A YouGov poll published earlier this year paints a mixed picture of how the UK public sees diversity efforts in the workplace.

On disability, there’s a clear consensus. More than half of people (51%) think we still haven’t done enough to help disabled people into work. Only 6% think we’ve gone too far. But when it comes to ethnic minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, the public is split.

• For trans people, 30% think efforts have gone too far, 25% say not far enough.
• For LGB people, 24% say too far, 17% say not far enough.
• For ethnic minorities, 25% say too far, 26% say not far enough.

British people from ethnic minority backgrounds see things differently — 50% say we haven’t done enough, just 8% say too far. That gap matters. And when you add in those who say things are “about right”, the picture is clearer still: across ethnicity, LGB and trans groups, only a small minority think diversity has gone too far, a significant share say not far enough, and a large middle ground sit in between — not fiercely opposed, but not yet convinced either.

The danger of leaving the “middle” to drift

It’s tempting to focus on the loudest critics, i.e. the ones who speak out against “woke” or insist diversity is a threat, but we’re unlikely to change their minds. The real opportunity lies with those on the fence, or who think things are “about right” but haven’t looked deeper. However we need to act quickly because public hostility is being increasingly whipped up. People are being led to believe, by the right-wing media, politicians, influencers and others, that pushing back against marginalised groups including immigrants, trans people and ethnic minorities, will somehow mean more jobs, more prosperity, a better way of life. It won’t. It’s a distraction and the right are capitalising on it.

The reality on hate crime

The latest police figures, to March 2024, show hate crimes recorded against trans people in England and Wales fell by 2% compared to the year before to 4,780 incidents (Home Office). On paper, that might look like progress, but when we look at the bigger picture, police-recorded transphobic hate crimes have almost tripled since 2020. Many incidents never make it into the data at all and around 88% of trans people don’t report their most serious hate crime (Stop Hate UK). Frontline services like Galop, a leading LGBTQIA+ anti-abuse charity, say demand for help keeps rising, especially during Pride periods.

It’s not just numbers — the climate of “acceptable” behaviour is shifting. Trans and gender-nonconforming friends of mine tell me they’re being confronted in public more, challenged in toilets or changing rooms, and even physically assaulted or spat at — something The Guardian recently reported after the UK Supreme Court ruling on biological sex. 

Anti-immigration protests and unrest across towns last summer show how easily hostility spills into the streets. For LGB people, the official numbers dipped slightly too, but services report more people reaching out for support. 

Religious hate crimes on the rise

While some categories saw small decreases, religiously motivated hate crimes surged in the same period. The number of recorded religious hate offences rose by 25% in a single year, driven by a doubling of antisemitic incidents (3,282) and a 13% rise in Islamophobic incidents (3,866) (Home Office). 

These increases show how hate spreads — targeting different communities at different times, but always with the same goal: to divide. While this blog focuses on workplace inclusion, the truth is that hostility in public life often bleeds into how people are treated in recruitment, promotion, and day-to-day working relationships.

Why this is personal

I’m a gay man. I’ve worked in diversity and inclusion for years. I believe, and have always believed, that creating a workplace where people can be themselves isn’t just good for business, it’s the right thing to do.

That should be enough of a reason. We shouldn’t have to dress it up in profit margins or “culture fit” to justify treating people with dignity. But when you look at these numbers, it’s clear that human decency alone isn’t winning the argument with everyone. So through action we need to show that inclusion benefits everyone.

How to shift the fence-sitters

If you’re in that undecided middle, or you run a company and aren’t sure whether DEI is still a priority, here’s what actually works:

• Make it practical. Use gender-neutral language in job ads. Offer flexible working. Provide adjustments for disability as standard, not only when asked.
• Measure it. Track your recruitment, promotions, and pay by gender, ethnicity, disability, and other protected characteristics. Share the results.
• Give people a path in. Mentoring schemes, internships, and return-to-work programmes widen the talent pool.
• Equip managers. Train them to spot bias, including the subtle kind and microaggressions that people don’t always notice in themselves.
• Bring it back to values. If fairness is part of your brand or mission, show what that means in practice.

You can also create voluntary spaces for colleagues to share lived experiences, for example through “lunch and learn” sessions. These can be powerful in shifting perspectives on a human level. But they should never be an obligation. The choice to share must rest with the individual, and it’s important not to place the burden of educating others on those already experiencing racism, transphobia or other forms of discrimination.

Why this matters now

Right-wing politicians and commentators want to frame diversity as a zero-sum game i.e. that giving more to one group means taking from another. It’s false. The workplace isn’t a pie with a fixed number of slices. Inclusion makes the whole thing bigger with more skills, more ideas, more innovation, better retention and happier teams.

But beyond the economics, there’s something deeper. We are talking about people who are often in the minority in any room they walk into. Pouring hate on people who already carry more risk, more scrutiny, more barriers is not only wrong — it also corrodes the society we live in.

Where we go from here

If the poll shows us anything, it’s that opinion isn’t fixed. For most groups, there’s still a chunk of the public that says, “not far enough”. There’s still room to grow empathy, to shift understanding, to make workplaces more equal. The question is whether we use that space or let it be filled by those who’d rather divide us.

We can fight back, but not only by arguing with the angriest voices. We do it by modelling inclusion, speaking up when it matters, and making sure equality isn’t just a line in a policy but a lived reality — creating not only better workplaces, but a better country to live in.

Written by Oliver Gilbody, Director of Marketing & Creative