Compliance won’t save you: The leadership accountability DEI requires
While diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work is often present in organisations, sometimes it’s only fueled by good intentions and no real movement.
To get the needle moving, organisations need to move away from compliance ticks and start taking accountability for meaningful change.
In Episode 13 of DEI Will Not Die, Bree Gorman speaks with Mantej Singh, founder and director of Belonging Co, about what prevents organisations from achieving genuine inclusion and what leaders can do to create lasting change.
Drawing on experience across government and consulting, Mantej shares practical insights into the barriers that hold organisations back and the leadership mindset required to move DEI from performative action to real impact.
Why Inclusion Efforts Often Stall
Many organisations express support for DEI, yet struggle to move beyond surface-level initiatives. Mantej identifies several common leadership mindsets that prevent progress.
HR-Only Mindset: When DEI is seen solely as the responsibility of human resources, it becomes limited to policies and compliance rather than embedded across the organisation.
Compliance Mindset: Organisations may focus on producing action plans or policies, but fail to implement them in ways that create real behavioural change.
Risk Mindset: Viewing inclusion primarily through a risk lens leads to defensive approaches rather than proactive efforts to build belonging.
Delegation Mindset: Leaders may delegate DEI work entirely to others instead of taking ownership themselves.
Performance Mindset: Public statements, panel discussions, or newsletters can create the appearance of commitment without meaningful action behind them.
Scarcity Mindset: Some leaders believe DEI requires taking resources away from other priorities, rather than embedding inclusion into existing work and systems.
Leader-Expert Mindset: Leaders who assume they must be experts in DEI. In reality, the work often relies on the lived experience of people who face systemic barriers.
Together, these mindsets create activity without impact. Policies may exist, but when they haven’t been implemented through systems of workplace cultures, employees don’t experience meaningful change in their daily work.
The Leadership Role in Inclusion
Rather than positioning themselves as experts, leaders play a critical role in creating the conditions for change. This begins with listening to employees and communities who experience barriers, acknowledging those realities, and being committed to action.
Humility and openness are essential; leaders must recognise that their experiences don’t reflect everyone’s reality. Listening without judgment allows organisations to understand where systemic barriers exist and what changes are needed.
At the same time, leaders remain accountable for outcomes. Their role is to remove barriers, allocate resources, and ensure that strategies lead to real improvements in workplace culture and systems.
Understanding Racism and Anti-Racism
Racism occurs when individuals are treated differently because of race, ethnicity, religion, or cultural background. While sometimes overt, it often appears through everyday bias embedded in organisational systems and behaviours.
Anti-racism requires a proactive approach. It involves building awareness across organisations, improving racial literacy, creating policies that reduce bias, and supporting employees who experience discrimination.
Examples of bias can appear in everyday workplace interactions. Mispronouncing someone’s name, equating accents with competence, or designing services without considering diverse communities can all contribute to exclusion.
Where Organisations Can Start
For organisations unsure where to begin, Mantej recommends starting with an audit of workplace culture, systems, and services to identify barriers to inclusion. From there, organisations can develop a strategy, such as an anti-racism or cultural inclusion plan, with clear actions and timelines.
Leadership ownership is essential; when leaders publicly commit to change and allocate resources to support it, the work becomes embedded rather than symbolic.
Ultimately, inclusion requires ongoing commitment. By listening to lived experiences, addressing systemic barriers, and taking accountability for outcomes, leaders can move DEI beyond policy and into meaningful change.
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