Last reviewed 30 October 2026 against the sources linked in this post.
An ERG lead plans a networking evening and asks whether it can be "for members only". In fiscal year 2025 the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 88,201 new discrimination charges, about the same as the 88,531 of the year before.
DEI training for employees works best when it is practical, open to everyone and built on what the law says. This post gives 15 ready-made courses, in 4 groups, with what each fixes and how to roll them out. Each group ends with an Our pick. The legal points describe US federal rules as the regulator states them, so use this as a syllabus, not a ruling.
All 15 courses at a glance
| Course | What it covers | Length | Federal rule behind it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| National origin, race, language & religion at work (US) | The protected characteristics behind most inclusion work | 40 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Race & colour discrimination at work (US) | What race and colour discrimination looks like day to day | 40 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Religion & belief at work: accommodation (US) | Handling religious accommodation requests fairly | 40 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Speaking up against racist or xenophobic comments | Scripts to respond without escalating | 35 min | No |
| Everyday comments that exclude | Small remarks that push people out | 30 min | No |
| Disability inclusion at work | Culture, accessibility and adjustments | 35 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Neurodiversity at work | Working well with different thinking styles | 35 min | No |
| Age-inclusive teams | Fair treatment across generations | 30 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Inclusive language basics | A shared starting vocabulary | 25 min | No |
| Cultural competency & implicit bias in healthcare | Bias and cultural competency in patient care | 45 min | No |
| Discrimination & equal employment opportunity | The legal baseline for every inclusion initiative | 45 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Legal hiring, interviewing & pay transparency | Lawful interview questions and open pay practices | 45 min | Yes (US federal rules on discrimination; pay transparency varies by state) |
| Preventing retaliation | Never punishing anyone who raises a concern | 40 min | Yes (US federal rule) |
| Code of conduct | Integrity, key policies, grey areas, speaking up | 35 min | No |
| Data classification & handling | Handling sensitive information correctly | 25 min | No |
The federal laws cited here set rules for how you treat people. They do not, on their own, require a DEI course.
Race, origin and religion at work
National origin, race, language & religion at work (US)
This course gives everyone the legal frame first. The EEOC says it is illegal to discriminate against an applicant or employee because of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. On national origin, the EEOC says discrimination includes treating people unfavourably because of ethnicity or accent. DEI leads need this because every programme sits inside these rules. A Pick Answer quiz asks which of five workplace moments involves a protected characteristic.
Race & colour discrimination at work (US)
The EEOC says race discrimination includes treating someone unfavourably because of personal characteristics associated with race, such as hair texture, skin colour or certain facial features. This course makes those examples concrete, from job assignments to remarks in a meeting. DEI leads need it because staff often think discrimination only means a refusal to hire. The interactive moment is a scenario: a manager comments on a colleague's hairstyle. Is it a problem, and who acts?
Religion & belief at work: accommodation (US)
The EEOC says the law requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would cause a burden that is substantial in the overall context of the business. It lists flexible scheduling, voluntary shift swaps and changes to workplace policies as common religious accommodations. This course helps managers handle requests consistently. Poll the room: a colleague asks to swap a Friday shift for prayer. What happens next?
Speaking up against racist or xenophobic comments
Most people freeze when a colleague makes a racist or xenophobic remark. This course gives them short, calm scripts to respond in the moment without starting a row, and shows when to take it to a manager or HR. DEI leads need it because inclusion depends on bystanders, not only policies. In an Open Ended round, learners write the words they would say, then compare phrasing.
Everyday comments that exclude
Inclusion usually succeeds or fails in small moments: "Where are you really from?", a joke about someone's age, a name nobody tries to pronounce. This course makes those everyday comments concrete and shows how to repair one after it slips out. It suits every employee, not only managers. A Word Cloud round asks, "Which comment have you heard at work that made someone feel left out?"
Our pick: Everyday comments that exclude. It is short, practical and free of jargon, so it lands with sceptical teams as well as keen ones.
Disability, neurodiversity and age
Disability inclusion at work
The EEOC says the law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense. This course links that duty to culture and accessibility: accessible meetings, documents and a simple way to ask for an adjustment. DEI leads need it because a good request process prevents most disputes. A Pick Answer quiz asks which of four requests count as an accommodation.
Neurodiversity at work
Neurodiversity is a priority many ERGs champion. This course explains different thinking and working styles, and practical changes that help: clear written briefs, quieter spaces, meeting agendas in advance. DEI leads need it because small changes help whole teams, not only one person. A Rating Scale poll asks how clear people find your team's meeting invites, then the group agrees one change.
Age-inclusive teams
The EEOC says the federal age law forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older, in hiring, promotion, training and other parts of employment. This course covers those decisions and the everyday assumptions about "digital natives" or people "near retirement". DEI leads need it because generational stereotypes slip into team talk easily. The interactive moment is a scenario about choosing who joins a new-technology project.
Our pick: Disability inclusion at work. It turns a legal duty into a simple, repeatable process, and the benefits reach everyone who ever needs an adjustment.
