Why DEI Feels Hard Right Now

Many UK organisations want to “do the right thing” on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, but the reality on the ground can feel messy. You may recognise some of these scenarios:

• Leadership is worried about a backlash or being accused of being “too political”.
• Budgets are squeezed and DEI roles or projects are under threat.
• Hybrid working has created new divides between office and remote employees.
• There’s appetite to focus on things like neurodiversity or socio-economic background, but nobody knows where to start.
• Stakeholders are asking for evidence and transparency you don’t yet have.

The good news: each of these challenges can be tackled with the help of an honest, carefully run DEI survey.

Challenge 1: DEI Backlash and “Woke Fatigue”

Some leaders are nervous about talking openly about DEI in 2025. They’ve seen media noise and heard pushback, both internally and externally. Sometimes that leads to a quiet slowdown of DEI activity: “We’ll keep our heads down for now.”

A DEI survey changes the conversation. Instead of debating abstract concepts, you’re asking real people about their everyday experience at work:

• “Do you feel you belong here?”
• “Do you think people like you are treated fairly in recruitment and promotion?”
• “Have you witnessed or experienced discrimination at work?”

When the results come back, DEI is no longer an ideological topic. It’s about how your colleagues feel, where they struggle, and what they need. That makes it much easier to get buy-in from sceptical leaders – because you can say, “Here’s what our own employees are telling us.”

Challenge 2: Budget Cuts and Doing More with Less

Economic uncertainty has forced many UK organisations to tighten budgets. Unfortunately, DEI initiatives are often the first to be reduced or paused – especially if their impact is hard to quantify.

A DEI survey helps you focus limited resources by showing clearly where the biggest gaps are. For example, you might learn that:

• Women in early-career roles feel they have fewer development opportunities than men.
• Disabled employees report inconsistent workplace adjustments between teams.
• Ethnic minority colleagues are less likely to see a long-term future with the organisation.

Instead of spreading budget across a dozen generic initiatives, you can invest in a small number of targeted interventions that respond directly to what your people have said. That not only increases impact – it also makes it easier to show a return on your DEI spend.

Challenge 3: Hybrid Working and the Inclusion Gap

Hybrid working has been brilliant for flexibility, but it has also created new inclusion challenges. Some remote employees feel invisible or overlooked. Some office-based staff feel resentful or worry they’re being micromanaged. Managers are still learning how to lead teams they rarely see in person.

A DEI survey can ask very specific questions about hybrid work, such as:

• “Do you feel you have equal access to progression opportunities regardless of where you work?”
• “Do you feel included in decisions and informal conversations?”
• “Does your manager support flexible working in practice, not just in policy?”

By comparing responses from remote, hybrid and office-based colleagues, you can spot where inclusion is breaking down. That might lead to changes in how meetings are run, how promotions are assessed, or how managers are trained to lead distributed teams.

Challenge 4: Expanding DEI to Neurodiversity and Socio-economic Background

UK organisations are increasingly talking about neurodiversity (e.g. ADHD, autism, dyslexia) and socio-economic background (e.g. growing up on free school meals, being first in family to go to university). These factors shape people’s experience of work, but they’re often missing from traditional DEI approaches.

A DEI survey is a safe starting point. With the right wording and anonymity, you can invite employees to share:

• Whether they identify as neurodivergent, and whether they feel supported.
• Whether they feel their socio-economic background has impacted their career progression.
• What types of adjustments or support would make the biggest difference.

You don’t need to have all the answers before you ask the questions. The survey will highlight where demand and need are highest, so you can co-create solutions with the people most affected.

Challenge 5: Demand for DEI Transparency and Accountability

Regulators, investors, clients and employees are all asking for more visibility over DEI data. We already have mandatory gender pay gap reporting in the UK, and there is growing pressure for ethnicity and disability data too. Many organisations are also publishing their own voluntary DEI reports.

Running a regular DEI survey gives you:

• A baseline view of how inclusive your organisation feels today.
• Numbers you can track year-on-year to show progress (or identify where you’re stuck).
• Evidence to support statements you make in annual reports, ESG disclosures or pitch documents.

Instead of scrambling to assemble DEI information when it’s requested, you’ll have a structured, repeatable process for collecting it.

Why the Right DEI Survey Platform Matters

To get honest, useful results, you need a platform that employees trust and that makes analysis easy for your team. The Divrsity DEI Survey platform is designed specifically for this purpose.

Divrsity helps UK organisations:

• Run anonymous, GDPR-compliant DEI surveys that feel safe for employees.
• Use UK-appropriate language and question sets that reflect current DEI topics.
• Analyse results in minutes rather than weeks, with clear dashboards and demographic breakdowns.
• Generate practical action ideas so you’re not left staring at charts wondering what to do next.

That means you can move quickly from “we know there’s a problem” to “here’s how we’re fixing it.”

From Challenges to Opportunities

None of these DEI challenges are easy. But they are manageable when you:

1. Listen to your people through a structured DEI survey.
2. Share what you’ve heard – even if it’s uncomfortable.
3. Take a few visible, meaningful actions based on the data.
4. Repeat the survey to track progress and keep the conversation going.

In other words, your DEI survey becomes the backbone of your DEI strategy. It keeps you honest, focused and accountable.

If you’re ready to turn your DEI challenges into opportunities, start by asking your people what’s really going on. A thoughtful DEI survey, powered by a dedicated platform like Divrsity, is one of the most effective, affordable ways to do exactly that.