Your Employees Can Spot Performative Inclusion from the Car Park

Most employees can tell the difference between real inclusion and “we changed the logo for awareness month and hoped for the best”.

Performative inclusion happens when an organisation says the right things but does not change the systems, behaviours or decisions that shape people’s everyday experience. It is the poster without the process. The staff network without influence. The EDI statement that sounds lovely but mysteriously disappears when someone raises a concern.

This matters because workers and leaders often experience the same organisation very differently. Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends research, based on more than 14,000 respondents across 95 countries, found that 89% of executives said their organisation was advancing human sustainability, but only 41% of workers agreed. Deloitte defines human sustainability as the extent to which organisations create value for people as human beings, including wellbeing, skills, employability, equity, belonging and purpose. That gap is not a minor communications issue. It is a trust issue wearing a lanyard.

The problem is not always bad intent. Often, it is weak translation. Senior leaders may believe the organisation is “doing a lot” because they see strategy papers, awareness campaigns, training sessions and policy updates. Staff may see something else entirely: inconsistent management, inaccessible systems, unclear reporting routes, slow reasonable adjustment processes, or a culture where challenging poor behaviour feels risky.

Inclusion is not proved by what an organisation says about itself. It is proved by what happens when things get difficult.

A useful test is this: when an employee experiences exclusion, discrimination, bullying or poor access, what actually happens next? Can they report it safely? Does anyone know who owns the issue? Are managers trained and confident? Are patterns reviewed? Does the organisation learn, or does the problem disappear into the HR cupboard of doom?

Real inclusion needs evidence, accountability and practice. That means reviewing policies, listening to staff, analysing culture data, strengthening management capability and being honest about where the employee experience does not match the corporate narrative.

Performative inclusion is tempting because it is quick. Real inclusion takes more work. But employees are not fooled by beautifully worded values if the reality feels different.

Start by asking one practical question: where does our inclusion message not match people’s lived experience at work? If that answer feels uncomfortable, it is probably where the useful work begins.

Sources and further reading

Deloitte, 2024 Global Human Capital Trends
https://www.deloitte.com/ua/en/about/press-room/human-capital-trends.html

Deloitte, 2024 Global Human Capital Trends methodology / report page
https://www.deloitte.com/za/en/services/consulting/research/2024-human-capital-trends.html

CIPD, Inclusion at Work 2022
https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/inclusion-work/