29 Diversity Survey Questions for an Inclusive Workplace

2. Inclusion and Belonging Survey Questions

Sample questions

Use a five-point agreement scale, from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree,” plus “Not applicable” where appropriate.

1. I feel that I belong at this organization.

2. My perspectives are considered when my team makes decisions.

3. I can express aspects of my identity at work without negative consequences.

4. I feel included in informal interactions within my team.

5. Optional, open-ended: What is one change that would help you feel more included at work?

These questions focus on inclusion and belonging, not general job satisfaction. You can love your work and still feel left out, even when the break-room snacks are excellent.

Here’s how you can make your questions more useful:

• Ask about specific experiences, such as participation in decisions, rather than relying only on “Our workplace is inclusive.”

• Keep team-level and organization-level questions separate so you know where experiences differ.

• Include one optional open-ended question to uncover experiences that rating scales might miss.

Why & When to Use

Use these questions to understand whether your employees experience acceptance, participation, and respect. Cultural competence assessment survey questions can also help explore how employees experience respect across cultural differences.

Include them in annual diversity and inclusion surveys or shorter pulse surveys after changes to team practices.

Plus, keep wording and response scales consistent so you can track changes over time.

Research validated a 10-item workplace inclusion scale measuring belongingness and uniqueness as distinct components. (journals.sagepub.com) Source

3. Equity and Career Opportunity Survey Questions

Sample questions

Use a five-point agreement scale, from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree,” plus “Not applicable.”

1. I understand the criteria used to make promotion decisions.

2. I have access to the training I need to advance in my role.

3. High-visibility assignments are allocated fairly within my team.

4. I receive useful feedback that supports my career development.

5. Open-ended: What barriers, if any, have limited your access to career opportunities here?

These questions help you explore fair access to career opportunities across promotion, development, feedback, and influential assignments. Your career ladder shouldn’t come with missing instructions.

Here’s how you can make the findings more useful:

• Ask about experiences employees can observe, not decisions made behind closed doors.

• Keep perceived fairness separate from verified differences in organizational outcomes; survey responses alone cannot establish either equal or unequal outcomes.

• Compare responses with relevant promotion and development data, using privacy safeguards to protect individuals and small groups.

Why & When to Use

Use these questions to identify perceived barriers to advancement and uneven access to opportunities.

Survey before you revise promotion criteria, development programs, or talent-review processes.

Plus, repeat selected questions after changes to assess whether employees report better experiences, keeping wording and scales consistent.

4. Respect, Discrimination, and Psychological Safety Survey Questions

Sample questions

1. In the past six months, how often have you experienced disrespectful behavior at work? Use: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, or Very often.

2. In the past six months, have you experienced treatment at work that you believe was related to an aspect of your identity? Include: Yes, No, Unsure, and Prefer not to answer.

3. I can raise concerns about unfair treatment without fear of negative consequences.

4. I know where to report discrimination or harassment.

5. I trust that reported concerns will be handled fairly.

For items 3–5, use a five-point agreement scale plus “Not applicable.”

Your survey needs clear privacy guardrails, not fine-print gymnastics.

• Keep the six-month reference period consistent and use neutral, non-leading wording.

• Separate experiences of inappropriate behavior from confidence in reporting processes.

• State that your survey does not replace formal reporting channels, and explain where employees can report concerns.

• Avoid requesting names or identifiable incident details in comments.

• Explain confidentiality limits, who can access responses, and how sensitive responses will be reviewed and protected.

Why & When to Use

Use these questions to identify patterns of disrespect, perceived discrimination, and barriers to speaking up.

Include them in culture assessments and follow-up surveys after reporting-process improvements, using gender equality survey questions to assess related workplace perceptions.

Plus, treat findings as signals requiring further assessment, not proof about individual incidents.

The EEOC’s 2016 research review found only 6–13% of employees experiencing harassment filed formal complaints, highlighting the importance of surveying reporting barriers (source).

5. Accessibility and Workplace Accommodation Survey Questions

Sample questions

1. I can access the tools and information I need to do my job.

2. Meetings are organized in ways that allow me to participate effectively.

3. I know how to request a workplace accommodation.

4. If you have requested an accommodation, how satisfied were you with the process? Include “Not applicable” and “Prefer not to answer.”

5. What workplace barriers make it harder for you to participate or perform your work? Use an open-ended response.

For items 1–3, use a five-point agreement scale plus “Not applicable.”

Focus on barriers, not diagnoses so you learn what employees need without asking for private medical details.

• Cover physical spaces, digital tools, communication formats, and workplace processes.

• Ask about functional needs, such as accessing documents or participating in meetings, without requiring diagnosis disclosure.

• Keep your survey accessible with clear language and a manageable length. It should not become another obstacle course.

• Provide a separate channel for individual accommodation requests rather than routing them through anonymous feedback.

• Make questions relevant to remote, hybrid, and on-site employees.

Why & When to Use

Use these questions to uncover barriers that representation data alone cannot reveal.

Include them when reviewing policies, meeting practices, facilities, or accommodation processes.

