For lots of people, working for a company that values equality, diversity, and inclusion is a priority. This can be especially true for people who may have faced discrimination in the past, on the grounds of characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, or sexuality.

Working for a diversity-positive employer allows employees to bring their whole selves to work, and know that the company will celebrate them, but they can be hard to find. Not only can it be challenging to understand what a company is truly like before you work there, but it’s also hard to determine the authenticity of diversity claims. 

What is a Diversity-Positive Employer?

A diversity positive employer is an employer who recognises and celebrates the differences between people and understands that a successful workforce is one that represents these differences.  

A diverse company hires staff members from underrepresented groups; this might mean having a significant proportion of women in a male-dominated industry or having a wide range of ages in office from younger inexperienced workers to older workers. 

A diversity positive employer sees the value in hiring from a wide range of groups and putting practices in place to achieve that whether that be to make reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates interviews or seek out talent that may not necessarily apply for the role. 

Ways to Find a Diversity-Positive Employer

Aspiring to Include

Our website, Aspiring to Include, aims to build a diverse network of employers who have all committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You can trust that the employers you see showcased on this site are all taking active steps on their journey towards achieving a diverse workforce. We have created a whole section for employers to learn about protective characteristics, inclusive language, work environment and much more. 

For more diversity-positive employers, have a look at the other sites in our network: Developing a Student, Employing an Apprentice, Refreshing a Career and Careers with Disabilities. These sites are committed to employment for young people, work for older and experienced workers, and employment for disabled people. 

Awards and Accreditations

A great way to know which employers are making progress with diversity and inclusion is to look at awards and accreditations.  

For example, Disability Confident is an accreditation to show employers are committed to supporting the employment of disabled people and so disabled people can use this as a shortcut to find inclusive employers. Some diversity positive accreditations and awards include Stonewall, Inclusive employers, Edge and Social Mobility Employer Index. You can use these sites to find lists of companies who are actively supporting diverse groups through employment. 

Company Culture

A company’s culture and attitude can reveal a lot about their values and how they treat their staff. One way to know whether an employer is diversity-positive is to assess this culture. If you go to an interview and the managers are rude and dismissive of lower-paid staff, or if you find that there is no self-expression and collaboration, then you can tell that they don’t support the ethos of equality in their workplace. Another way to determine a company culture is to have a read of their website. See if you can find an EDI policy or an inclusivity statement that shows they are committed to progression. 

Inclusive Language

A diversity-positive employer is likely to use inclusive language on their job advertisements and application materials. If you want to know whether an employer is inclusive before you apply, look for key phrases that indicate they value diversity. For example, some employers chose to add phrases such as “We particularly welcome applicants from….” To encourage unrepresented groups to apply. 

 For help with talking about diversity at work, visit our guide to raising diversity concerns.