The world of DEI as we know it is going through what the French philosopher Gaston Bachalard might call an ‘epistemological break’. That is, we are witnessing a radical shift in how we think and do diversity and inclusion at work. The current approach is being questioned (attacked) by the far-right spanning North America and Europe.
This attack presents a set of strategic and operational challenges for colleagues – not just for colleagues working in DEI, but for a far wider set of stakeholders – HR and L&D professionals, and more critically, business leaders.
Alongside the political pressure to inform organisational approaches to DEI, wider society is also experiencing a significant rise in identity politics resulting in a growing polarisation of communities. In the UK, the recent outpouring of hyper-nationalism – as represented by the eruption of flag-flying and spray-painting the St. George’s Cross on public infrastructure, particularly roundabouts – is an example of such community tension.
On the surface this looks like a spontaneous outpouring of community frustration on UK immigration. In truth, this is a well-organised movement called ‘Operation Raise the Colours’, whose leaders are well-known members of Britain First and associates of the English Defence League.
Furthermore, the recent ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers that the terms “women” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer exclusively to biological sex has – regardless of our views on the merits of the ruling – facilitated what was already growing transphobia in broader society and the UK workplace. The case of Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife is an interesting example.
These examples sit against a backdrop of a much wider DEI backlash inside and outside of corporate spaces. In a 2025 interview with Joe Rogan, Mark Zuckerberg suggested that the corporate world needed more masculine energy and that corporate cultures that celebrate aggression should be encouraged. Zuckerberg’s comments echo the sentiments of the former Google engineer James Damore, who accused the tech company of operating within a gender-based, ‘ideological eco-chamber’.
These examples illustrate a collapse of a coherent DEI narrative and strategic policy agenda, replaced by in-group conflicts – ironically, often among and between the most marginalised and discriminated groups.
The outcomes of these actions and policy decisions is a breakdown of community relations within wider society, which is beginning to threaten cohesion within organisational and corporate spaces.
If organisations and corporations do not develop policies and strategies to actively promote community building and corporate cohesion, the likelihood of a rise of workplace conflict, intergroup hate, disrespect and discrimination will increase. The impact on team engagement and business performance should not be underplayed.
Paradoxically, rather than being designed to bring groups together – to promote a sense of unity, togetherness and cohesion – many organisational policies and structures are designed to silo diverse communities.
For instance, classic employee resource group (ERG) structures encourage independent and in-group thinking, over a holistic view of common areas of interests. This tension is not easily resolved, and while we need to promote what the late feminist thinker Bell Hooks calls ‘Alliance Politics’, this should not come at the expense of the need to have independent spaces for groups that experience ‘independent’ forms of exclusion and discrimination. Homophobia, racism, sexism and disable-ism all manifest in different and unique ways.
Therefore, what is needed is not the replacement of one set of strategic objectives with another, but rather a layered approach – an ‘addition to’ approach. The current approach consists of a classic D&I model (underpin by Equity):
Diversity
Inclusion (and belonging)
This missing link in the current approach to DEI is that of corporate cohesion. This is the biggest strategic challenge facing Western businesses since the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
This is a critical watershed moment that will define any success or failures for years to come. While it is now widely recognised that the response to George Floyd was largely performative in nature, what is needed today is an approach grounded in intent, with a focus on long-term policy impact. This is an approach driven by an outcome-based mindset, over an input-based series of dead-end actions.
Therefore, the strategic focus of corporate cohesion is one of actively bringing different groups together for the purpose of fostering perspective-taking, respect, belonging and fair opportunities. The operational actions include promoting inter-group connectivity through workplace policies, structures and work distribution that facilitates teaming and meaningful human connectivity.
To make this happen, we need to look at this layering up approach through a change-management lens. The McKinsey 7S Model provides a tool through which we can analyse our current approach and ask a set of strategic questions that support the development of a new approach.
This model focuses on seven elements of any organisation: Structure, Strategy, Skills, Staff, Style, Systems, and Shared values. As stressed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman Jr, the original developers of this model, the seven elements should be viewed as interconnected, as a change in one area requires change in the rest.
Critically, the model focuses on the importance of culture and people within any change process, as well as factors such as structure and strategy. This places human-centred change and human-centred leadership at its core. Applying this framework helps as we adapt an approach towards corporate cohesion. There are several key considerations and questions under each of the seven elements.
Strategy is a planned, intentional set of actions designed to meet a wider vision and set of goals. A solid strategy is one that is clearly articulated, is long-term in nature, and helps an organisation to achieve competitive advantage.
Critical questions include:
Structure represents the way diverse groups can freely connect with each other for the purpose of fostering inter-group relationships. It’s how people and ERGs are organised and set up. Structure includes representatives of diverse communities, as well as lines of accountability between diverse groups and wider power communities, such as business leaders and other critical stakeholders.
Critical questions include:
Systems, supported by policies and resources, are the decision-making processes and procedures that determine fair and equal outcomes for diverse populations. An examination of systems reveals possible biases in everyday thinking, behaviours and decisions.
Critical questions include:
Critical questions include:
This element is concerned with the types of people we have to lead on the change process.
Critical questions include:
Style represents the way leaders and other senior stakeholders manage a business.
Critical questions include:
Shared values sit at the core of the 7S model. It is the foundation – the glue that holds everything together. Shared values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and decisions inform a vision of what can be within the corporate space. Articulating shared values sets the standards and norms of what should be.
Critical questions include:
These concepts are what I would consider to be ‘work in progress’. They are developing as the world outside reshapes existing norms and ways of operating. While these efforts continue to develop, one thing is clear: if we as DEI professionals do not come together to foster community building within our corporate spaces, the rise of identity politics will take hold, with profound and long-lasting consequences.
Dan Robetson is MD of FAIRER Consulting, the global inclusion company.
As organisations evolve and navigate this complex landscape, the need for a meaningful, human-centred approach is more important than ever. Our inclusive leadership programme is designed to equip leaders with the competence and confidence to lead with empathy, collaboration and perspective-taking.
Alongside this, our cultural-change strategy programme helps organisations embed effective DEI practices into everyday decision-making, systems and processes for long-term change.
Alternatively, for a personalised conversation about your organisation’s specific needs, get in touch to book a complimentary one-to-one call with one of our consultants.