Naomi Croft
Conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have entered a critical moment. There is mounting evidence of pushback, exemplified by removals of DEI policies in the USA, and glimpses of similar attitudes filtering into some circles in the UK. Corporations such as Meta, Amazon and Walmart are just some of the names to have recently backtracked on DEI commitments. Our own research with the general public suggests unfamiliarity with the terminology of DEI; in our March 2025 poll, only 24% said they had heard of the term.
Last week we attended an event – the MRS Equality Summit 2025 – that re-energised our thinking around DEI, and from which we wanted to share our key takeaways. The event was attended by representatives from across the market research sector, charities (including Diabetes UK and The Royal Society) and businesses. The event served as a reminder of the importance of ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion informs our research.
Exploring different audiences in research is crucial to better serving diverse communities. For example, our research with multi-ethnic audiences (nfpPublic Minority Ethnic*) can help charities to understand the role they can play in supporting different ethnic communities and also the huge – and often understated – role these communities can play in supporting charities.
"Super-serving" communities
An idea that stuck with us from the opening panel discussion came from Lydia Amoah, author of The Black Pound Report**. Amoah emphasised the need to “super-serve” multi-ethnic communities who are traditionally underrepresented in research. Amoah framed this as a strategic priority for organisations and - particularly within the current context - as an opportunity for us to stand up and do better for multi-ethnic communities.
Research into these audiences is one of the ways we can begin to ensure that we are “super-serving” this audience. It goes without saying that multi-ethnic communities in the UK are not one monolith. To truly understand these communities, we need to research them separately to a nationally representative sample; without this we miss out on grasping the nuances of different ethnic communities in the UK. This is why we conduct our nfpPublic Minority Ethnic research.
From a charity’s perspective this is not only an opportunity to give voice to diverse audiences, build trust and connection, and understand their needs, but also presents an opportunity for growth. As Amoah describes in the report, these communities are “untapped markets”; to ignore them is to risk missing out on important insight and opportunities, whatever sector you are working in.
It is also important to bear in mind that attempts to connect with this audience must be authentic. An obvious route to connecting with audiences authentically is understanding them deeply. Insight from research is crucial for this.
Progress over perfection
Another recurring theme at the Equality Summit was the attitude of progress not perfection. Part and parcel of navigating the intricate issues surrounding DEI is the potential for mistakes to be made, or slow progress rather than quick wins. But these outcomes are both significantly better than no effort at all. Too many missed opportunities can come from being scared to get something wrong. Lack of confidence leads to inaction.
An understanding that not everyone will get it right every time was a hopeful link across the different talks. There was a strong sense that embracing potential setbacks, rather than avoiding action out of fear of them, is key to driving meaningful change. There is no need to be fearful of diverse audiences, but there is a need to be fearful of doing nothing to facilitate deeper integration.
Diverse audiences are here to stay
Diverse audiences are not going anywhere, and are only going to become more important. Investing into understanding them now is crucial in the long term. Opportunity was another key takeaway from the Equality Summit. It’s fair to say that while there have been missed opportunities, we all (particularly in the charity sector) have an opportunity to drive the inclusion agenda to embed inclusivity and create more meaningful connection to multi-ethnic communities in the UK. It is also important to recognise that there are a number of other communities who are underrepresented in research, and we also need to continually strive to do better for them.
As an action point after the Equality Summit, we are considering how to improve our research into multi-ethnic communities in the UK and their engagement with charities. We would welcome the opportunity to hear from you about your own knowledge gaps when it comes to understanding multi-ethnic communities. If you want to chat, or if you would like to find out more about our annual research with multi-ethnic audiences in the UK, please get in touch with Naomi at naomi.croft@nfpresearch.com.
*We based the name for this tracking monitor on quantitative data from this research in 2023 about preferred terminology. We are committed to consistently reviewing the language we use and have opted for the terminology of multi-ethnic communities in this blog to reflect the language used at the Summit.
**This report is a study exploring the spending power of multi-ethnic audiences. Black Pound Report — BACKLIGHT