From Awareness to Action: Making Inclusion Stick
- Randall Sellar
- Oct 27
- 3 min read
The State of DEI in 2025
Over the last few years, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has become a defining priority for organizations around the world. It sparked conversations, created opportunities, and inspired genuine efforts to make workplaces fairer and more inclusive.
But in 2025, the conversation looks different. Budgets have tightened. DEI titles have disappeared from some org charts. And in some circles, inclusion work has been reframed as “culture” or “engagement.”
The shift isn’t all bad, but it does come with risk. When attention fades, progress often does too. Many leaders quietly ask: Was DEI a moment, or is it still a movement?
Inclusion fatigue is real, but so are the barriers it was designed to dismantle. While priorities may shift, the need for inclusion has never been more critical.
Why Inclusion Still Matters
When done right, inclusion isn’t a trend, a metric, or a compliance exercise. It’s a performance strategy that creates the conditions for people to contribute their best ideas and work.
Research consistently shows that:
· Diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time.
· Inclusive leaders drive 2x higher engagement and 3x greater innovation.
· When people trust organizations, they are 90% more productive.
But beyond the data, inclusion speaks to something more profound: our shared human need to belong, to be seen, and to feel valued for who we are.
That sense of belonging doesn’t just feel good; it fuels collaboration, accountability, and trust, which are the foundation of any high-performing culture.
Inclusion isn’t a trend. It’s a competency.
Why DEI Efforts Often Stall
Even with the best intentions, organizations often struggle to turn inclusion into everyday behaviour. Here’s why:
Program over purpose. Too many DEI strategies start as campaigns or training sessions, rather than long-term capability building.
Silence from the top. When leaders delegate inclusion rather than model it, the signal is clear — it’s optional.
Fatigue without focus. Trying to solve everything simultaneously leads to burnout, skepticism, and limited results.
When inclusion isn’t integrated into how work gets done (hiring, performance, promotions, communication), it becomes a side project. And side projects rarely survive competing business priorities.
From Awareness to Action — Making Inclusion Stick
Inclusion can’t depend on momentum; it must rely on design. The key is to build inclusion into the organization's operating system — the habits, structures, and decisions that define daily work.
Here’s what works:
Start with leadership habits. Inclusion lives and dies in micro-moments, in how leaders listen, give feedback, and make decisions. Leadership behaviour is the first and most visible signal of culture.
Design for inclusion, don’t bolt it on. Embed equity and belonging into existing systems (performance reviews, promotions, learning pathways, and employee feedback loops).
Measure what matters. Move beyond demographics to measure experiences such as belonging, fairness, trust, and psychological safety.
Keep the conversation alive. Culture changes when inclusion becomes part of the ongoing narrative, not a once-a-year workshop or statement.
At its core, inclusion isn’t about headlines but habits. It’s not a department, it’s a discipline.
Leadership by Design
As the DEI landscape evolves, great organizations aren’t stepping back; they’re stepping forward with intention. They’re not chasing visibility; they’re building systems that last.
When inclusion becomes part of leadership DNA, it stops depending on trends and starts defining them.
The goal isn’t to have a DEI strategy. It’s to build a culture where inclusion is how you work, not what you say.
About Sellar Strategic Advisory
At Sellar Strategic Advisory, we help organizations move from DEI awareness to measurable action — designing inclusive cultures that fuel engagement, innovation, and growth.
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