The HR professional’s guide to diversity and inclusion

Team members live out diversity and inclusion every day when they arrive at work or log online. Our beliefs and identities define our human experience, and celebrating and supporting those individual strengths and perspectives at work make for more agile teams and stronger leadership. A people-first approach to work builds an organizational culture where people thrive.

In 2025, many organizations dismantled programs that focus on diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). If those organizations could so easily disassemble their programs, maybe their support of diversity and inclusion wasn’t embraced fully to begin with.

When organizations proactively celebrate and understand diversity, HR teams embolden the employee experience with understanding and belonging. It attracts and retains talent, increases your employee value proposition and creates a healthy company culture. Who doesn’t want to join and perform their best in these circumstances?

Your employees are your biggest asset and differentiator. It’s no surprise that companies committed to diversity and inclusion significantly outperform those that aren't.

Is DEIB an employee value proposition? Absolutely

DEIB is a strategic employee value proposition (EVP) for any thriving organization.

Your organization's set of values, benefits and offerings that attract and retain top talent make up your EVP. Strong company culture is part of your EVP. Employee growth and trust is part of your EVP. Employee gratitude and recognition makes up your EVP. Employer brand and company pride is also part of EVP.

You get the idea. EVP sets your brand apart against your competitors. It attracts job seekers and engages employees long term. When employees feel aligned to your EVP, they're more committed to your organization.

H3: How do employees benefit from diversity and inclusion?

EVP includes employee benefits, but it goes beyond a list of perks. Many employee benefits create a safe, supportive workplace for diverse communities. If you've ever experienced any of the below, you've benefited from inclusive practices.

• Remote work
• Home office stipends
• Virtual mentorships
• Pet-related benefits and insurance
• Flexible work schedules
• Return-to-work phases
• Paid maternity/paternity or adoption leave
• Bereavement leave
• Fertility consultation
• ERGs or internal networks (parents, elder caregivers, etc.)
• Employee assistance programs (EAPS)
• Education stipends or assistance programs
• Family injury and insurance stipends
• Sponsored subscriptions to healthcare apps
• Employee wellness programs
• Lactation rooms
• Meditation classes
• Office ramps
• Diverse holidays off

A diverse and inclusive EVP offers support and resources for everyone. When you engage all members of your team effectively, you create a more cohesive, dynamic organization.

How inclusion supports teamwork

Organizations invest time and resources into diversity and inclusion to increase employee engagement. It cultivates a stronger organizational culture and business. More importantly, it starts with seeing your employees as people first.

“Allyship is about bringing intersectionality into the forefront,” said PwC’s Chief People and inclusion Officer, Yolanda Seals-Coffield. “Every[thing] from how decisions are made in the organization [to] how people’s careers are discussed when they are not in the room and how people feel about the value of their work.”

Because diversity represents all the ways we differ, inclusion harnesses those elements productively. When organizations create a space where different beliefs, backgrounds, talents, capabilities and ways of life are supported and seen, employees can focus and work together to achieve the company mission, vision and values.

People-first approach drives long-term business wins

Organizations that commit to diversity and inclusive behaviors see sustainable, long-term success both financially and, more importantly, collaboratively. Talking the talk and walking the walk of diversity and inclusion feeds into employee morale, creating an attractive employer brand that people want to be a part of. We simply want to love where we work.

Nothing signals a successful workplace more than employee tenure and a strong employer brand. It benefits financially too since turnover costs organizations an average one and a half to two times an employee's salary.

DEIB emboldens employee experience, because work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an extension of our everyday lives. When we make the workplace a more accessible, equitable environment, underrepresented perspectives can collaborate more effectively. Team members can personally connect. They can belong and offer value. They can perform at their best.

Organizations with more women executives tend to outperform those with less diverse leadership by 30%. The same study shows that organizations with more diversity have an average 27% more revenue than those without.

Inclusion supports leaders

Different backgrounds and unique perspectives bring more innovation and creative thinking to teams. Equitable workplaces empower employees to challenge the status quo. Belonging encourages employees to bring new ideas, which exposes others to new ways of thinking and learning.

By leading individuals with an effort to create belonging, organizations create a more understanding and effective team. It trickles down to all decision-makers.

• Deepening connection and communication with diverse customer populations
• Speaking effectively to a growing conscious-consumer base
• Diversifying suppliers and consultants
• Engaging and increasing involvement with local communities and economies
• Diversifying marketing and innovation, leading to increased shareholder value

How to cultivate diversity and inclusion in your organization

How your company’s mission and vision translate through to your culture is your company’s  foundation. But it has to be intentional. You can’t mandate your culture, you need to live it.

Make your values come to life through people-first initiatives: recognition, learning and development and employer branding. Investing time and energy in these employee engagement programs show your people your commitment to your organizational purpose. Engage leadership to set the tone.

This gives everyone an opportunity to emotionally and personally connect with your mission and one another. It builds employee purpose, a valuable tool that helps everyone come together and feel empowered with how they show up at work.

You know you’ve achieved alignment when they’re putting their hearts into their work (and your numbers reflect it). Intentionally aligning your culture is what gives your people a unified purpose to stand behind in times of disruption and challenge, and times of success.

Related: Why organizational culture matters (and foolproof success factors to make it work for you) 

What makes a successful DEIB strategy

In Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek wrote, “If you take care of your people, the numbers will take care of themselves.” It’s true. When people’s diverse backgrounds are respected, they feel included and seen. They’re prepared to emotionally connect with your cause. But before you hang that poster and roll out your next motto, take a step back.

Start from the beginning and consider each employee’s role and their purpose for joining the cause. Look to focus groups and surveys to objectively gauge what is most meaningful to your people as it relates to organizational culture.

Different people are moved by different things, so really listen. Even if you disagree, hearing the feedback lays the groundwork for respectful debate, and ultimately, a powerhouse culture.

Leverage the takeaways to design intentional employee-focused employee engagement programs. Make it accessible for everyone using employee engagement platforms. Take it one step further and use them to create an enhanced brand strategy that supports those initiatives. Whatever you do, do it intentionally in an effort to take your cultural transformation to a new strategic level.

Examples of organizations that prioritize their people

Your people are what set your organization apart in a competitive marketplace. Several top organizations recommitted to DEIB because it reflected the diverse lifestyles and perspectives in their teams.

Certified Great Place to work, Hilton recommitted to DEIB this year, like many organizations within travel and hospitality. It reflects the global community of people these companies employ and service every day.

"Our businesses, by definition, are very diverse businesses, meaning about the quarter billion people we serve per year," said Hilton’s CEO Chris Nassetta. "Our objective has been to make sure that the teams that we're building corporately or at the properties are able to deliver what our customers want and the best experiences that relate to their needs."

Diversity and inclusion is about culture

Corporate initiatives are more successful when built on a foundation of strategic inclusion. Without it, they’re more prone to be approached with apprehension and trepidation. Saying you support diversity and inclusion is one thing, but action is necessary to show your true support of DEIB.

Strategic inclusion means fully committing to diverse practices, creating an inclusive environment and taking a people-first approach at work.

Prioritize and protect DEIB to safeguard your culture and employer brand. Get inspired with our 2025 employee engagement calendar.