By: Sarika Saini
For years, organisations have approached diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) largely as a programme. There are awareness sessions, employee resource groups, representation targets and, of course, important days marked on the calendar. All of these have a role to play – but on their own, they do little to change how an organisation actually makes decisions.
Equity starts becoming meaningful when it is part of the systems that decide who gets hired or heard or promoted, which ideas get backed and who gets access to opportunities. To put it simply, DEI has to move from something an organisation does to something it is designed to do.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that 83% of surveyed employers have implemented DEI measures, up from 67% in 2023. More importantly, the report identifies access to diverse talent pools among the five most impactful strategies for increasing talent availability.
This matters now more than ever since organisations are already competing for scarce skills. Diversity cannot just be viewed through the lens of representation – but it is all the more connected to the question of whether organisations can access, develop and retain the talent they need.
Beyond the labels
DEI conversations are still framed around gender and ethnicity – when the reality is far more layered. This requires organisations to broaden their understanding of diversity.
Today's workplace is shaped by generation, socio-economic background, disability, neurodiversity, geography, language, experience and, importantly, different ways of thinking. Even within the same demographic group, people's circumstances and perspectives can be very different.
The 2026 Disability Index, a report that draws on submissions from 421 organisations across 45 countries, found that there has been strong progress on employee support through benefits, workplace flexibility and adjustments with 98% organisations offering flexible or remote working accommodations for employees with disabilities; and 97% providing long-term disability income protection. However, the index exposed “significant gaps” in corporate governance and accountability where very few organisations have embedded disability inclusion into the structures that guide strategic decision-making.
What this means is organisations need to stop looking at DEI as a checklist of protected categories and start thinking of it as a design question. While the question may not have a single global answer, there should be consistency in how decisions are made.
A multinational organisation, for instance, can have a common philosophy on equity without trying to implement it in exactly the same way everywhere. What works for one geography, workforce or cultural context may not work in another. The goal, therefore, should be consistency in principles, not uniformity in execution.
Where the real work happens
That distinction between representation and participation is important here.
An organisation can have diverse hiring numbers and still have an inequitable workplace if opportunities for progression, visibility and decision-making remain concentrated among a narrow group. This is why DEI has to travel through the entire employee lifecycle – right from recruitment and onboarding to performance reviews, promotions, succession planning and leadership development.
Some of this work is not really complicated. Having structured interview processes, making promotion criteria clearer rather than leaving them to informal assumptions, and using calibration sessions where managers are required to explain decisions based on evidence are some examples.
The bigger challenge is consistency. A 2025 study published in Scientific Reports, based on research involving more than 28,000 employees across 120 companies, found that employees who perceived their organisation's evaluation processes as more structured reported higher levels of belonging. The study also found that structured evaluation processes strengthened perceptions of procedural justice and an organisation's genuine commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
This makes belonging more than a cultural conversation – and can be an indicator of how an organisation is using the talent it already has. And this is where leadership accountability becomes important.
Most importantly, DEI is seen as something associated only with HR. There is no doubt about the fact that HR can build the frameworks, bring data and challenge assumptions – but the employee experience is ultimately shaped by the system, business leaders and the decisions they make every day.
Beyond intent
The front-facing parts of DEI such as employee resource groups, mentoring programmes and workplace observances can create community and give employees a sense of belonging. But these efforts have a very different impact when the underlying system is fair.
It is quite clear that the next phase of DEI is not just about creating more initiatives – but the focus should be on designing better organisations.
Several studies on human sustainability have highlighted a persistent gap between how leaders perceive the employee experience and how employees actually experience the workplace. Closing that gap is going to be one of the key tests for organisations in the coming years.
The shift from initiative to practice – is the only version of DEI that will actually hold up over time.
