Inclusion survey questions ask employees whether they are treated fairly, can speak up without penalty, have access to the same opportunities as others, and feel their contributions are valued. Good questions describe specific, observable experiences (“My ideas are considered in team decisions”) rather than abstract feelings (“I feel included”).
Below you will find a bank of inclusion survey questions grouped by dimension, guidance on how to run the survey, and how to turn results into action. For the wider set of numbers to track alongside a survey, see our guide to DEI metrics.
What an inclusion survey should measure
Inclusion is how people experience daily work, so the questions should cover the moments where inclusion is won or lost: meetings, decisions, feedback, assignments, and how conflict and mistakes are handled. A well-known public example is the US Office of Personnel Management’s New Inclusion Quotient (New IQ) index in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which groups inclusion into five habits: fair, open, cooperative, supportive, and empowering, based on the idea that individual behaviors repeated over time create inclusive habits (FEVS summary, PBGC). The question bank below uses a similar structure.
Inclusion survey questions by dimension
Use a five-point agreement scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) for each item.
| Dimension | Sample questions | What a low score suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Fairness | Promotions here go to the people who earn them. My manager applies the same standards to everyone on the team. I am paid fairly compared with others doing similar work. | Distrust of talent processes or uneven manager standards |
| Voice | I can raise a concern without worrying about negative consequences. My ideas are considered when my team makes decisions. People here can disagree openly with senior leaders. | Low psychological safety; decisions made by a small group |
| Belonging | I can be myself at work. People on my team care about me as a person. I feel like part of this team, not an outsider. | Isolation, cliques, or pressure to conform |
| Opportunity | I have the same access to stretch assignments as my peers. Someone senior here supports my development. I understand what it takes to advance. | Uneven access to sponsors and visible work |
| Respect | I am treated with respect by the people I work with. When someone is treated poorly here, it is addressed. My background and perspective are valued. | Tolerated incivility or unaddressed behavior |
| Follow-through | When leaders commit to inclusion actions, they follow through. Concerns raised in past surveys were acted on. | Survey fatigue and loss of trust in leadership |
Add one or two open-ended questions, such as “What is one thing that would make this a place where everyone can do their best work?” and “Describe a moment in the last month when you felt your contribution was or was not valued.”
How to run an inclusion survey well
- Decide what you will do with the results before you ask. Commit to sharing results and to a small number of actions.
- Keep it short. Fifteen to twenty-five items is usually enough for an inclusion module.
- Protect anonymity. Set a minimum group size for any report (commonly a handful of respondents or more) and say so in the invitation.
- Collect demographics carefully. Results matter most when you can compare experiences across groups, but participation should be voluntary and data handled according to your legal requirements.
- Report by team and manager. Inclusion is shaped locally. Company averages often hide teams with very different experiences.
- Repeat the same core items. Trends are more useful than a single snapshot.
Turning survey results into action
The fastest way to lose trust is to ask people about their experience and then do nothing visible. A simple cycle works:
- Share headline results within a few weeks, including the uncomfortable ones.
- Ask each team to pick one or two items to improve and agree on specific actions with owners and dates.
- Check progress in regular team meetings, not only at the next survey.
- Report back on what changed before the next survey goes out.
At DorWay we see organizations as Networks of Agreements™. Many low inclusion scores trace back to agreements that were never made explicit: how decisions get made, who gets heard in meetings, how assignments are handed out. Making those team agreements specific is often more effective than awareness campaigns. When leaders commit to inclusion actions and then keep or openly renegotiate those commitments, the follow-through items on the survey improve too. That is the practical meaning of integrity in leadership.
Inclusion surveys versus employee satisfaction surveys
A satisfaction survey asks how content people are with pay, benefits, conditions, and the job overall. An inclusion survey asks whether people are treated fairly and can contribute fully. The two overlap, but a workforce can report high average satisfaction while specific groups report low fairness and voice. Running inclusion items as a module inside your regular engagement survey keeps survey load down and lets you compare results across both.
FAQ
What are good inclusion survey questions?
Good questions describe specific experiences: “I can raise a concern without negative consequences,” “My manager applies the same standards to everyone,” and “I have the same access to stretch assignments as my peers.” Avoid vague items like “I feel included.”
How many questions should an inclusion survey have?
Fifteen to twenty-five scaled items plus one or two open-ended questions is enough for most organizations. Shorter surveys get higher completion and more thoughtful comments.
How do you measure inclusion in the workplace?
Combine survey items on fairness, voice, belonging, and opportunity with process data such as promotion rates, access to development, and turnover by group. Track both over time and by team.
Should inclusion surveys be anonymous?
Yes. People answer more honestly when they trust that individual responses cannot be identified. Use minimum reporting group sizes and explain how data will be handled.