At Elevate, people are integral to all that we do. Because of this, we highly value diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and believe that they have an essential role in creating a productive and positive work environment.
That’s why, since 2013, we’ve been conducting research into our own DE&I. The survey itself is designed to help us understand how employees feel about DE&I and highlight any areas that need improvement. This blog shares the key results from our 2023 DE&I report and what we’ve learned from them.
The survey was completed by staff across our international offices (excluding France), covering both our field teams and permanent headquarters staff. While results varied by region, we were able to identify overall trends and where stronger policies might be needed. Some questions were new this year, allowing us to benchmark against broader industry data. For most questions, we also compared our results with last year’s survey.
At Elevate, these surveys aren’t just PR exercises, they’re tools to guide meaningful change, validate effective policies, and highlight ongoing challenges.
Workforce Ethnicity
A strong focus on improving the representation of people from different ethnic backgrounds has been successful. Diversity within our workforce has improved; The number of Black employees, increased from 10% to 12.5% in recent years, including a 23% increase in the UK and US regions. We have also employed more Middle Eastern/South Asian and East Asian people, with an average increase of 2.5% across offices from each market.
This means there’s been an 8% increase overall in the representation of people of colour within the company, which is a good step in the right direction.
We created a bespoke Elevate Purpose training course which features a module on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion including an introduction to DE&I, understanding allyship, psychological safety and empathetic communication. We also have a dedicated DE&I committee which anyone is welcome to join.
We believe having people from diverse backgrounds, sharing their ideas and cultures allows us to see things from different perspectives and ultimately better serve both our staff and clients.
Gender Diversity
At Elevate we recognize the importance of promoting gender diversity and creating an inclusive workplace. Currently, the number of board members has remained consistent at 64% male and 36% female.
Despite not meeting the FTSE target this year, we are committed to advancing gender diversity across all levels of our organization.
In the UK and US, people who identify as transgender accounted for 0.7% of the respondents which is consistent with the WFA Census results. Across our field teams, however, the number of women employed increased by 8% compared to 2022 which is a positive sign in levelling out the playing field.
The overall increase in women in HQ was only 1.5% Therefore, we remain committed to achieving greater gender balance at the top levels of the organization and throughout.
Living with a Disability
We recognize that the number of people who identify as having a disability is growing. In 2022, 5% of our total staff identified as having a disability; by 2023, that number increased to 8%. The US and UK markets saw the largest increase in disability representation, rising from 5% of total field staff in 2022 to 10% today. One of our company targets was to have at least 5% of employees and event staff that have declared having a disability by 2027, a target that has already been exceeded.
We’ve implemented various resources to ensure employees with disabilities have equal access and participate fully in the workplace. We have partnered with Spill so that all internal staff have accessible therapy, as well as private medical insurance. Elevate also has a fantastic team of specially appointed Mental Health First Aiders to support and guide employees if they need it.
Value, Respect and Working at Elevate
This area of the survey relates to our core values and how they’re embraced throughout the business. Results show that 91% of those asked feel respected and valued by their managers – an 8% increase from last year.
When it comes to celebrating diversity and ideas – 43% of respondents weren’t sure about whether Elevate does this and 48% of those feel we do. To make sure we’re always celebrating diversity, we have a Global Social Committee which ensures various awareness days and cultural events are acknowledged. For example, for Black History Month in the UK last year, employees used the monthly Breakfast Club to host a session that helped people understand Conscious and Unconscious Bias. We’re committed to making voices heard and giving everyone an opportunity to contribute to the success of the business.
Why DE&I matters more than ever
This year’s survey has been an eye-opening step forward, and we’re proud of our progress. We remain focused on the areas needing improvement and are dedicated to addressing them meaningfully.
As a company, Elevate is committed to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion at every level, and we encourage other organizations to do the same. We know this work is ongoing and are in it for the long haul. We look forward to sharing our continued progress and lessons learned.
To explore more detailed findings, you can read the full report here.
