Is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Teams a Political Football?

As companies backtrack on DEI commitments, we explore why so many diversity programmes fall flat and what true inclusion looks like.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is once again in the public spotlight, though not necessarily for the right reasons. As companies like IBM scale back long-standing diversity initiatives citing “inherent tensions” as reported by Forbes, it raises uncomfortable questions: Were these initiatives ever truly about values, or simply about optics and trend-following?

In aligning with political shifts, some companies appear to be choosing power over principle, suggesting that their real values may lie not in diversity, but in dominance, profit and winning at all costs. It also invites a broader reflection on global identity. Truly global organisations embed inclusion across geographies and cultures. Those retreating under pressure may be revealing themselves as not global at all, but simply international – projecting a homegrown ideology into other markets without listening, adapting or including.

But behind the media headlines, there’s a different truth, especially for teams.

At Organisational Coaching Hub, we see DEI not as a compliance exercise or political stance, but as a lived experience that starts within teams. Whether inclusion thrives or falters isn’t decided in policy, it happens in meetings, projects, chat channels and decision-making conversations. And when teams get inclusion right, the impact is deep and lasting.

The Business Case Hasn’t Changed – But the Climate Has

Despite recent rollbacks, the case for inclusive teams is stronger than ever. A 2025 People Management survey found that two-thirds of UK workers consider workplace EDI important when job hunting, with that number even higher among Gen Z and millennial applicants.

In other words, inclusion isn’t just a moral good – it’s a talent magnet.

But it goes beyond recruitment. According to McKinsey’s 2023 report, companies with higher levels of diversity continue to outperform their peers in profitability, innovation and trust. The correlation between diverse teams and long-term business value has only grown stronger.

So why the backlash?

Trust Breaks Down When Inclusion is Reduced to Optics

The problem isn’t with DEI itself; it’s with how it’s implemented. When inclusion is treated as a top-down initiative, or a set of compliance KPIs, teams can become cynical. People start to see DEI as a tick-box exercise or a political hot potato, rather than something that improves the way teams work together.

True inclusion happens when:

• Every voice is heard in the room
• People feel safe enough to disagree or admit mistakes
• Diverse perspectives aren’t just represented – they’re valued in decisions

Contribution to Richness and Complexity

But maybe here we need to re-examine what we mean by diversity. Diversity doesn’t just mean identity-based differences. It’s not just about ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age etc. It also means cognitive diversity, breadth of experience and learning preferences, all of which can be overlooked in simplistic hiring metrics. Diversity is about understanding that our differences, rather than being a source of division, can be a source of strength and creativity. 

This becomes even more complex when we consider team structures.

Recognising and Leveraging Similarities and Differences

Most organisational models assume all teams function in the same way – collaborating toward a shared goal, with everyone contributing directly to collective outcomes. Indeed, many do – these are Interdependent Teams (IDTs). In interdependent teams, inclusion is about shared voice, mutual trust and psychological safety because people work closely together. Diverse thinking and open disagreement are not just healthy, they’re a necessity.

But not all teams are interdependent. Extra-Dependent Teams (EDTs), a concept developed by OCH’s founder David Kesby, operate differently. In these teams, such as sales, advisory, or some field-based roles, individuals don’t collaborate with each other as much as they collaborate with their external stakeholders. What connects them isn’t a shared internal goal, but a shared practice, grounded in professional knowledge and external relationships.

And here’s the thing: EDTs can be easily misunderstood. Because they rely on similarity of expertise, not identity, it’s easy to assume they’re less diverse. But that’s a misconception. What matters is whether people feel valued for their contribution, recognised in their practice, and connected to a shared sense of purpose.

That’s why traditional inclusion initiatives often miss the mark. They treat all teams the same, assuming inclusion happens in the same way regardless of structure. Inclusion here is about being aligned with the team’s outward-facing identity and not just being in the room.

Moving Beyond the DEI Tick-Box

What the debate around DEI rollbacks reveals isn’t just resistance to specific policies, it’s a deeper absence of purpose. We now see that many organisations adopted diversity strategies as a trend, a compliance requirement, or a reputational shield. But true inclusion isn’t a programme or a placard, it’s a principle. And when it’s lived well, it shapes how teams form, relate and thrive.

At Organisational Coaching Hub, we believe that team dynamics offer a clearer window into whether an organisation is truly purpose-driven. Interdependent and Extra-Dependent teams require different forms of inclusion but both demand environments where people feel seen, connected, and valued for their unique contribution. That doesn’t come from corporate slogans. It comes from clarity of purpose and the space to be human at work.

Tick-box inclusion is performative. Purposeful inclusion is transformative. The irony is that some organisations rejecting DEI now are not breaking free of box-ticking, they’re just switching out one set of boxes for another. They’re playing the same shallow game under a new name.

But inclusion isn’t about playing a game, it’s about changing it. It requires vertical development: the maturity to navigate complexity, hold conflicting views, and create spaces where people belong for who they are and how they think, not just what they produce. That’s why team coaching, whether Interdependent or Extra-Dependent, is key. It creates the container for identity, purpose and psychological safety to be shared, rather than imposed. At OCH, we use tools like our Team Dependency Diagnostic to help teams first understand how they function and then how to create inclusive conditions that fit that reality.

Inclusion Isn’t Dead – It’s Just Moving Closer to the Work

If anything, the current backlash should prompt us to bring DEI closer to where it matters, and that’s into the lived experience of teams.

Forget the political debate for a moment and instead ask:

• Does your team have the psychological safety to value their differences?
• Do people feel they belong and identify as a coherent team, because of their differences? 
• Is your team committed to its purpose because they all make meaningful contributions together? 

Because that’s where DEI delivers its value, not in corporate statements, but in everyday team life. This is team-level work and coaching is one of the few interventions that creates the space, challenge and trust needed to build it.

Coaching as the Missing Link

Team coaching helps surface the subtle dynamics that block inclusion:

• Who speaks up regularly and who stays silent?
• Do people feel they can challenge senior voices without consequence?
• Are roles and contributions clearly valued across lines of difference?

It’s not about scripting behaviour, it’s about cultivating awareness, curiosity and accountability. In coaching conversations, we often hear team members say things like:

“I didn’t realise my feedback style was shutting people down.”
“I never thought about how this decision impacts those not in the room.”
“We’ve never really talked about how our team defines inclusion.”

That’s where inclusion becomes real, not in a strategy document, but in a moment of reflection and conversation. That’s the power of coaching.

At OCH, we believe that when teams are led well, inclusion is a key priority. And when inclusion thrives, so does everything else: creativity, engagement, performance – and the bottom line.

So let’s stop kicking inclusion around like a political football.

Instead, let’s focus on successful teaming!