In today’s increasingly diverse society – employers and public service organisations, are placing greater emphasis on fostering an inclusive environment to ensure everyone feels a sense of belonging and engages with public services free from bias or discrimination. And while many organisations have made strides in developing policies to promote diversity and inclusion, one critical aspect is often overlooked: understanding the full identity of employees and customers. Too often, organisations focus only on the most visible traits, or traits which they are legally obligated to consider under equalities legislation - such as race, gender, disability or age, without fully appreciating the complexities of intersecting aspects of identity.
Are Your Employees & Customers Sharing Their True Identities With You?
And this is a fundamental question which organisations should ask themselves is: Do you really know the diverse nature of your employees and customers, or are they presenting only what they believe is acceptable? People often mask aspects of their true identity to conform to societal and workplace norms or expectations. This phenomenon, known as "covering,” or “masking”, can prevent organisations from understanding the full spectrum of diversity within their teams, or customer groups - resulting in missed opportunities to create a truly inclusive culture and provide services which meet everyone’s’ needs.
Many people only share the characteristics they feel are accepted or valued by leaders or service providers for fear of discrimination. As a result, businesses and organisations may be inadvertently fostering a culture where diversity isn’t fully embraced, but rather filtered through a lens of conformity, which contributes to Group Think, diversity dishonesty and to delivery or services which serve only the ‘majority’.
The Dangers of Biased Data Collection
Is how you collect your data contributing to poor response rates and hindering employee or stakeholder engagement? Surveys and engagement tools are often deployed as part of incumbent systems; they are bolted-on as an afterthought with inherent biases present. As such they may be designed in a way that discourages individuals from fully disclosing aspects of their identity, or they may fail to capture the full range of people’s experiences. When organisations collect data without considering these biases, they run the risk of making decisions based on incomplete or unrepresentative views of their stakeholders.
For example, asking individuals to volunteer their identity data may lead individuals to ‘mask’ or ‘cover’ aspects of identity which they feel might impact how they are viewed or treated – which in turn can create a biased picture. This approach may lead to the data collected overemphasising dominant identity groups, while underrepresenting minority or non-visible characteristics. In doing so, organisations end up reinforcing unconscious biases instead of addressing them because they've not captured truly representative data.
The Complexity of Intersectionality
Another important consideration is the intersectionality of identity. Many employees don’t fit neatly into one identity category; instead, they embody a complex interplay of characteristics. A black woman, for instance, may experience challenges and opportunities differently from her white colleagues, and differently again from back men, and if you then throw neurodivergence or invisible disability into the mix that further impacts their experience. Without acknowledging this complexity, organisations risk implementing initiatives that overlook how these intersecting identities shape the experience.
Safe Spaces and Anonymity Matter
For individuals to share the full depth and breadth of their identity, they need to feel safe. Does your organisation provide a safe, anonymous environment for employees to share their true identity? When there’s a lack of trust in how data is collected and used, employees may avoid engaging altogether. Offering an independent, anonymous data collection process is critical to building trust and encouraging candid responses.
This kind of safe space empowers people to disclose aspects of their identity that may otherwise remain hidden, which enables organisations to gather more accurate and meaningful insights. And, at the end of the day - it is rare that organisations need to know exactly who has specific aspects of identity – just that there are people in the organisation, or accessing services, who have specific needs or face barriers or bias.
Developing ways and means to collect data - which can be used to understand stakeholder identity to enable greater inclusion, must address the issue of trust, or more specifically the issue that there is a lack of trust by individuals when engaging with employers or public services providers. Using anonymised data builds trust amongst stakeholders, by demonstrating the importance of inclusion to your organisation, in turn means individuals are more likely to feel safe identifying aspects of identity which require adjustments, without fear of discrimination or bias once they experience the effort toward inclusion.
Moving Beyond the Numbers
While data is critical to understanding diversity, what’s often more important is what that data is saying. Does your organisation use data to make real changes, or does it simply report numbers without context? At its' most toxic data is used to identify individuals with additional needs or characteristics which might not be viewed as 'desirable', or to single out individuals so the organisation can point to 'visible role models' even where the individual may not wish to be singled out.
Relying too heavily on surface-level diversity metrics can create a false sense of progress. It’s essential to analyse this data through a nuanced lens, recognising how systemic, structural, or cultural barriers may be impacting certain groups of employees.
Embracing the Full Picture
To build truly diverse and inclusive workplaces, organisations must go beyond traditional approaches and delve into the full scope of employee identity. This means creating environments where all employees feel safe to disclose who they are, without fear of judgment or retaliation. It also requires critical reflection on how identity data is collected, analysed, and acted upon, ensuring that no one is left behind.
By exploring the true nature of employee identity, businesses can unlock deeper engagement, foster greater inclusion, and create a culture where every employee feels seen and valued for who they are—not just the parts they believe are acceptable.
If you want to find out more about how we’ve recently delivered a data gathering and needs analysis project with an engagement rate of 97% (ninety seven!) drop us a line.
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