What Executive Leaders Are Reporting

What does inclusive leadership really look like today?

In July 2025, DHR Global surveyed executive leaders across public, private, private equity–backed companies, and nonprofit organizations to better understand how organizations are approaching inclusive leadership, culture, and accountability.

The findings offer a clear-eyed look at what companies are doing today, how those efforts are evolving, and where leadership priorities lie.

Most Organizations Are Maintaining or Adjusting, Not Eliminating, Inclusion Efforts 

In total, 17% of respondents indicated that their company had significantly or extremely scaled back or eliminated efforts related to inclusion, belonging, or equity. The majority reported maintaining or evolving their strategies, with significant variation between public and private companies.

Looking specifically at private companies (including PE-backed), 55% reported making no adjustments at all to their inclusion-related initiatives, whereas public companies appear more likely to be refining or recalibrating their approaches, with nearly 60% reporting slight to moderate adjustments. 

In the past 6 months, to what extent has your organization adjusted its DEI-related initiatives?

Language is Changing

41% of companies reported changes in internal language used to describe this work. Terminology is evolving toward “inclusive culture,” “belonging,” “leadership accountability,” and “employee experience,” reflecting a broader reframing of how inclusion is discussed and embedded.

While detailed breakdowns of language shifts by organization type weren’t captured quantitatively, open-ended responses show that public companies are more likely to reframe their efforts using terms like “inclusive culture,” “belonging,” or “values alignment.”

Which of the following changes has your organization made to its DEI strategy in the past 6 months?

Confidence in Future Investment Is Strong

However, 30% expressed doubt about future investment, highlighting uncertainty in the broader landscape. Confidence was slightly higher among private company leaders, particularly those in closely held or PE-backed firms, who emphasized the business case and culture fit as drivers for sustained investment.

Where is DEI Shifting

Which areas of DEI work have been most impacted in your organization in the past 6 months?

Leadership Diversity Is Holding Steady

Public companies reported more variability, with 68% saying senior leadership diversity is “about the same,” and the rest split between “more diverse” and “less diverse.”

Private companies were more likely to report stability, with over 80% saying leadership diversity has not changed in the last six months.

What Organizations Are Doing Differently

In addition to multiple-choice responses, qualitative insights from the survey point to several evolving practices among companies that are continuing to invest in inclusive culture and leadership: 

• Reframing Goals: Several organizations are aligning inclusion-related efforts with broader culture, engagement, or ESG strategies. 

• Expanding Leadership Competencies: Respondents noted that inclusive leadership is being incorporated into talent assessment, succession planning, and executive development. 

• Using Broader Metrics: Companies are expanding beyond diversity headcounts to include engagement scores, retention data, promotion rates, and employee feedback in their measurement frameworks. 

• Distributing Ownership: Rather than centralizing responsibility, many organizations are embedding this accountability into line leadership across functions. 

Companies are shifting from standalone DEI initiatives to integrated approaches, embedding inclusive leadership into culture, metrics, and executive development.

Methodology

This report is based on a survey conducted by DHR Global in July 2025. It included responses from more than 200 executive leaders from public, private, and private equity–backed companies in a wide range of industries. The goal of the survey was to better understand how organizations are structuring and sustaining their approaches to inclusive leadership, culture, and performance in a changing environment. 

*Percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding.