Almost two-thirds of UK workers who have taken part in diversity training say they have had to “conceal what they really think” for fear of losing their job, according to a new survey from British think tank, the Free Speech Union (FSI).
800 UK workers were surveyed for the study, all of whom had participated in some form of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Climate (EDIC) training with either a current or former employer.
The representative survey of British workers said that ECIC training has become “endemic” in UK workplaces, with 65 per cent of employers saying they had undergone some form of diversity training by either a present or former employer.
The survey from the advocacy group found that the training was “particularly unpopular” among minorities and members of the LGBT community, with 62 per cent of workers surveyed saying they had to conceal what they “really think about the training they’ve received,” including 22 per cent who “have been compelled to say things that they don’t really believe.”
FSI said this rose to 31 per cent among Black and Asian respondents.
Forty-five per cent of workers surveyed also reported that the training they’d received “conflicted with their personal, religious or political views,” with 31% saying they had left a job because of their employer’s promotion of woke ideology.
This figure was higher among minority groups – 43% for Black employees, 46% for Asian and 46% for LGBT. Moreover, 36 per cent of respondents said they had witnessed staff being penalised in some way by their current employer because they had challenged the training, including 12 per cent who said they had witnessed staff being sacked for doing so.
The author of the report, Thomas Harris, Director of Data and Impact at FSI, said there was “no evidence” that the current approach is making Britain’s offices more welcoming, friendlier places to work, while claiming plenty of evidence proves that such training is turning workplaces into hostile environments, particularly for minorities and “those who do not subscribe to woke ideology.”
“We knew already from our casework that EDI training has been suppressing free speech in the workplace, but even we were shocked to discover the extent of the self-censorship going on – 62 per cent of the employees who go on the training have had to conceal what they really think,” Mr Harris said.
“Authoritarian EDI training has become a fiscal drag on the bottom lines of British business. While millions of pounds continue to be spent on these courses, our research demonstrates that the most ambitious employees are leaving companies because of it and, ironically, the training conflicts most with the values held by the minority groups it purports to benefit.”
The survey comes as UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch claimed last month that diversity and inclusion initiatives have been shown to be “ineffective and counterproductive,” following an Independent Inclusion at Work Panel which gathered views from employers on diversity and inclusion policies and practises in Britain.
In February, Gript reported on how mandatory diversity, gender and unconscious bias training had been introduced for staff in the Irish Defence Forces, with a training document seen by this publication.
A source within the Defence Forces told Gript that there are numerous people unhappy with the decision to make the training compulsory, and that all members have been told they will have to participate in a quiz at the end of the training programme, which they must pass.
In documents seen by Gript, members are told that unconscious bias “is natural and we all have it,” “is unintended” and “can be addressed.”
Prior to that, in January, it emerged that financial institution PTSB, which emerged from the merger of Irish Permanent and TSB Bank, had introduced a mandatory DEI training module for staff, instructing them to “know your privilege,” and informing staff that those who are white have inherent advantages over those who are not.