Plus, follow up after accessibility improvements to check whether barriers have decreased.

6. Leadership and DEI Program Effectiveness Survey Questions

Sample questions

1. Leaders explain the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities clearly.

2. My manager takes action when exclusionary behavior occurs.

3. I understand how current inclusion initiatives relate to my work.

4. Employee feedback leads to visible improvements in workplace inclusion.

5. Which inclusion initiative should the organization improve, and why? Use an open-ended response.

For items 1–4, use a five-point agreement scale plus “Not applicable.”

You’ll get more useful feedback when you focus on observable leadership behavior, not whether employees think leaders “care about diversity.”

• Ask what leaders explain, address, or change rather than inviting guesses about their intentions.

• Separate awareness from usefulness and impact. Knowing a program exists does not tell you whether it helps.

• Show program-specific questions only to employees familiar with that initiative, using a screening question to route respondents.

• Treat attendance and awareness as participation measures, not proof of effectiveness. A packed room is not a victory lap.

Why & When to Use

Use these questions to evaluate leadership accountability and employee perceptions of DEI initiatives.

Include them before planning new programs and after employees have had enough exposure to assess existing ones.

Plus, use findings to refine your priorities, not seek approval for decisions you’ve already made.

7. Best Practices for Writing and Running a Diversity Survey

Sample questions

1. What decisions should your survey inform?

2. How will you protect responses and follow up?

Build your survey around clear decisions and trustworthy reporting, not a question buffet.

Dos

• Define the decisions you need to make before choosing questions.

• Use plain language and ask about one idea per question.

• Keep scales consistent within each question type.

• Offer “Prefer not to answer” for sensitive questions and “Not applicable” where relevant.

• Pilot with varied employees to check clarity and accessibility.

• Explain anonymity versus confidentiality, who can access responses, and how you’ll report findings.

• Set reporting thresholds and aggregation rules to protect small groups.

• Stay focused: select relevant questions from earlier categories, not every example.

Don’ts

• Don’t promise anonymity if identities are inferable or responses link to employee records.

• Don’t write leading, loaded, or double-barreled questions.

• Don’t force demographic disclosures or collect unnecessary sensitive information.

• Don’t publish small-group results or identifiable comments.

• Don’t assume low response rates mean employees have no concerns.

• Don’t claim differences prove causation or represent every employee.

• Don’t launch without follow-up ownership and capacity.

Why & When to Use

Use these checks before launch and whenever you revise your survey.

Plus, confirm that your team can protect employee feedback, interpret findings responsibly, and act on what you learn.

8. Turn Diversity Survey Insights Into Measurable Action

Sample questions

1. Which findings point to the most urgent improvements in your employees’ experience?

2. Who will own each action, and how will you measure progress?

Your survey earns its keep when you turn feedback into specific, accountable action. A colorful dashboard is nice, but it cannot clarify a promotion policy.

Interpret and Prioritize Findings

• Review response rates, missing answers, and recurring themes before drawing conclusions.

• Compare group results only when sample sizes support meaningful analysis and privacy safeguards protect respondents.

• Choose two or three priorities based on severity, how many employees are affected, and your organization’s ability to act.

• Validate your interpretations through appropriately protected follow-up conversations or additional data.

Assign Owners and Measure Progress

• Give each priority a specific action, accountable owner, deadline, and success measure.

• If promotion criteria are unclear, assign an owner to clarify and communicate them by a set date. Then use a follow-up survey to measure whether employee understanding improves against your baseline.

• Share aggregate findings, planned actions, and progress updates with employees without exposing individual responses.

Why & When to Use

Use this process after each survey to connect employee feedback with visible improvements.

Plus, remember that effective diversity survey questions are a starting point, not a substitute for sustained improvements in employee experience.

Turning Diversity Survey Insights Into Action

Sample questions

1. Which findings require immediate action versus long-term strategy?

2. Where are the biggest experience gaps between employee groups?

3. Which leaders or teams own each follow-up action?

4. How will progress be measured over time?

5. When will employees receive an update on what changed?

Survey results only matter when you turn them into visible action.

Why & When to Use

This is where the real work starts. The value of diversity survey questions is not in collecting responses, but in what you change after you review them.

Use this section as your bridge from measurement to accountability, trust, and continuous improvement. Here’s the thing, if you ask people to speak up, you need to show them their input did not vanish into a spreadsheet abyss.

Start by focusing on the biggest themes, not every possible fix at once. Plus, choosing 2 to 3 clear actions usually works better than launching a giant plan that nobody can follow.

Keep your follow-up practical and visible:

• Share key results with employees in a clear, honest way.

• Prioritize the issues that most affect employee experience and fairness.

• Assign each action to a specific leader or team.

• Set timelines so people know when progress should happen.

• Define success metrics you can revisit later.

• Use pulse surveys to check whether changes are actually helping.

On top of that, keep employees updated on what changed, what is still in progress, and what comes next. Listening builds trust, but listening without action can damage trust faster than skipping the survey in the first place.