Diversity and Inclusion_Are NI businesses taking more action than GB_

Diversity and
Inclusion in the
workplace
Are NI businesses taking more action than
GB?
savanta.com
Make Be tte r D e cisions
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Are NI businesses taking more action than GB?
Are NI businesses taking
actions to guarantee
Diversity and Inclusion?
Savanta recently asked businesses in Northern
Ireland whether they had taken any specific actions
on Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace.
The same research had been carried out with GB
business and Savanta was keen to understand any
differences between them.
Savanta has used one of its surveys to better understand if NI businesses have
taken more action to guarantee Diversity and Inclusions than GB businesses
savanta.com
MarketVue Business Banking from Savanta: A continuous survey of 15,000
financial decision makers in UK businesses and over 10 years of historical data
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Are NI businesses taking more action than GB?
We asked NI businesses if they had:
- Developed a formal Diversity and Inclusion policy
- Conducted Diversity and Inclusion training for all
staff
30%
Almost one-third of NI businesses confirmed they
had actioned some form of Diversity and Inclusion
measure.
savanta.com
3

Are NI businesses taking more action than GB?
Action undertaken to tackle
Diversity and Inclusion
within the workplace is low
Almost a third of businesses in both NI and GB say they have
undertaken action to guarantee diversity and inclusion in the
workplace, but that does leave over two-thirds who have taken
no action at all.
Northern Ireland businesses are most likely to have developed a
formal Diversity and Inclusion policy (22%) as we saw for GB
businesses (24%), just at a lower level. Less than 1 in 5 (18%) of
NI businesses have Conducted Diversity and Inclusion training
for all staff compared to 22% for GB.
Actions taken to guarantee diversity within the business
30% 32%
Conducted Diversity and Inclusion
training for all staff
Developed a formal Diversity and
Inclusion policy
18
22
22
24
NI
GB
N I
GB
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
savanta.com
MVBB: Q3 2023 (SU EST £0-1bn GB and NI). Base: All excluding DK
MVBB: Q3 2023 (SU EST £0-1bn GB and NI). Base: All excluding DK
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Are NI businesses taking more action than GB?
Business profiles have an
impact on D&I action in
Northern Ireland
Proportion of businesses that have taken D&I action
34% 35%
22%
19%
NI
GB
Female and mixed gender business owners (35%) and
those aged up to 44yrs (45%) have taken greater action
over D&I policies and staff training.
Limited companies
Self-employed/sole trader
A third of limited companies in NI (34%) have taken action
to guarantee diversity and inclusion in the workplace
whereas action amongst self-employed/sole trader
businesses is much lower (22%). This is aligned with what
we saw for businesses in GB.
35 % 45 %
Owners aged
35 % 45 %
up to 44yrs
Owners aged
Female / Mixed
Gender ownership
Female /
Roughly equal
ownership
up to 44yrs
savanta.com
MVBB: Q3 2023 (SU EST £0-1bn GB and NI). Base: All excluding DK
MVBB: Q3 2023 (SU EST £0-1bn GB and NI). Base: All excluding DK
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In summary
Although the number of actions undertaken to develop
formal Diversity and Inclusion policies and conduct
training for all staff within businesses in Northern Ireland
is quite low, there are positive signs of uptake.
Female or mixed gender ownership businesses, younger
profile businesses and those of limited status appear
more likely to have taken actions on the matter.
More effort and involvement are required to drive these
important actions forward and to reach other business
types in Northern Ireland.
savanta.com
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Diversity and Inclusion, how well are businesses progressing?
Savanta’s MarketVue
Business Banking
Based on a continuous survey of 15,000 financial decision
makers in UK businesses and 10 years of historical data,
MarketVue Business Banking is a highly reliable and detailed
monitor of how banks are perceived by business customers.
It is designed as a complete market overview covering market
share, trends, brand health and customer experience to inform
business strategy and provide tactical feedback for action
planning. Interviewing is conducted continuously among a UK
representative sample from start-ups, SMEs up to major
corporates throughout the year and data/insight is delivered to
clients on a quarterly basis.
Savanta is a fast-growing data, market research and advisory
company. With five global offices and 500+ staff, we inform and
inspire our clients through powerful data, empowering
technology and high-impact consulting. All designed to help our
clients make better decisions and achieve faster progress.
Savanta offers clients a full range of intelligence services,
including:
Data collection and analysis – access to consumer, business,
wealth & youth respondents globally through a proprietary
technology platform
Research and Insight – tailored solutions built using specialists
from Savanta’s Industry and Methodology Practices
Proprietary tech & products – instantly access digital
intelligence about markets, brands and customers. It’s our own
technology. And it’s fast and flexible.
savanta.com
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Team
Stephen Palmer
EVP, Financial Services
Stephen has 25 years’ research experience across
financial services and tech and leads the financial
services team at Savanta. Prior to Savanta, Stephen was
Head of Insight at Kantar Financial Services &
Technology and responsible for delivering customer
experience, brand and segmentation research. Stephen
is a certified member of the MRS and has sat on the
standards board.
stephen.palmer@savanta.com
Ben MacGregor
Director, Client Services
Rosaria Vitale
Associate Director, Financial Services
Rosaria has more than 9 years’ research experience.
She has previously worked at Motif, now part of Savanta,
and at the FRS (Financial Research Survey), building her
experience and knowledge in continuous financial
surveys. She joined the MarketVue Business Banking
team in October 2023.
rosaria.vitale@savanta.com
Shweta Bharati
Senior Executive, Financial Services
Shweta joined Savanta with 8 years of experience
working in Market Research across all industry sectors.
She previously worked for Dynata’s India Operation;
mainly specialising in quantitative projects. She has a
BSc (Hons) degree from Patna University in
Biotechnology and a Masters in Business Management
from JRE College of Institutions.
shweta.bharati@savanta.com
savanta.com
Ben has spent the last 25 years working in financial
services, providing targeted support to some of the
most recognisable global brands across banking,
insurance, payments, wealth, and investment banking.
Recently that has included support across the ESG
journey – from strategies to reach Net Zero to corporate
reputation work. Ben moved to Savanta at the end of
2021 to support the growth of the financial services
business.
ben.macgregor@savanta.com
Philippa Whitham
Senior Director, Financial Services
Philippa has more than 20 years’ research experience
gained agency side and has worked in the MarketVue
Business Banking team since 2014. Philippa has
considerable experience in managing large, complex
continuous research programmes, with particular
expertise in customer satisfaction.
philippa,whitham@savanta.com
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etter.decisions@savanta.com
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