help.
