DE&I Report; a communications conundrum

DE&I skyrocketed up the corporate agenda in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and reignition of Black Lives Matter. But the last few years have been tough. Covid, and its implications on society’s mental health and the global economy. The climate crisis. Brexit and its consequences. All of these have battled for space on the C-suite agenda, and for many, DE&I has been deprioritised.

We’ve seen this play out in high attrition rates for DE&I roles, especially the lay-off of whole DE&I teams at Microsoft[1], and a reduction in corporate communications during the likes of Pride[2] and Black History Month[3].

But the tide is changing. Business leaders know it - our research into the views of C-suites and HR Directors revealed that most business leaders think DE&I is set to become more important in the coming years. Over 70% think it will become more important to current employees, and prospective ones - and 67% said the same for the procurement process for clients. More than half of C-suite execs reckon it’ll be more important to the board.

There is also a top-down push, from both the regulator and the new Labour Government. The FCA is pushing for greater DE&I in financial services, the revisions to the Corporate Governance Code will put pressure on Boards from January 2025, and in all likelihood, ethnicity pay gap reporting will soon be mandatory for large firms.

DE&I is here to stay - and it's only getting bigger. Firms need the right policies and processes in place, but they also need to be equipped to talk about their journeys and reach a diverse audience. Those who get it wrong risk alienating their people and damaging their brand - nobody wants to be tagged by the ‘Gender Pay Gap’ bot on Twitter (X), or included in Buzzfeed’s ‘10 worst pride campaigns of 2025’ list.

And the opportunity for those that get it right is vast. Those that nail their communications will be able to run creative and authentic campaigns that meet a modern audience. They’ll be able to talk about their people with confidence. And they’ll be ahead of the curve - the brands getting this right are a minority; the best time to invest is now.

Our new report, Marketing Inclusion, investigates this DE&I comms conundrum in more depth. It looks at the steps businesses can take, and includes plenty of #inspo of the people getting it right.

You can read the full report here!

And reach out to Sandy Downs, our Head of DE&I, if you’ve got any questions or would like to chat about the Marketing Inclusion challenge.

Sources:

1. https://www.hrgrapevine.com/us/content/article/2024-07-16-microsoft-cuts-dei-team-leader-emails-staff-claiming-it-is-no-longer-business-critical
2. https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2024/06/13/corporate-pride-is-quieter-this-year-why-that-matters
3. https://www.hrdive.com/news/quiet-black-history-month-a-warning-sign/643571/