Equality, diversity and inclusion: how does it affect career opportunities?

Students are often keen to know whether employers’ commitment is genuine or a ‘tick box’ exercise.  One way to do this is to ask employers and their current & former employees. Employers tell us that they take a positive view of people pro-actively getting in touch and raising questions and concerns they may not have thought of can be helpful in them attracting future talent. If an organisation seems to react negatively to this conversation, this could be a sign that it might not be a good fit for you.

You might also want to follow/connect with people who are actively interested in EDI on social media.

You can also check employer websites and social media feeds to find out whether they engage in community events and campaigns or support and promote staff networks for underrepresented groups.

Our Mature Students Careers Q&A video series offers employer insights and advice for any students, including opinions on the advantages of hiring mature students

For disability-friendly employers, please see our disability support pages

The list isn’t exhaustive, but we hope it’s a starting point

Employers may choose to advertise vacancies with diversity-focused websites such as Vercida or Diversity Link or they may be members of diversity focused professional networks such as inclusive companies or Employers network for equality and inclusion (ENEI)

• Ethnic Jobsite
• Where Women Work
• WISE - Women into Science and Engineering
• Rest Less - job site for the over 50s
• The Diversity Dashboard
• Investing in Ethnicity
• Work180 - endorse employers for all women
• The Social Mobility Foundation - supporting young people from all social backgrounds
• Aspiring to include - jobs for the BAME community

For HE;

• Advance HE's Race Equality Charter helps institutions in their work to identify and address the barriers facing Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and students
• The Athena Swan Charter is a framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research.

Some job adverts might say they ‘particularly welcome’ applicants from certain communities that they have traditionally found difficult to attract.

Campaign groups also rank employers on diversity indicators.

• Stonewall 100, and the British LGBT awards  lists employers that are particularly LGBT+ friendly
• ‘Inclusive companies’ publishes an  inclusive top 50 list
• Working Families top 30 identifies employers who are particularly considerate of the needs of parents and carers

It’s worth bearing in mind that lists such as these tend to prioritise large organisations with the resources to engage with them. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and organisations not featured on the lists may still be welcoming and inclusive. 

Find out more about researching employers who share your values.