This increased to over a fifth ( 23%) for people of an ethnic minority background and 24% for individuals who identified as gender-non-binary.

The inaugural Kantar Inclusion Index surveyed 18,000 people in 14 countries and 24 industries through Kantar’s Profiles network (formerly Lightspeed). It also found that the majority of employees ( 80%) have either observed or experienced discrimination, but only one in three of these people felt that they could escalate the issue to their company’s HR department.

Additionally, around one third of employees in the survey ( 35% of women and 37% of men) said they feel consistently anxious at work, and this increased to 40% of people who identified as gender-neutral.

Individuals identifying as LGBTQ+ face greater difficulties, with more than half saying they suffer from consistent high stress and anxiety and mental health problems at work and 24% stating they have been bullied in the workplace.

The study also ranked countries and industries for inclusion. Canada was the most inclusive country in the index due to good gender representation at senior levels and the majority of Canadians ( 65%) feeling that their companies are actively trying to be more diverse, inclusive and supportive.

Meanwhile, the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry was found to be the most progressive sector studied.

Mandy Rico, global director of Kantar’s Inclusion Index, said: “If you are serious about inclusion and diversity in your business, you need to get serious about measuring it. Our findings illustrate that a significant amount of work remains to be done to make workplaces more inclusive, diverse and equal, especially around the subject of bullying which persists at high levels around the world.”