Intersectionality, geography and resources: the impact on DEI.
If you’ve worked in DEI for more than five minutes, regardless of what side of the desk you’re on, you’ve probably heard it or said it yourself.
“We can’t focus on everything.”Or the classic: “Let’s just get compliant.”
It’s well-meaning (in most cases). However, it’s also one of the fastest ways to stall progress, frustrate your workforce, and accidentally reinforce the inequities you’re trying to break down.
Recently, in a conversation I had with Michelle Redfern, we explored why organisations keep repeating these missteps, what’s shifting globally, and what actually works if we want workplaces to be fair, inclusive, and built for longevity.
Spoiler: good intentions don’t create systemic change. Action does.
Global politics may shape DEI, but they shouldn’t dictate your values
Michelle works with multinational clients, and one theme keeps coming up: the shadow of US politics over global DEI efforts.
Some companies panic and go quiet. Others wait to see what shareholders think.
And then there are the true leaders who simply say,“Full steam ahead. We want to be on the right side of history.”
Those organisations understand something important: you choose your own values, geography doesn’t choose them for you.
While being a visible champion can make you a lightning rod, it can also position you as a trusted leader, attract aligned talent, and build stronger relationships with customers who expect ethical leadership, not performative neutrality.
Gender equity needs an intersectional lens
We need to close the gender leadership gap. But organisations need to remember that gender equity without intersectionality will simply replace one homogenous leadership group with another.
Australia is seeing this play out right now. There’s a strong focus on Workplace Gender Equality Agency compliance, but compliance isn’t culture. Some leaders are “true believers”. Others just tick boxes.
Intersectionality is still immature across most workplaces. And when we fixate on one identity, like gender, we risk leaving everyone else behind:
Women of colour
First Nations women
Trans women
Non-binary and gender diverse people
Women from the LGBTQIA+ community
Michelle couldn’t say it any clearer, a white, older female’s lived experience is not the same lived experience as a First Nations woman. Treating gender as a one-dimensional aspect only builds on barriers already in place.
If your gender equity plan doesn’t work for these groups, it doesn’t work.And if it does? The ripple benefits reach everyone.
The problem with quotas, targets, and compliance-only approaches
Targets and legislation matter; they’re the guardrails, they keep organisations honest. But without the enablement, they become blunt instruments of discrimination.
It’s the difference between:
“We’ve increased our representation metrics.”and
“People actually thrive here.”
Michelle put it plainly: without deeper cultural evolution, compliance becomes a one-and-done exercise.
This is where DEI practitioners act as translators. Our job is to show organisations what their commitments actually mean, how to go deeper, and how to avoid performative shortcuts that backfire.
Resourcing: the most forgotten part of DEI
Every DEI strategy should come with three simple questions:
Who is doing the work?
How much time do they have?
Where is the money coming from?
Yet this is the part that gets overlooked every single time.
Boards and executives ask why outcomes aren’t happening, but the truth is simple: you cannot build culture change on hope, volunteers, and wishful thinking. Good DEI needs actual investment, just like every other business priority organisations manage to juggle simultaneously.
(And Michelle’s right: companies absolutely can focus on multiple things at once. They do it in every other part of the business.)
Visibility matters (and not just for the reasons you think)
Representation isn’t about “you can’t be what you can’t see.”Trailblazers prove otherwise.
But visibility does create relatability. It helps people look at someone like them and think, “If they can do it, maybe I can too.”
It’s also low-cost and high-impact. Balanced imagery. Visible leaders from diverse communities. Stories that reflect real people. Normalising difference so no one has to “come out” as anything.
These small shifts shape culture in big ways.
Ready to build something deeper than compliance?
If your organisation wants more than box-ticking, if you want real, sustainable, intersectional culture change, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
This is the work I do every day with DEI leaders, People & Culture teams, and executives who want to be on the right side of history.
If you’re ready for practical, strategic DEI that actually sticks, reach out today or check out my DEI Thrive offers.
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