Promoting a diverse leadership team isn’t enough. Here’s why

By now, most business leaders understand the benefits of diversity. And while more and more organizations are making an effort on this front, improvements at the leadership level remain few and far between.

Many business leaders assume that they can combat a lack of diversity on their leadership teams by promoting (and recruiting) historically underrepresented individuals. This is certainly a part of it. But in reality, many of these leaders are still missing the point of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. They need to create (and maintain) an inclusive work environment that lasts after the company promotes an individual to a leadership role.

Why it’s still important to promote diversity

Around 72% of workers want their employers to invest in building inclusive workplaces. This shows the lack of DEI in the workplace has less to do with employee desires. Instead, it has more to do with cost-cutting measures and a general lack of acceptance. Despite a recent resurgence in initiatives to diversify the workplace, we’re seeing a downward trend when it comes to the total share of these positions.

Elizabeth Crofoot—a senior economist at a market data and analytics company Lightcast—told HR Dive that  the number of DEI job postings has steadily declined in recent years. According to the company’s data, this figure has decreased by approximately 43% from August 2022 to July 2024. Retention rates for those positions also fell—only 36% of DEI department directors stayed within the same period.

As this trend suggests, these programs are cyclical. Decision-makers find room in the budget when consumer awareness surges and revenues rise. But a 2023 report from Monster found that 11% of employers report DEI is the first to go when cutting costs.

Some industries have shifted to focusing on cognitive diversity. This is a broad term that includes people who think, learn, work or problem-solve differently. Now, this decision isn’t necessarily ill-intentioned. But elevating it to the same level as racial, age, or gender diversity is disingenuous. It enables managers to overlook underrepresented groups in the name of inclusion.

Why having diversity in leadership isn’t enough

Even when someone with a diverse background is hired into a workplace, it might still be an uphill battle for them to achieve a leadership position. And even when the company promotes minority employees, few reach the level of senior leadership. For instance, according to a 2023 McKinsey & Company report, while roughly 75% of women under 30 intend to reach senior leadership roles, just 28% make it to the C-suite.

These statistics show that companies supporting diversity in leadership by hiring or promoting individuals from various age ranges, ethnicities, genders, and neurotypes are already one step ahead of those that don’t. But a significant percentage of these initiatives perform poorly or fail. That’s because good intentions alone aren’t enough—because companies haven’t thought about how they’ll sustain a diverse workplace.

Employees from historically stigmatized backgrounds who earn leadership positions often feel like they don’t belong. This lack of acceptance creates heightened friction throughout the organization’s hierarchy, leading to infighting. Internal politics aside, pressure from some consumer groups is also a significant stressor.

When workers who belong to a minority group reach a leadership role, many people label them as DEI hires regardless of the reality of their situation. As a result, they’re pressured to do better than average. Their performance reflects on their entire demographic, and any perceived failure would be used as proof they’re not worth the investment.

These stressors make their jobs more challenging than they should be, which pushes them to leave. More than 75% of respondents of one 2021 study agreed that good employees will leave for another employer if their current workplace doesn’t give them the resources or information to thrive in their role.

Promoting members of minority groups into leadership roles without providing additional support means genuine success will be difficult for them. Business owners often forget equity and inclusion are just as important as diversity.

How to ensure your leaders continue to feel accepted and included

Business leaders need to address the challenges of diversity in leadership to ensure team members feel accepted, engaged, and healthy. And they need to make sure that this is the case long after they’ve entered management positions. Some practices that can help include providing resources like skill development programs, pronoun lines on name tags, cultural insensitivity flags, and equitable compensation.

Leadership must use these resources to foster an inclusive, accepting environment. For example, although 6 in 10 employers state that neuroinclusion is a priority for their company, just 53% of employees feel their workplace has a supportive climate where they can openly discuss being neurodiverse, according to research by U.K.-based Chartered Institute Of Personnel Development.

Business leaders can perfect their DEI initiative over time by soliciting feedback, then acting on it. They need to view their program on a workplace and local level. After all, people from different races, age ranges, sexualities, and genders don’t share the same needs.

Workplace DEI initiatives are a shared responsibility

A purpose-led, company-wide initiative is crucial for making members of minority groups feel accepted and valued in leadership roles. Business leaders need to continue prioritizing involved, intentional decision-making well after they promote these individuals to ensure that they build a safe, inclusive work environment.