Guide

Annual DEI Report Template

An annual DEI report is read by employees who were there for the year it describes, which is why a report of only good news costs more credibility than it buys. This structure covers what changed, what did not, the numbers behind both, and what the next year is actually committed to.

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Everything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.

What yours needs to cover

✓ A one-page summary an executive or a journalist will read first
✓ Last year’s commitments, each marked done, partly done or not done
✓ The core measures, shown against the previous year rather than in isolation
✓ What did not work, and what is being done differently
✓ Next year’s commitments with owners, measures and a budget
✓ A methodology note covering sources, definitions and reporting thresholds

How to use it

Start from last year’s commitments. A report that quietly drops one is noticed by exactly the people it was for.
Show trends rather than single figures, and keep the definitions stable between years.
Include the measure that went backwards, with the explanation.
Have legal and communications review anything public before publication.
Publish next year’s commitments in the same document, so the next report has something to be measured against.

Annual DEI Report Template FAQs

Should our DEI report be public?

That depends on what you can stand behind and on what your jurisdiction requires. An internal report that is honest is worth more than a public one that is careful, and many organizations publish a subset of an internal report.

How much data should we include?

Enough to support each claim, with the definitions and thresholds stated, and nothing that reduces to a group small enough to identify. The methodology note is what makes the rest of the report credible.

What if the numbers barely moved?

Say so, explain what you learned, and change what you are doing. A report that claims progress the workforce did not experience is the fastest way to lose the audience for every future one.

More DEI templates

DEI Policy Template View → DEI Strategic Plan Template View → Employee DEI Survey Template View → Inclusive Job Description Template View →

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