Inclusive language and equal opportunity
Inclusive language basics
This short course gives every colleague the same starting vocabulary: people-first wording, gender-neutral phrasing in shared documents, and how to ask how someone likes to be addressed. It is practical, not a list of banned words. DEI leads need it because shared language removes guesswork for new starters and managers alike. In a Pick Answer round, learners choose the clearer of two sentences from a real job ad.
Cultural competency & implicit bias in healthcare
This 45-minute course adapts cultural competency and implicit bias training to patient-facing settings. Its seven lessons move from key ideas to spotting bias, reducing it in practice and speaking up, then a final assessment. DEI leads in hospitals and clinics need it because bias in patient care can affect treatment. The "What would you do?" lesson works well live: vote on how to respond to a patient case.
Discrimination & equal employment opportunity
This is the legal baseline. Its lessons cover why EEO matters, the laws, spotting discrimination, accommodations and how to report it. DEI leads need it most, because the EEOC says that under Title VII, DEI initiatives, policies or programmes may be unlawful if they involve an employment action motivated, in whole or in part, by race, sex or another protected characteristic. The final assessment doubles as a knowledge check you can report on.
Legal hiring, interviewing & pay transparency
DEI and ERG leads often influence hiring through referrals, panels and outreach. The EEOC lists selection for interviews, including placement or exclusion from a candidate slate, among the areas where DEI-related disparate treatment based on a protected characteristic is prohibited. This course covers lawful interview questions, plus pay transparency rules where they apply. Run a scenario: show five interview questions and ask the room which ones to rephrase. For a deeper hiring syllabus, see our interview training for hiring managers.
Our pick: Discrimination & equal employment opportunity. It gives a DEI programme its legal footing, so every other course here builds on solid ground.
Retaliation, conduct and data
Preventing retaliation
The EEOC says it is unlawful to retaliate against applicants or employees for, among other things, communicating with a manager about discrimination, answering questions during an employer investigation of alleged harassment, or requesting a disability or religious accommodation. Its lessons cover protected activity, what counts as retaliation and a manager module. DEI leads need it because people raise concerns only when it feels safe. Scenario: a team member who complained is left off the next project. What should the manager do?
Code of conduct
This course gives everyone one clear standard on integrity, the key policies, grey areas and speaking up. DEI and ERG leads need it because they handle sponsorships, events and suppliers, and a clear standard keeps those decisions fair. Scenario: a supplier offers to fund an ERG event in return for a speaking slot. Learners vote on what to do, then see the policy answer.
Data classification & handling
Inclusion surveys, demographic data and accommodation requests are sensitive. This 25-minute course teaches people to classify information, know what is allowed and escalate correctly. DEI leads need it because trust collapses if someone's personal details leak. A quick quiz asks where a survey export with names should, and should not, be saved.
Our pick: Preventing retaliation. Every inclusion goal depends on people feeling safe to speak, and this course protects that.
How to roll the plan out
Start with the courses marked Yes in the table, because they carry the legal risk. In fiscal year 2025 the EEOC received 88,201 new discrimination charges, so a short, early session is cheap by comparison.
- Onboarding: Discrimination & EEO, preventing retaliation and the code of conduct.
- Within the first quarter: the race, origin and religion courses, disability inclusion and age-inclusive teams.
- Each year: a refresher quiz on the Yes courses.
- Role-specific depth: legal hiring for anyone on a panel, the healthcare course for patient-facing staff, data handling for anyone who runs surveys.
Keep every course open to all employees. The EEOC says separating workers into groups based on race, sex or another protected characteristic when administering DEI or any trainings can be unlawful, even if the groups receive the same content. That answers the ERG lead's question too: the EEOC says limiting membership of employee resource groups to certain protected groups can be unlawful, so keep ERG events open to everyone. Add your state or country rules where you operate, and ask HR or a lawyer what applies. Managers who lead these sessions may also find our leadership training for supervisors useful.
Ways to run these courses on AhaSlides
You can build any of these as a self-paced course with the AhaSlides course creator, run them as a live Q&A deck, or both, with a pre and post survey to measure what changed.
- Pick Answer: "Which of these four requests counts as a reasonable accommodation?" or "Which interview question would you rephrase?"
- Word Cloud: "Which comment have you heard at work that made someone feel left out?" The biggest words show where to start.
- Rating Scale: before and after the speaking-up course, ask "How confident are you responding to an exclusionary comment?" from 1 to 5.
- Open Ended: collect anonymous questions on accommodation or retaliation, so people ask what they would otherwise keep to themselves. Our anonymous survey guide covers how to keep answers honest.
FAQ
What is DEI training?
It teaches employees to work fairly and respectfully with people of different backgrounds and to follow equal opportunity law. Good programmes are practical, open to everyone and built around real workplace moments.
What topics should DEI training cover?
Equal employment law, bias, inclusive language, accessibility and how to speak up. The 15 courses above add religion, age, neurodiversity, retaliation and data handling.
Is DEI training mandatory?
Rarely on its own. The federal sources cited in this post set rules on discrimination and retaliation but do not require a DEI course. Requirements vary by state and country, so check your own location.
How do you measure DEI training?
Track completion, knowledge-check scores, complaint trends and inclusion survey results. Compare the same Rating Scale question before and after each course to see what moved.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your own workplace, speak to a qualified employment lawyer or the regulator.
