Welcome to the 305th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast! In this episode, I’m tackling the topic of a diversity disconnect. In many organisations your D&I strategy is a PR stunt. However, there are ways to fix it.
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In today’s show on Your D&I Strategy is a PR Stunt: Here’s how to fix it
- 00:59 – The backlash against “wokeness” and performative workplace activism.
- 01:30 – What makes DEI performative: diversity washing, tokenism, and surface-level marketing.
- 06:17 – Why stunts backfire at work: disengagement, management resistance, and resource drain.
- 09:15 – From strategy to action plan: Do you actually need a glossy diversity strategy?
- 10:12 – Making real policy shifts with accountability for real change.
Quotes on Your D&I Strategy is a PR Stunt: Here’s how to fix it
- A diversity and inclusion PR stunt in the workplace is superficial, performative actions where a company promotes diversity when trending to enhance their reputation, without making any real structural changes.
- Do you hear anyone talking about Black Lives Matter at the corporate level anymore? Because I certainly don’t, and yet we still know there is a huge disparity in the experience of Black staff.
- What good is a strategy when people don’t read the information, and need an awful lot of spoon-feeding about how it impacts them and what they need to do differently?
- Data and accountability are more powerful than a strategy.
- Allyship is often described as ‘I’m helping you.’ Coalition or solidarity is ‘I’m in this with you because our own lives are also diminished by this systemic abuse.
Resources for Your D&I Strategy is a PR Stunt: Here’s how to fix it
- Read The Guardian article: UK firms ditching diversity and inclusion ‘face higher risk of lawsuits’
- 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey
- Employment Rights Act 2025
- New protections from sexual harassment come into force
- Non-financial misconduct in financial services
- Consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting: government response
- What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition
- Beyond Allyship: Coalition
- Episode #250: Do we have to do mandatory training?
- Episode #304: Stop Blaming Culture Fit: The Truth About Systemic Bias
- Episode #245: What is Psychological Safety at Work?
- Join my Mailing List and receive a white paper on mental health and inclusion here
- Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health
- Leave me a message on my SpeakPipe
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Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC
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Remember to tune in next week, where I’ll bring you more insights on mental health and inclusion.
