Executive summary. The current tensions and recalibrations around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Europe call for a more mature and systemic contribution from business schools to the wider DEI conversation. As organisations move away from compliance-driven or symbolic approaches, there is a growing need for context-sensitive strategies that embed DEI into corporate DNA and treat it as a long-term change process. Positioned at the intersection of research, education, and practice, business schools can help organisations navigate socio-political complexity, develop inclusive leadership capabilities, and translate DEI from abstract intent into sustained organisational and societal impact.

Key takeaways

• Embed DEI into core strategy: Move beyond compliance and declarations by anchoring DEI initiatives in organisational culture, governance, and measurable business priorities.
• Design DEI for context and complexity: Tailor approaches to Europe’s socio-political realities and organisational paradoxes instead of adopting generic or imported best practices. 
• Shift from awareness to transformation: Treat DEI as a systemic change process that requires inclusive leadership, emotional work, and sustained implementation over time. 

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A large number of European companies received an order at the end of March 2025 to comply with US DEI policies. This created an immediate response at the political level in some European countries (like France, Belgium and Spain). However, many companies are still struggling how to respond.

Some are happy to roll back on initiatives they did not necessarily believe in in the first place and only complied with because of regulation and popular opinion pressure. For instance, we are currently conducting a study with my colleague Andreea Gorbatai on Fortune 100 companies, where we see that the organisations that dropped DEI initiatives have been different all along in their culture with regards to DEI conversations from organisations that have not budged on their DEI stance. Another recently published research by Valerie De Cock, Pinar Celik and Claudia Toma from ULB shows that concrete evidence of progress on diversity has a consistently positive impact on workers’ experiences. Conversely, the effect of declarations of intent remains ambiguous, but in the absence of tangible results, they risk creating a sense of organisational hypocrisy and backfire in employees’ commitment, but also turnover intentions. We also see evidence of consumers punishing or rewarding companies for rolling back DEI or standing up for it. Many companies do so with clear statements from shareholder votes that this is not an ideological stance, but good business sense.

Many researchers agree, however, that the current situation gives an excellent opportunity to reflect deeper on the logic and implementation of DEI in European companies. Several ideas stand out:

DEI Must Be Embedded in Corporate DNA

DEI policy must be based in a company’s DNA and integrated in its strategy, not be a standalone ‘fashionable’ fad. So far, many organisations have approached DEI:

1. Primarily from a compliance perspective.
2. From an ease of measurement and proof perspective (e.g., it is easier to focus on gender – because there are EU regulations around it, and because it is easier to measure than other categories – such as ethnicity, language, religion, socio-economic class, etc.) – many of which raise GDPR concerns.
3. Exposure to best practices from other organisations (often US-based), even when their own company lacks the conditions, maturity, or context needed to replicate those practices successfully.

As a result, employees often felt disengaged, perceiving such efforts as mere greenwashing or even resistant to DEI initiatives. We must remember that each industry, sector, European region or nation has its particular challenges when it comes to structural inequalities. At the same time, each company has a flavour of who they are and what they stand for (beyond declared corporate values) that makes certain types of diversity or certain approaches to diversity management more ‘natural’ to them.

The role of business schools:

Business schools are uniquely positioned to guide companies in developing authentic, context-specific DEI strategies. Through executive education, schools can help organisations:

• Assess their unique DEI landscape: Facilitating introspective analysis of what diversity means within their specific business, regulatory environment, and community context.
• Integrate DEI into core strategy: Moving beyond compliance, schools can teach frameworks for embedding DEI into the company’s mission, values, and business objectives.
• Develop tailored policies: By focusing on literacy in shaping DEI policies, business schools enable companies to craft initiatives that resonate with their workforce and stakeholders, rather than adopting one-size-fits-all solutions.

DEI Exists Within a Broader Socio-Political Context

A second important issue to reflect on is that DEI in organisations does not happen in a vacuum, but in a (very loaded) socio-political, economic and historical context. In an ageing Europe that is actively planning for using migration as a core labour source in the years and decades to come, openly discussing and engaging in addressing social inequalities is simply good sense for economic and social planning, beyond any ethical considerations. A Europe that is ever more divisive along ethnic and national lines signals that we have not yet done a good enough job of creating constructive social dialogue across social groups. The motto of the EU is ‘united in diversity’, but diversity is not just about horizontal differences (i.e., variety), but also vertical ones (i.e., disparity). Diversity means difficult conversations, holding space for working through difficult emotions on all sides, actions to show commitment beyond discourse, working through the complexity of consequences of these actions and re-evaluating, continuing the dialogue and the experimentation to find better solutions to complex, sometimes intractable problems. Working with diversity is a perpetual work of holding paradoxes. This is why, in another paper published together with Andreea Gorbatai we show that managers working on diversity initiatives must constantly hold a paradox mindset and be able to do extensive and intensive emotional work (within themselves and in their teams).

The role of business schools:

Business schools can equip current and future leaders with the skills needed to navigate this complexity by:

• Developing inclusive leadership: Executive programmes can foster leaders who are adept at handling paradoxes, facilitating difficult conversations, and building inclusive cultures.
• Teaching conflict management: Specialised training in multi-party negotiations and cross-cultural communication prepares managers to address and resolve conflicts inherent in diverse environments.
• Promoting self-awareness: Leadership development modules emphasise self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and the integration of strategy with effective communication, ensuring that leaders can authentically champion DEI both internally and externally.

DEI Is Evolving: From Awareness to Systemic Change

A third topic in what clients ask from business school in executive education is a reflection of how the DEI topic evolves with time. While 2020-2023/4 DEI was focused on creating DEI awareness (trainings on implicit bias, understanding the inequality associated with certain social groups – mostly gender, race and LGBTQ), now companies are asking for tools and know-how to create, implement and sustain systemic change in organisations. DEI has become a Change Management topic rather than an awareness and social topic. This also comes with more requests for training on Inclusive Leadership for a Diverse Workforce. At the same time, the focus of the most popular diversity categories has changed – incoming are age (both ageism and youngism in trying to integrate a diverse workforce), neurodiversity (how to create conditions for neurodivergent people to thrive at work), and, to some extent, disability.

The role of business schools:

Business schools can be at the forefront of this evolution, offering:

• Change management expertise: Programmes that teach leaders how to implement and sustain systemic DEI initiatives, moving beyond awareness to action.
• Inclusive leadership training: Courses designed to help managers lead diverse teams, foster belonging, and drive organisational performance.
• Cutting-edge research and tools: Access to the latest studies and practical frameworks for addressing emerging diversity dimensions, such as neurodiversity and multi-generational workforces.

As European companies navigate the shifting landscape of DEI, business schools play a critical role in guiding them toward meaningful, sustainable progress. By fostering authentic strategies, equipping leaders with essential skills, and driving systemic change, business schools can help organisations transform DEI from a compliance obligation into a source of competitive advantage and social impact.