The Association for Talent Development’s latest report finds that 73 percent of organizations offer diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) education to their employees.
(Alexandria, VA), October 24, 2023—While more than 70 percent of organizations offer DEI&B education to their employees, this represents a slight decline (5 percentage points) from the number of DEI&B programs offered in 2021, according to a new Association for Talent Development research report, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Education.
Of the organizations that offered DEI&B education, 94 percent of respondents said leaders were very or somewhat supportive of their DEI&B education and 92 percent said leaders were very or somewhat supportive of their recruiting strategies, according to the report. When senior leaders support DEI&B education, it’s more likely to receive a formal budget.
Ninety-five percent of organizations provided education on organizational DEI&B policies and procedures. Of organizations that offered education on this topic, 20 percent said they did it well, 62 percent said they were doing OK but had room for improvement, and 18 percent said they struggled with educating employees on this topic.
Nearly three in four organizations use self-paced e-learning for DEI&B education, and 43 percent of organizations have employees do additional readings or use additional study materials after they participate in DEI&B education.
“DEI&B education should be a journey, not a one-stop destination,” the report said. “Organizations should use a variety of activities in DEI&B education and give participants assignments so they can continue learning even after the formal program is over.”
ATD recommends continuing to make improvements to DEI&B education, getting buy-in from senior leaders, and offering DEI&B education using different modalities (in-person, e-learning, and so forth).
Other key findings include:
- Less than half of organizations had a dedicated DEI&B function; however, when organizations had been offering DEI&B education for five or more years, 61 percent had a dedicated DEI&B function.
- Forty percent of organizations provided a dedicated DEI&B education budget; however, when they had been offering education for five or more years, 52 percent had a budget.
- The most common challenge organizations faced when implementing DEI&B education was that staff were not interested or didn’t want to take time to participate.
The research surveyed 1,048 talent development professionals and focused on how organizations were providing education opportunities, DEI&B budgets, the challenges associated with offering DEI&B programs, and the differences between organizations that had DEI&B programs and those that did not.
A free webinar on the report will take place November 21 at 2 p.m.
About ATD
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Established in 1943, the association was known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).
ATD’s members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports talent development professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led US chapters, international member networks, and with international strategic partners.
For more information, visit td.org.