The 2011 Census explored the diversity of our society in much more detail than ever before with questions on age, ethnicity, national identity, passports held and main languages spoken. The information derived from these questions now provides one of the most detailed pictures of the true nature of diversity across the whole of England and Wales and will help organisations, both in the private and public sector, to manage diversity more effectively.
For example, the Civil Service use census data for best practice guidance on monitoring equality and diversity in employment. The Equality Monitoring Guidance can be found on the Civil Service Website:
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Equalities-Monitoring-Guidance-final.pdf
Examples of the impact of census data:
BBC using census data for their diversity monitoring.
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/diversity/pdf/BBC_Equality_Info_accessible_v23.pdf
Workforce planning and diversity monitoring in the NHS.