Geopolitics - Leading in polarising times What’s next for ED&I?

We have all seen the recent sensationalised headlines, claiming prominent organisations such as Amazon and Meta are pushing back on diversity initiatives. A reaction, some might say to the executive order that U.S. President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office, ordering a dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programmes. President Trump believes these programmes are discriminatory and has insisted on restoring merit-based hiring. While changes may take months or even years to implement, President Trump’s new anti-ED&I agenda seems to be more aggressive than in his previous term.

The geopolitical landscape is yet again playing a part in organisational decision making about ED&I and yet, for those of us working closely in this space, could we have predicted this backlash? The world changed on 25 May 2020, mere months after the global pandemic; George Floyd's death changed everything. The world finally woke up to a racial justice movement and, according to LinkedIn, the number of postings for chief diversity officers grew by 84 percent that year. ED&I was accelerated by an outraged emotional outpouring, and this was the catalyst that was most needed for change.

There were huge upsides to this emotion; it enabled action, investment and care in organisations; and it allowed the world to see difference, perhaps for the first time. It led to people whose lived experience had previously been repressed and misunderstood, to be able to have a voice. However, this emotional outpouring naturally led to blame, and with that shame arising from those on whom this was placed. It sparked conversations in heightened states of emotion –inflammatory language and actions based on passion became common place, and most crucially, some people were left out of the discussion altogether, leaving some people behind.

The big question on my mind is whether the current geopolitical landscape will be a similar catalyst for change? In the same way that George Floyd’s death was the catalyst for an outpouring of feeling and emotion, is this now an opportunity for businesses to reinforce their view, to amplify the commercial benefit, for a balancing, or a commercial reckoning? We have seen large organisations like Apple and Microsoft publicly reaffirm they have no intention of changing course and EY reiterating the critical role of ED&I in productivity and attracting talent.

The need for more inclusive workplaces for all is undeniable. A report by The Young Foundation in 2024 revealed that almost three quarters (72 per cent) of professionals with two or more marginalised characteristics have experienced ‘discriminatory or exclusionary’ behaviour in the workplace since the start of 2019. This figure jumped to 86 per cent among professionals who have three or more marginalised characteristics, defined by their gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, a disability or neurodivergence, or having a lower-socioeconomic background. Research by MHFA England revealed 1 in 3 employees (31%) have experienced at least one form of microaggression or discriminatory behaviour from their manager in the past six months.?

But anti-DEI rhetoric and backlash have sunk support for ED&I to a low, and LGBTQIA+ colleagues in particular are suffering backlash and specific hate crime targeting. The challenges have not gone away. Across business, there is still substantial under representation across all diverse strands and visibly for women and ethnic minority groups. It’s hard to get in and get on in the workplace if you come from a deprived background or have an accent, and it’s even more difficult if you have a disability that hasn’t been enabled through the many routes of accessibility open to business. The more senior the role, the less the representation, and the less inclusive an organisation, the bigger the leaky bucket.

I do continue to believe that ED&I is a critical business driver. The complexity of our challenges continues to deepen and the world has changed; the predictability of progress is more difficult to control. Human nature when we face this lack of control, and this level of complexity is to become self-reliant, but we cannot navigate this amount of change and complexity on our own. It’s exactly the time to invite more diversity into the conversation; as we cannot be informed by one culture or one community; it’s a complicated time and we must work together. It’s only new thinking that will create innovation; that will create better solutions for clients and for business - and its only inclusion that can enable all those different voices in the room. The UK government’s growth agenda means that businesses must play their part in enabling growth for all, not just the privileged few. In January, the World Economic Forum had its annual meeting, 'Collaboration for the Intelligent Age'. The Annual Meeting 2025 convenes global leaders to address key global challenges such as geopolitical shocks, stimulating growth to improve living standards and stewarding an inclusive energy transition. Two words dominated the World Economic Forum; collaboration and innovation, and it is my belief that ED&I enables both.

