Employees facing discrimination turn to Google

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (D,E&I) has become a priority for businesses in recent years. In fact, it has been found that Google searches for the term ‘gender pronouns in the workplace’ have risen by 500% in the last three years. Evidently, HR topics are in the mainstream.

Of course, a Google search doesn’t necessarily translate to people getting the information they need, and there is still plenty of work to be done to create a workplace free of bias.

With this in mind, the searches of Google users reveal both the challenges employers are facing and where the future trends in D,E&I are.

D,E&I queries

Searches that saw an increase in the last three years include, ‘bullying, harassment and discrimination at work’ (62.5%), ‘disability discrimination at work’ (51.25%), ‘racial discrimination at work’ (40.3%), and ‘age discrimination at work’ (30.6%).

Concerningly, these searches are mirrored in Employee Tribunal Data. WorkNest, an employment law and HR advisory firm, found that almost half of Employment Tribunal Claims it received between January 2019 and December 2021 included an element of discrimination.

Looking deeper into this statistic, WorkNest found that it had seen a 17.9% increase in disability-related discrimination claims, a 52% surge in sex-related discrimination claims, and a 27.3% rise in discrimination claims.

On the back of this, it is clear that searches and complaints are correlating as more people are concerned about being discriminated against.

Darren Hockley, managing director at DeltaNet International, discussed the findings of these studies: “The data reveals that discriminatory issues continue to rise in the workplace; business leaders and HR teams are responsible for tackling these issues to provide a safe and welcoming working environment for all employees to thrive in.

“Creating a diverse and inclusive culture starts with education to change behaviors and reduce discrimination.”

Making a change

Undoubtedly, these statistics reflect a working climate that has a greater emphasis on HR. Employees increasingly want to know their rights, and employers know they need to adapt.

However, ridding a workplace of bias is not easy. While blatant acts of bias need to be acted upon by management, there are also unconscious moves that lead to bias within an organization (a search that rose by 58% in the last three years).

When considering candidates, anonymizing CVs and even using more universal language in the job description can diversify your talent pool.

Once a candidate is selected, it is important to make it clear that their voice matters and that after reporting an issue there is a feedback loop.

Debbie Forster, CEO and co-founder of the TTC (Tech Talent Charter), offered sage advice for businesses trying to overcome bias and discrimination: “Sit down with a group of people from that underrepresented community and ask, ‘Where are we getting it wrong? What were the barriers? What are the processes? Then start to come up with things that could change.”

Discussing issues that employees see may feel like a scary step but is undoubtedly better than leaving employees to search Google for a resolution.