Why 1 in 4 Employees Still Don’t Feel Safe Speaking Up at Work
Psychological Safety Is the New Inclusion Benchmark: Why 1 in 4 Employees Still Hesitate to Speak Up
When we talk about inclusion in 2025, it’s not just about who's at the table.
It’s about who feels safe to speak once they’re there.
Despite decades of DEI work, new findings from our 2025 DEI Workplace Report reveal a stubborn truth: 1 in 4 employees still doesn’t feel psychologically safe at work.
That’s not a small number. That’s one in every four voices, hesitating.
Withholding.
Watching what they say.
And when people don’t feel safe to speak up? Innovation dies quietly. Retention slips. Culture erodes.
Psychological Safety: The Foundation DEI Can’t Skip
Psychological safety means more than “not being bullied.” It’s the feeling that you can:
Disagree with your manager
Offer a bold idea
Call out bias when you see it, without fear of subtle retaliation, eye-rolls, or being labeled difficult.
It’s the baseline. The air people need to breathe freely at work. And yet, our data shows:
76% of employees say they feel safe expressing opinions
14% aren’t sure
9% openly say they don’t
That uncertainty is where fear festers. And where companies fail to notice, DEI becomes performative instead of protective.
Inclusion Isn’t Real Without Safety
It doesn’t matter how many ERGs you fund, how many DEI statements you post, or how many unconscious bias trainings you roll out.
If your people are silent, your DEI isn’t working.
Employees won’t raise issues if they’ve seen peers punished for speaking up.
They won’t bring up identity-based concerns if leadership dismisses “political” topics.
They won’t innovate if they’re too busy self-censoring.
Real inclusion happens not when diverse people are present, but when they’re heard, respected, and protected when they speak.
So What Can Employers Actually Do?
Here’s what the most inclusive organizations do differently:
Train your managers. Not just on DEI theory, but on how to hold space, give feedback without defensiveness, and actively seek dissenting perspectives.
Audit meeting dynamics. Who’s always speaking? Who stays silent? Who gets interrupted or ignored? Psychological safety often breaks in the smallest moments.
Normalize calling things out. When employees can flag microaggressions or bad calls without fear, your culture shifts from surface-level polite to deeply inclusive.
Use pulse surveys for real-time insight. Don’t wait for annual reports. Check in regularly and make it easy for people to share anonymously.
Make safety part of performance. Tie leadership reviews to team trust, retention, and culture—not just business metrics. Because safety is a performance driver.
Final Thought: Inclusion Isn’t Just a Value—It’s a Vibe
If people flinch before they speak, you don’t have inclusion.
If they edit themselves to stay employed, you don’t have safety.
If they’re silently nodding in meetings while privately disengaged—you have a culture at risk.
In 2025, psychological safety is the litmus test for real DEI.
And too many workplaces are still failing it.
Want the Full Story?
Our 2025 DEI Workplace Report is packed with real employer data, industry insights, and the specific challenges today’s companies are facing—from AI hiring skepticism to persistent discrimination.
📥 Download the full report here
Don’t just talk about DEI.
Learn what it takes to make it stick.
How Diversity.com Supports Employers & Job Seekers
At Diversity.com, we help businesses, organizations, and institutions build diverse, inclusive teams that reflect the world we live in.
We support hiring managers, HR professionals, and job seekers in navigating the evolving DEI landscape, especially in moments like these, when corporate decisions around inclusion are under the spotlight.
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