News · October 2023

How VR training can boost DEI efforts in your organisation

Diversity, equity and inclusion has become a priority for many organisations, and VR training is one of the tools helping them get there, by placing employees inside a scenario where they can learn and reinforce skills through practice.

An inclusion scenario for practising supportive conversation.

The importance of DEI training

DEI training earns its keep beyond ethics: organisations that invest in it often see higher employee satisfaction, retention and overall business performance, and inclusion and belonging help attract and retain diverse talent.

But traditional DEI training methods have limits and may not create lasting change. Built into an existing program, VR gives people another way to practise the content.

The limits of traditional DEI training

Boring online modules, or worse, humiliating roleplays: a starting point, but one that struggles to engage learners in active practice.

A facilitator talks through a flow diagram and sticky notes on a whiteboard. — **A one-time event.** Lectures and seminars are often a one-time event employees may not retain.

Feedback cards sorted on a table after a review round. — **The forgetting curve.** Research shows people forget up to 50% of what they learn within an hour, and, according to the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, 70% within 24 hours if it is not reinforced.

An employee sits across a meeting table, seen through the headset.

How VR can enhance DEI training programs

One key advantage of VR in DEI training is its replayability. With VR, users can revisit scenarios and practise responding to different situations repeatedly, reinforcing learning and improving retention.

A study by PwC found VR-based training more effective at promoting emotional engagement and long-term retention than traditional methods. VR can help employees understand unconscious biases, simulate diverse team dynamics, and practise respectful communication.

Key considerations when implementing VR

PTR's own experience shows VR training for DEI is best delivered with wrap-around sessions.

A headset-wearing supervisor gives feedback to a colleague on a warehouse floor. — **Wrap-around sessions.** A structured discussion helps people talk through their experience in a psychologically safe environment.

A team leader checks in with a colleague. — **Face-to-face or remote.** Face-to-face sessions build community; remote sessions are more convenient, at some cost to interaction.

A participant using a wheelchair wears a headset in a plant-filled room. — **Choosing a headset.** The right headset fits the organisation's existing technology, software and hardware.

Update, August 2026

This article was first published in October 2023. Since then, PTR's DEI-focused VR titles have grown into the PTR VR Library, part of the wider XR overview.

The AI roleplay practice now lets people rehearse these difficult conversations.

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