The road to hell, it turns out, is paved with pronoun badges and Black History Month flyers. A new report, commissioned by the UK government, has confirmed what many have long suspected – namely, that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) schemes are doing more harm than good.

The Inclusion at Work panel – made up of private- and public-sector experts and advised by a Harvard University professor – was convened by equalities minister and business secretary Kemi Badenoch last year to assess the effectiveness of EDI measures. Their findings, published this week, could hardly be more damning.

According to the report, EDI practices are ‘polarising’, ‘counterproductive’ and in some cases even ‘unlawful’. Apparently, employers are often so desperate to be seen ‘doing the right thing’ that they rush into initiatives that don’t even work on their own terms.

The Inclusion at Work panel cites research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which found that a frightening number of business leaders say they did not do any research before launching their EDI schemes.