Top 60 diversity and inclusion questions to ask employees

The words diversity and inclusion — which often appear together in the shortened form of D&I — are more than just buzzwords. They’re part of a series of policies and programs that help foster an equitable culture in the workplace, ensuring that companies respect the unique perspectives and needs of all their employees.

Through diversity and inclusion initiatives, organizations can cultivate a deep sense of trust and commitment from their team members, leading to better performance and higher employee satisfaction.

In this article, we cover why diversity and inclusion is important in the workplace, what types of diversity and inclusion questions to ask in your surveys, and how to create a D&I survey of your own.

The importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Diversity and inclusion questions are essential for understanding the experiences of employees across all backgrounds. These questions help organizations identify gaps in equity, inclusion, and representation, while also revealing opportunities to create a more supportive and inclusive culture. By collecting feedback through these questions, companies can:

• Foster a sense of belonging among all employees
• Promote fair access to opportunities and resources
• Address and prevent discrimination or exclusion
• Strengthen team collaboration and innovation
• Enhance employee engagement, retention, and performance

These insights are key to building an organization where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to thrive.

Different types of diversity and inclusion surveys

There are different types of D&I surveys that can help your organization make better diversity and inclusion decisions in the future. These include

• Diversity surveys: These surveys help the organization evaluate the diversity of their workforce and determine which groups are currently represented at each level of the organization.
• Inclusion and belonging surveys: These surveys enable the organization to understand employees’ perceptions of belonging and inclusion within the company and whether employees feel all groups are well represented at a decision-making level.
• Mentorship and advocacy surveys: This type of survey shows organizations whether employees have support and guidance within and outside the company and whether they feel these programs are valuable to each of them as individuals and as part of a group.
• Partner and vendor diversity surveys: Hiring diverse employees is only a small part of a diversity and inclusion initiative. Partner and vendor diversity surveys help organizations determine whether they’re working with other organizations that are diverse and that support D&I as well.
• Live polls: While most surveys are anonymous and geared toward individuals, these surveys are meant for groups to complete in public, such as at a town hall meeting, with the results displayed live. These surveys can be used to get immediate feedback from an audience during a presentation or panel discussion.

Diversity and inclusion questions to ask employees

What types of questions should your organization be asking? It depends on the key performance indicators you want to track, the diversity and inclusion goals you want to achieve, and how mature your organization’s diversity and inclusion programs are. Here are some options.

Belonging survey questions

Belonging questions assess whether employees feel connected and accepted within the organization.

1. Do you feel a strong sense of belonging at our organization?
2. Are you comfortable being your authentic self at work?
3. Do colleagues actively include you in workplace activities?
4. Do you feel your personal achievements are recognized?
5. How often do you feel isolated or excluded at work?
6. Do you feel a sense of community among your team members?
7. Does your team celebrate personal and professional milestones?
8. Are there trusted individuals you can turn to for support at work?
9. Do you feel emotionally and socially connected at work?
10. Do you believe your unique identity is respected and embraced here?

Inclusion survey questions

Inclusion questions evaluate how well different voices and perspectives are valued and incorporated into organizational practices.

1. Does your manager encourage diverse perspectives in team meetings?
2. Are company policies inclusive of all identities and backgrounds?
3. Do you believe all employees have equal access to growth opportunities?
4. Do you feel your ideas and opinions are valued?
5. Does leadership demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity?
6. Are team members encouraged to challenge the status quo respectfully?
7. Do you feel your cultural background is respected and understood?
8. Is feedback from diverse employees used to improve processes?
9. Are inclusion efforts consistent across departments?
10. Do leaders model inclusive behaviors in day-to-day work?

Diversity survey questions

Diversity questions help understand the extent of representation across various identities within the organization.

