Top 30 Diversity and Inclusion Survey Questions

Are you looking for some diversity and inclusion survey questions to include in your company’s surveys? You have come to the right place!

Improving DEI is one of the main priorities for organizations across the globe, so if you are already practicing regular employee surveys, consider reserving a few questions to the diversity, equity, and inclusion topic. 

In this blog, we will talk about the importance of DEI in the workplace and give you some ideas for DEI questions you can include in your surveys. Lastly, we will cover some of the best practices for creating and distributing such surveys to achieve the best possible response rate.  

The Importance of DEI Surveys In the Workplace

Measuring employees’ and candidates’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion in your organization can go a long way in attracting new talent and increasing employee motivation, engagement, and retention. 

More and more people care about their employer investing more resources into various DEI initiatives and best practices. 

According to research, 76% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities, and about 1 in 3 job seekers would not apply to a company with a lack of diversity in its workforce.

A McKinsey study found companies in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 36% more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean. 

Furthermore, 74% of millennials believe that their organization is more innovative when it has a culture of inclusion.

Lastly, studies found that workplace belonging can lead to an estimated reduction of turnover risk by 50%, and a 75% decrease in employee sick days.

Understanding your company’s current state of DEI is critical, so we have compiled a list of diversity and inclusion survey questions that can help you get started.

💡 Related: Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices to Focus on in 2023

10 Survey Questions About Diversity

Workplace diversity ensures that every employee, with all its uniqueness, is given an equal opportunity to be hired. Individuals with different backgrounds and experiences should consistently be employed at a company regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and religion.

According to research, 57% of employees want to see more diversity in their organization.

So it’s important to understand employees’ perception of workplace diversity and take appropriate actions for improvement, as this is one of the key drivers for a positive employee experience.  

Let’s now take a look at 10 survey questions about workplace diversity: 

1. Do you feel your company has a diverse team?
2. Do you have enough colleagues of similar backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs in the business?
3. Do you feel your company celebrates diverse people and ideas?
4. Would you advise someone of similar background, culture, and gender identity to work in your company?
5. Is diversity a priority area for your company?
6. Does the organization hire individuals from all backgrounds and communities?
7. If you raised a diversity concern, would your bosses take it seriously?
8. Do diverse groups of individuals have their say in policy and decision-making?
9. Does the company’s appraisal and promotion policy support diversity?
10. How can the company improve to become more diverse in the future?

💡 Also, check out our guide for managing a multigenerational workforce!

10 Survey Questions About Equity

While diversity mainly focuses on talent acquisition efforts, equity usually plays a more important role further in the employee journey – engagement and retention. 

Equity focuses on creating a fair and motivating environment in the workplace. It advocates that every employee gets the same level of access and opportunity to grow and develop themselves within their organization. 

Within organizations that practice equity, every employee gets an equal chance to succeed at their jobs. 

Let’s now take a look at 10 survey questions about workplace equity: 

1. On a scale of 0-10, how will you rate the implementation of equity in the company?
2. Do you feel your coworkers show favoritism to other employees?
3. Do you feel your manager shows favoritism to other employees?
4. Do people from all backgrounds in [company] have equal career growth opportunities?
5. Do you feel like you have all you need to achieve your goals at your company?
6. Do you feel that the employees can report situations relating to unfair treatment?
7. Do you understand all the procedures for reporting incidents of workplace bias?
8. Do you think HR and management support the needs of disabled people in your company?
9. Which equity initiative by the company did you like the most? Can you explain the reason behind this?
10. What more can be done to promote equity in the company?

💡 Related: Top 6 Employee Surveys to Implement

10 Survey Questions About Inclusion

Inclusion is one of the biggest drivers of positive employee experience in the workplace, directly impacting motivation and engagement. Inclusive workplaces are great at creating an organizational culture in which employees feel valued, welcomed, respected, and heard. 

Unfortunately, 61% of the employees are still “covering” or “hiding” some personal dimension to get absorbed in their company by not bringing their complete authentic selves to work. 

Inclusive workplaces encourage and appreciate employees’ share of voice and invite everyone to participate and actively contribute to the company’s success. 

Let’s now take a look at 10 survey questions about inclusivity in the workplace: 

1. Do you consider your company inclusive?
2. How would you rate your company’s efforts to promote workplace inclusivity?
3. To what extent are you able to bring your full self to work each day?
4. Have you ever felt left out or excluded from certain activities in the workplace?
5. How comfortably do you share your concerns with your managers or supervisors?
6. To what extent do your personal values align with the values of your organization?
7. Do you feel like you belong to your company?
8. How would you improve inclusivity in your company?
9. Do you feel valued for the unique contribution you can make to our organization?
10. Did this DEI survey feel helpful? If not, what inclusion questions would you like to see next time?

💡 Related: 16 Experts Share Their Favorite Employee Engagement Survey Questions

Employers must follow some best practices since the average response rate to employee surveys is only 30%. 

It is critical that the employee surveys are short, simple, and easy to answer. If surveys are too long, employees will likely not complete them. Previously mentioned research found that the abandon rate for surveys that take more than 7-8 minutes to complete is 20%.

Also, surveys should be relevant and targeted. Not all of your company’s surveys may be relevant to the entire workforce. Therefore, it is critical that you do proper segmentation and targeting. 

Next, managers must act on survey results. If they don’t, employees won’t be motivated to complete them. Unfortunately, only ⅕ employees believe that their manager will act upon survey results. 

The challenge here is that many survey solutions provide only raw data. They don’t provide actionable recommendations for improvement, making it hard for managers to take meaningful actions. 

Last but not least, ensure that your surveys are anonymous, especially about sensitive topics such as diversity and inclusion. Research shows that 71% of employees would be more likely to share their experiences and opinions on diversity and inclusion at work if they could do it anonymously.