Year-End Analysis: What 2025 Taught Us and What 2026 Holds
What themes have we seen with our clients throughout 2025?
A focus on structural, evidence based inclusion work that links to performance and governance
2025 was a year of extreme backlash towards many areas of DEI – that saw with toxic public rhetoric, damaging narratives and jobs or even entire departments being culled. Despite this, 71% of UK business leaders reported they were maintaining or expanding DEI efforts in 2025. As DEI data develops so too does the way challenges get managed and addressed.
Our clients have taken increasingly in-depth views of what to tackle next, such as disparities in performance outcomes, wellbeing and psychological safety scores.
Same work, different name
Looking globally, however, many of our clients who have teams or governance based in the USA have had to take a more tactical approach. By reframing or depoliticising DEI language, they’ve been able to stay in action in the UK, too. For example:
Inclusive hiring became Evidenced-Based Decision making
Diversity and Inclusion became Belonging or Inclusive culture
Diversity targets became inclusion targets with a focus on leadership behaviours and engagement across all groups, or representation goals.
The same applies to how programmes are run
Where DEI and ESG were once separate initiatives, we’re now seeing them come together. Things like the UN Sustainability Goals bring DEI into the language of sustainability and supply chains, while the EU’s CSRD directive and the new Government Procurement Framework means organisations must evidence DEI in bids for government contracts.
For our clients, DEI is also moving from HR into central business practice as organisations mature and develop their approaches, as well as amalgamating resources in response to economic pressures.
In summary:
Initiatives in the UK are not being dropped, rather rebranded, and organisations are more invested in how they evidence inclusive culture.
What’s in store for diversity, equity, inclusion and culture in 2026?
Political pendulum will no doubt swing back in the other direction
More extreme, right-wing views are currently prominent globally, but organisations need to take care not to undo years of hard work to temporarily align with the loudest voices. The political pendulum will inevitably swing to the centre or left again, so sticking to an authentic path aligned to their mission and values is vital. After all, good culture is good business. Organisations should also focus on supporting those most victimised by politicised issues.
Fear of discrimination and AI
Fear of being discriminated against surged to all-time high this year, increasing by 11% from 2024 in the UK. This fear has particularly increased in women, people over 55 and middle-income earners. This is mirrored by an increased sense of mistrust in AI; regulators, particularly in sectors such as insurance, are spotlighting AI’s systemic risks and expect organisations to strengthen their data foundations and operational controls before scaling AI.
Evidence based frameworks, benchmarking and change management processes can keep both issues from escalating further.
Regulatory landscape is shifting
ACAS have seen a sharp rise in both calls to their helpline in response to employees and organisations playing catch up to the Worker Protection Act which came in last October. They have also reported an increase in discrimination cases – particularly related to disability and mental health – reflecting how employers are needlessly getting in hot water by not proactively supporting workplace adjustments.
Organisations in 2026 need to step up their game by properly supporting workplace adjustments, formalising disability inclusion across the employee lifecycle and ensuring harassment policies are crystal clear.
Lastly, the Employment Rights Bill in its final stages will deliver a huge shake up by strengthening pay rights and addressing employment vulnerabilities.
In summary:
Taking a long term view to authentic inclusion is the key to driving results in 2026 and beyond. Undermining DEI work and investment in culture over the last five years in response to just this year would be incredibly damaging; backlash does not erase value. The socio-political landscape will continue to shift, so it’s about adapting, not abandoning, inclusion work.