Call It What You Want — Ten Steps to Repositioning DEI in 2026

DEI is having an identity crisis (much like I have this year)

Across the UK, US, and beyond, organisations are “pausing,” “reframing,” or quietly dissolving their focus on DEI completely. Headlines declare that DEI is dead (still not sure what that means, given that the world is more diverse than ever before). Leaders whisper that inclusion has become too political, too complex, too woke.

I’m not convinced! DEI isn’t dying — it’s evolving. And 2026 will separate the organisations that perform inclusion from those that embed it.

I’ve spent nearly two decades leading cultural transformation across global organisations, and one thing I have seen time and time again is surface-level DEI collapses under pressure; systemic inclusion withstands it.

I don’t think we need to save DEI; we need to reposition it. Rename it, Reframing it. Rebuilding it.

Will it be called DEI - Probably not!

Will we still need to ensure the workplace is a fair, collaborative and representative place for everyone to thrive? - Absolutely

The companies that will win in the next decade are the ones that understand that inclusion is not a sentiment… it is a strategy.

I’ve been thinking, speaking to leaders, working with HR to work out what we need to do differently next year! 

Here are the 10 things The Inclusive Foundations Programme will advise on and embed in high-growth businesses in 2026. All grounded in my lived experience, global practice, and the Inclusive Foundations Programme philosophy of embedding inclusion into systems, not side-projects.

1. Stop Treating Inclusion as a Side Hustle — Make It Core Infrastructure

Many organisations still treat Inclusion as something “extra,” managed by one overstretched individual, or a team trying to solve it all. That model doesn’t work. Not in 2026. Not ever.

In the UK, FTSE 250 firms with embedded Inclusion strategies (where Inclusion is integrated into performance, governance, leadership capability, and customer experience) have shown higher colleague trust scores and lower attrition. In the US, companies like Microsoft and Salesforce treat inclusion as an operating principle, not an initiative and the cultural stability shows.

If Inclusion doesn’t sit within your organisational architecture, it will not survive complexity.

2. Reframe Inclusion as Risk, Reputation, and Revenue, Not Just Representation

Inclusion is often framed purely as fairness or compliance, but in 2026, leaders must understand it as:

• Risk mitigation (talent, regulatory, reputational)
• Brand resilience
• Cultural performance
• Market relevance

When organisations deprioritise Inclusion, they don’t simply hurt representation; they increase exposure. Talent shortages rise. Customer trust declines. Innovation stagnates.

The cost of exclusion is always higher than the cost of inclusion. Always.

3. Rebuild Trust — Because DEI Lost Some in 2024–2025

Let’s be honest: poorly executed inclusion efforts created fatigue and frustration.

Employees have seen performative statements, Black squares, Rainbow flags, overly broad training, and initiatives with no longevity. Trust eroded.

2026 is the year to rebuild trust through clarity, transparency, and accountability.

Show people what Inclusion is, what it is not, and how it tangibly improves their work experience.

In my own work with executive teams, once trust is rebuilt, the appetite for inclusion accelerates.

4. Centre Inclusion on Outcomes, Not Activities

Inclusion has historically been measured by activity. Events, Panels, Campaigns, and how many workshops, events, and heritage months are celebrated.

But the organisations leading globally are shifting to systems-based outcomes:

• Reduced pay inequality
• Inclusive leadership capability
• Team psychological safety
• Representation at decision-making levels
• Customer inclusion and accessibility

Activities do not equal progress. Outcomes do.

5. Equip Leaders, Don’t Just Educate Them

Leaders don’t need more theory. They need capability, practical steps and actions.

They need:

• Frameworks for inclusive decision-making
• Tools for handling tension and cultural friction
• Language for navigating complexity
• Confidence to lead across differences

In the IFP, this is our philosophy: Inclusion becomes sustainable only when leaders know what to do, not just what to say.

6. Bring Socioeconomic Inclusion to the Forefront

Both the UK and the US are finally recognising what many of us have known: social class is one of the most entrenched barriers to equity.

My own journey from cashier at 16 to Partner and Global Head is living proof that class mobility is possible… but it is neither fair nor equal.

Inclusion in 2026 must include:

• Pay inequality reviews
• Early careers access pathways
• Social mobility reporting
• Removing prestige bias in leadership, hiring, promotion, and client strategy 

If class is ignored, inclusion will always be incomplete.

7. Address Intersectionality With Sophistication, Not Slogans

People do not exist in single facets. And neither do inequities.

Black women. Disabled LGBTQ+ employees. Working-class white boys. Neurodivergent leaders.

Intersectionality determines experience. Leadership determines response.

The US is ahead in intersectional policy, but the UK is catching up. Organisations must now design for multiple identities simultaneously.

8. Move Inclusion Beyond HR — Into Strategy, Brand, Governance, and Clients

In 2026, Inclusion cannot sit solely within HR.

The organisations leading the way integrate it into:

• Client engagement and product development
• Brand and reputation strategy
• Leadership capability and Board governance
• Business strategy and ESG commitments
• Risk and compliance frameworks

When Inclusion sits across the system, cultural transformation becomes inevitable.

9. Communicate With Honesty, Not Perfection

Employees don’t want glossy Inclusion statements. They want reality.

They want leaders who say: "We’re learning." "We don’t have all the answers." "We know where we’ve fallen short." "Here’s what we’re doing next."

Courageous communication builds credibility. And credibility builds belonging.

10. Build Cultures Where Belonging Is a Result, Not a Target

You cannot make people belong. You can only create the conditions where belonging can grow.

It is the output of:

• Psychological safety
• Representation
• Inclusive systems
• Leadership behaviour
• Fairness and trust

My own 20-year corporate career taught me this deeply. I stayed because I belonged — not because they told me to, but because the system proved it.

Belonging is not a KPI. It is a cultural outcome.

Here's my thing....

Inclusion is not disappearing. It is maturing. Much like we are...It is shifting from performative acts to systemic architecture. From sentiment to strategy. From statements to structures.

2026 will not be the year Inclusion ends, it will be the year Inclusion grows up.

The question is: Will your organisation grow with it?

And for leaders reading this, you have a choice to make:

• Do you want to be remembered as the leader who retreated?
• Or the leader who reimagined what inclusion could become?

The future belongs to those who embed inclusion, not those who observe it.

To be inclusive is to lead inclusively in everyday actions, behaviours and strategies..

Next year, The Inclusive Foundations Programme will be calling your bluff, asking the hard questions and helping businesses embed Inclusion directly into their systems.

Let’s build it, courageously, intelligently, and systemically.

I hope you found this article enlightening and valuable.

Hannah A