1. How diverse do you perceive our organization to be?
2. Does our workforce represent diverse backgrounds effectively?
3. Are opportunities for leadership roles equally accessible to all groups?
4. Do you think recruitment practices support a diverse candidate pool?
5. Are diverse perspectives regularly represented in decision-making?
6. Does the company invest in hiring from underrepresented communities?
7. Are employee resource groups (ERGs) available and active?
8. Are there visible role models from diverse backgrounds in leadership?
9. Is there diversity across different departments and job levels?
10. Are diversity metrics regularly reviewed and shared transparently?

Equity survey questions

Equity questions explore whether employees perceive fairness and equal opportunities in the workplace.

1. Do you believe our organization’s policies promote fairness and equity?
2. Have you observed biased or discriminatory behaviors at work?
3. Does everyone have equal access to training and professional development?
4. Are pay and promotions based on fair and transparent criteria?
5. Do you feel empowered to address inequities within the organization?
6. Are accommodations provided equitably to those who need them?
7. Is there a clear process to report and address inequities?
8. Do you believe your performance is evaluated without bias?
9. Are workloads distributed fairly across the team?
10. Do policies address both visible and invisible aspects of identity (e.g., race, disability, neurodiversity)?

Diversity and inclusion questions for all employees

These questions provide insights into overall experiences and attitudes toward diversity and inclusion initiatives.

1. Do you feel your perspective is well represented at the company?
2. Does the organization celebrate ideas and perspectives from diverse groups of people?
3. Do you feel safe discussing diversity and inclusion initiatives at the organization?
4. Does the organization prioritize diversity but not inclusion?
5. Does the organization discuss diversity and inclusion programs with all employees?
6. How have diversity and inclusion programs impacted your performance on a personal level?
7. Does the organization educate employees about diversity and inclusion?
8. How have diversity and inclusion initiatives changed your day-to-day outlook at work?
9. How can the company improve its diversity and inclusion practices?
10. What do you like about the company’s diversity and inclusion programs?

Diversity and inclusion questions for leadership and executive team members

These questions help evaluate leadership’s role and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

1. How diverse is your executive team?
2. Do you have a program to hire candidates from under-represented groups?
3. Have the company’s diversity and inclusion programs changed how you lead your team?
4. What barriers do you think the organization faces when it comes to diversity and inclusion programs?
5. Do your employees ever bring up diversity and inclusion discussions with you?
6. What are the consequences of not taking diversity and inclusion programs seriously within an organization?
7. How advanced is the organization when it comes to diversity and inclusion?
8. What do you do to foster a culture of inclusion with your team?
9. How have diversity and inclusion initiatives impacted your leadership style?
10. What do you like most about the company’s diversity and inclusion programs?

Diversity and inclusion survey best practices

When writing your organization’s diversity and inclusion surveys, be sure to consider these best practices for the best results.

• Keep it interesting. Use a combination of closed-ended and open-ended question formats.
• Don’t force it. Make diversity and inclusion surveys optional so employees can choose what information they want to provide.
• Provide safety. Keep diversity and inclusion surveys anonymous, giving employees more freedom to be honest without fear of negative repercussions.
• Be transparent. Make employees aware of what your reasons are for conducting these surveys, what KPIs you’re measuring, and how you’ll use their answers.
• Say thanks. Let employees know you value their feedback and that you hope to use their insights to make positive changes within the workplace.
• Act on feedback. Surveys are moot if the organization doesn’t make changes based on the results. Be sure to have a plan in place to take action.

Jotform: The best way to create diversity and inclusion question surveys

Ready to develop your own diversity and inclusion questions? If your organization is gearing up to do a D&I survey, consider using Jotform to create and administer it. Jotform offers a number of human resources survey templates you can use as a jumping-off point, in addition to surveys specifically about workplace diversity.

Each Jotform template is fully customizable, so it’s easy for your organization to change the text fields, structure, background, colors, and more. The end result is a survey that meets your specific needs and gives you better insight into the D&I efforts at your organization. You can automatically collect, organize, and analyze all survey data in Jotform Tables.

Says Brandenstein, “This feedback can be used to improve the employee experience and will benefit everyone — current and future employees, as well as management and owners — as happy and comfortable employees are the most productive.”