So, ED&I is still critical, but does it require course correction and is this the catalyst to enable that to happen? In 1968, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, civil rights struggles, the assassination of Martin Luther King and widespread protests, Richard Nixon emerged as a symbol of stability for a weary nation and for a weary majority. Nixon saw an opportunity in turmoil and by appealing to the anxieties of a divided nation, he appealed to what he called the “silent majority” of Americans who were disillusioned with the protests, the violence and the countercultural movements of the 1960s. The speed of change was too much; the movements had alienated the majority.

If we look back at ED&I’s recent history, mistakes have been made. At times, it has felt disconnected from the rest of the business, and at others it has been more divisive than inclusive, with some ERGs alienating people. There are many organisations doing great work, but still in silos. We now have an opportunity to adapt to the new sociopolitical climate, review our impact and reassess our commercial value, ensuring everyone is aligned and involved. We need to innovate and, to do that, we must collaborate and move away from practices that have outlived their value. We must look inwards and act outwards to ensure our collective responsibility for collaboration creates meaningful and lasting impact.

So how should we address this? A recent Harvard business review by Lily Zheng What Comes After DEI, ?called on businesses to look at what is and isn’t working for them - the ‘how’ is often trickier than the ‘why’. For the ‘how’, I would like to focus on Accountability, Advocacy and Acceptance.

Accountability can only be achieved (like any goal) through robust data collection and measures. Ask yourself; is your ED&I strategy central to your business strategy and is it being governed by your board? Is it clear how it’s enabling growth? For example, do you truly understand the diverse needs of your customers, and if not, how will you build long-term relationships and provide solutions to their problems? Is it backed by clear data and who and how are people being held accountable for its delivery? ED&I, like any business priority, is about being clear on the why and measuring the impact of the how. Using data will help to drive system change. People’s experiences differ regarding pay, promotion, work allocation, development opportunities and feedback, and only data can tell you this.

Advocacy is about progression and retention of talent; the extent to which the flexibility of your culture and talent systems enables all talent to feel valued. The extent to which deliberate coaching, mentoring and sponsorship support areas of your talent that your data is telling you are not progressing as quickly. Advocacy is about trust and trust is about long-term behaviour and small interventions. Storytelling, inclusive meeting habits and socials, and digital inclusion are some examples of effective actions to shift behaviour.

Acceptance enables all talent, including diverse talent, to feel included, encouraging their involvement, amplifying their voices and recognising unique contributions in decision making, communication and policy and process. If we engage everyone in the workplace as part of the solution, the solutions for one group often result in better solutions for all. For example, designing and improving an orientation process based on feedback from a minority group doesn’t just help cultural integration, it allows and enables a better orientation process for all. Improving parental leave creates more equitable care giving, flexible working and parental leave for all, ensuring all genders benefit. Creating little lifecycle interventions can create impact at scale – improving policies, hiring, promotion and feedback processes all contribute to this.

In these polarising times, acceptance is also an organisation’s ability to create release valves for difficult conversations and provide a structured space for employees to have difficult conversations. Behaviours such as open-mindedness, compassion, curiosity, humility and empathy in relation to differing beliefs are the very behaviors that enable us to collaborate with one another despite our differences. (What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times Timothy Clark)

In conclusion, as we continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities that ED&I bring, collaboration and innovation will be key. The language with which we talk about inclusion may need to evolve and we may need to be clear that this agenda is much more than a feeling; it’s an important commercial driver. It’s logic and feeling and it’s about embedding outcomes and impact to enable business growth and commercial benefit, as much as it is different groups building trust and feeling heard. If we can blend these two approaches, we can minimise the polarisation and the backlash, and work together for the positive benefits this can create for all.

I am hosting a call on 7 February at 11am for ED&I professionals to discuss geopolitics and ED&I further; if you would like to join, please send me a note on LinkedIn and I will add you to the call.