Is DE&I Dead? Or Was the Way We Implemented It the Problem?

Category: Inclusion | Read time: 8 min read | Published: 2025-06-29

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is not a 'nice to have'. It is business critical. But do we need to change the way we talk about it? Acknowledging that inclusion is the foundation of growth across the enterprise may be the starting point.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is not a 'nice to have'. It is business critical. But do we need to change the way we talk about it?

Acknowledging that inclusion is the foundation of growth across the enterprise may be the starting point.

But not everyone agrees.

The decision to rescind DE&I programmes through Executive Orders 14151 and 14173, signed by President Donald Trump in January 2025, was framed as an effort to remove "ideologically driven" or "divisive" initiatives.

But calling DE&I "divisive" ignores a basic truth: inequality already exists. Bias is already embedded in hiring, pay, progression and leadership. DE&I was not about giving unfair advantage. It was about recognising and addressing the unfairness that is already there.

Removing these programmes does not create neutrality. It creates plausible deniability. It gives institutions 'permission' to stop asking difficult questions, and to retreat back into systems that reward sameness, silence, bias and the stigma of 'difference'.

The Pushback Against Inclusion

Across the world, DE&I teams are being reduced, restructured or removed entirely. Is this because organisations are looking for "very special talent and a very special genius"? Does that imply they have not found it yet? Or simply not willing to look at what is right in front of them, because they did not go to the right school, they do not know the right people, they do not look like you, think like you, talk like you?

I have sat on both sides of the table. As the manager, and as the neurodivergent employee. I can see both perspectives, and I will be honest, I have not always been easy in either role.

This is not just about rights, or adjustments, or awareness days once a year. It is about the real-world tension playing out every day in offices, teams and leadership conversations. The sick days, the outbursts, the missed deadlines. The tribunals, the burnout, the frustration. Managers are overwhelmed. Colleagues are confused. And some neurodivergent people, like me, are trying to self-advocate without always having the language or tools to do it well.

We are not here to sugar-coat it. We are here to name it, lower the pressure, and offer something practical; a way forward that gives everyone a voice, not just a label. Because inclusion has to work in the real world. That is the only kind that ever lasts.

A Two-Way Street

My LinkedIn feed is full of posts about neurodiversity. All advocating. All positive. All well-meaning. But if we want to move forward, we have to be honest about something. This is a two-way street. And when you push too hard for change on behalf of a minority, without bringing people with you, you risk pushing the majority in the wrong direction.

I hear it all the time from HR teams: "I have ADHD, what are you going to do about it?" That is not advocacy. That is demand. And if people feel pushed, told, or ordered to change, will they truly want to? If they feel embarrassed, fearful for their own jobs, or under pressure with no support, will they speak up and try to make inclusion work? No. They will quietly step back. They will leave. And resentment builds.

Then the pushback starts. And when that pushback comes from those that 'lead', it becomes permission. That is what we are up against. That is why we need to speak differently, act differently, and lead differently.

DE&I 2.0: Difference Intelligence

Is DE&I dead? Has inclusion just become something we say at the bottom of an advert to look the part? Do we mean it? Or do we not know what it actually means?

This is why the language needs to change. This is why we need something deeper. This is why we need DE&I 2.0.

We call it DQ: Difference Intelligence. A new leadership capability for a new world of work.

Definition: Difference Intelligence is the ability to recognise, adapt to, and design with human difference; not as a challenge to be managed, but as a source of intelligence, value, and strategic advantage.

• Cognitive empathy: not just emotional awareness, but understanding different thinking and processing styles
• Neuroinclusion fluency: language, design, and communication that reduces friction for different brains
• Structural agility: embedding flexibility into systems, workflows and roles
• Lived experience literacy: the ability to listen to, interpret, and act on insights from people who experience the world differently

Why It Matters

Because IQ gets things done. EQ gets teams through hard times. But DQ helps us build systems that work for people who were never at the table when those systems were designed.

It is not about celebrating diversity. It is about operating with it; strategically, daily, and unapologetically.

The Reality on the Ground

After training 20,000 people about neuroinclusion, one thing is clear; no one right now is actually winning. There is a huge amount of goodwill and a thirst to learn and understand from the HR community. But what is a 'reasonable adjustment' anyway? Is it a policy? A list of things? A special desk? Headphones?

Securing budget for this type of thing is very low on the priority list. The world has changed. Business has changed. Technology has completely changed every aspect of our lives in just two years. The way we communicate, the speed we need to release the next version, our ability to pivot, to innovate, to stay ahead of what is next.

This is not 'just' about awareness. It is about unlocking the untapped talent already inside your organisation and turning it into competitive advantage.

"Rich came into our board meeting and, honestly, expectations were low. I had persuaded the team to include a neurodiversity awareness session in our L&D programme, but it was not high on the agenda. After he left, we talked about it for the rest of the meeting. He shifted from a 'training topic' to a strategic priority for the CEO." Group HR Director, FTSE 100 Company

Inclusion as Critical Infrastructure

At Neurodiversity Global, we are not trying to 'save' DE&I budgets. We are working with our clients to prove the positive impact of inclusion, all inclusion, as standard.

We are building capability where it matters. In front-line staff. Back office teams. Line managers. In leadership. In operations. In culture. In delivery. On the building site. In the air. On the train. In the refuge. The school. Everywhere.

Inclusion does not care. People do.

Because it is not a separate initiative. It is critical infrastructure.

Neuroinclusion positively affects retention, mental health, compliance, culture, risk, performance, innovation and delivery.

If that is not strategic, what is?

Supporting your people; giving them the language, tools and strategy they need cannot live and die by whether you can "get a bit of money from the budget" this quarter.

It is bigger than that. And it always has been. DE&I is not dead. It is evolving.

If you have a 'diversity' message on the bottom of your job advert, ask yourself: "do you actually mean it, or has it just become something we say".

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Questions Leaders Often Ask

Has DE&I failed?

The principles behind DE&I remain important. What has often failed is the implementation. When inclusion feels like compliance rather than genuine understanding, it creates resistance rather than progress.

What is Difference Intelligence?

It is a practical approach that focuses on understanding and leveraging cognitive differences within teams. Rather than treating diversity as a box to tick, it treats it as a strategic advantage that improves performance when properly supported.