Part 1: The House We Built is Being Burned Down: How Leaders Must Act Now to Save Inclusion

An open letter from someone who's spent three decades helping workplaces evolve —and is now watching them unravel.

I've been in corporate spaces for 30 years. I've trained thousands of people, built dozens of teams, and helped transform companies from the inside out. And right now, I'm watching something I never thought I'd see: the systematic dismantling of everything we've built to make workplaces more humane and actually work for everyone.

Last week, I got a call from a colleague. He's brilliant. He was educated in prestigious schools and has numerous degrees. Twenty-five years of stellar performance reviews. He was distraught. His DEI role had been eliminated, not because he failed, but because his company decided that fairness itself had become too controversial.

Of course, we know, he's not alone. I've been hearing these stories for months now.

We're Watching History Repeat Itself…In Real Time

Let me be brutally honest with you: What's happening right now isn't just a "pendulum swing" or a "market correction." It's an intentional erasure of progress that took decades to achieve. Our country is famous for making progress followed by waves of retrenchment, but it feels worse this time around. Maybe it's because I’m living through it, or maybe because the work that took decades of my life and so many others seems to be regressing overnight. 

Books that teach our full history are being pulled from shelves. The faces and voices of those who fought for fairness are being scrubbed from websites. Leaders who once championed inclusion are now silent, terrified of becoming targets themselves.

I've watched companies delete entire diversity pages overnight. I've listened to CEOs who privately tell me they believe in this work, then turnaround and publicly announce they're "refocusing on merit," as if inclusion and excellence were somehow opposites and not inextricably linked.

Here's what keeps me up at night: We know exactly where this leads.

The Cost Is Already Staggering, And It's Just Beginning

The data should terrify every leader who cares about their bottom line:

In the last three months alone, nearly 300,000 Black women have left the workforce, many of them the very leaders and innovators our companies desperately need. These aren't statistics. These are the colleagues who brought fresh perspectives to stale problems. The managers who knew how to build bridges across differences. The executives who understood the markets we're still trying to reach.

According to new data from Catalyst Inc. and Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law , 76% of employees are telling us they'll stay with companies that maintain their commitment to inclusion. But here's the number that should really worry you: 43% are ready to walk if you abandon these efforts. And it's not who you might expect; it's your youngest, brightest, most innovative talent. The people you're counting on to lead your company into the future. And even if the departures don’t materialize, the quiet quitting, low morale, opposition to or disbelief of mental health challenges, and decreased productivity are inevitable outcomes.

The Trump administration's rollback of disability protections has left one in four Americans more vulnerable to discrimination. Think about that. One in four Americans who could be your customers, employees, partners, and vendors are suddenly less protected than they were last year.

This isn't politics. This is about people. Real people with real talent who are being pushed out, overlooked, and silenced.

Why This Matters: A Personal Story

Let me tell you why this is personal for me.

I started my DEI career working with some of the most prestigious AmLaw 100 firms. I remember sitting with managing partners and executive committees who said they believed in diversity and inclusion, but weren’t willing to change how they hired, assigned work, mentored, or selected partners. These were highly successful firms, confident they could continue excelling by doing what they’d always done, even when I presented data that suggested otherwise. It was painful, personally and professionally, to hear these leaders be so dismissive of the facts and the feelings of their employees.

But there were other firms whose leaders saw the writing on the wall.

They understood the future of their organization and profession depended on attracting and retaining the best, which included talented women and people of color, not just at the associate level, but as partners and decision-makers. One managing partner stands out. Despite a packed schedule, he showed up for a two-day retreat I facilitated, where we worked with the firm’s diversity committee to build an action plan with concrete short- and long-term goals to shift the firm’s culture and practices. He was there to demonstrate commitment, not just compliance.

The transformation didn’t happen overnight, but the firm made huge strides in bringing in more diverse talent and promoting them. Today, its managing partner is a woman.

What made the difference wasn’t a flashy initiative, it was the willingness to have deep, sometimes uncomfortable conversations about how a culture they loved and had built was unintentionally excluding the people and perspectives they most needed.

That realization led to hard, honest work: leaders examining biases, updating systems, learning new skills, and redefining success. This is the work of inclusive leadership. What I remember most is how the firm began to celebrate each new partnership class, not just because the optics had changed, but because they had built a culture where people from all backgrounds could truly thrive and contribute to the firm’s future.

That's what we're throwing away right now. Not programs or policies, but human and organizational potential.

The Truth They Don't Want You to Hear

Despite what we’ve been told, DEI was never about excluding anyone. I've been in those rooms. I've led those initiatives. It was about finally including everyone.

It was about the brilliant woman whose ideas were constantly talked over, finally being heard. The veteran with disabilities who just needed reasonable accommodations to contribute their expertise. The first-generation employees who brought insights that those from traditionally included backgrounds couldn't see.

DEI was about recognizing a simple truth: talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.

We weren't lowering standards. We were removing the artificial barriers that kept exceptional people out. We weren't playing favorites. We were finally putting an end to the favoritism that had been baked into our systems for generations.

What Real Leadership Looks Like Right Now

I'm not going to sugarcoat this: Leading right now is harder than it's ever been. You're facing pressure from all sides. But this is precisely when leadership matters most.

I've learned something in my three decades of leading: Culture isn't what you say in your annual report. It's what you do when things get tough.

Your employees are watching. They're not looking at your mission statement; they're looking at your decisions. They see who you protect and invest in and who you ignore or abandon. They notice whose voices still matter and whose have gone silent.

Right now, you have a choice. You can retreat into the false safety of "the way things were," knowing full well that "the way things were" only worked for some of us and limits future potential for your organization. Or you can be the leader this moment demands.

Five Things You Must Do Starting Tomorrow

I'm not asking you to be a political activist. I'm asking you to be a leader. Here's how:

1. Stop the Erasure Through Active Learning

The forces trying to rewrite history are counting on our ignorance. Don't let them win.

Tomorrow's action: Choose one person on your team whose background is different from yours and who seems open to the exchange. Ask them to recommend one book, article, or documentary that's influenced their perspective. Don’t assume, just accept. Then, thoughtfully engage with it, and if they are open to it, share your takeaways with that individual. Not to check a box, but to understand. Apply what you learn to how you lead.

2. Become a Bias Interrupter

Bias isn't going away. In fact, old stereotypes are being deliberately rekindled. Your job is to interrupt them in yourself and those you lead.

Tomorrow's action: In your next hiring or promotion discussion, assign someone to be the "devil's advocate, " but with a twist. Their job is to argue FOR candidates who might be overlooked and AGAINST the "obvious" choices. Watch how the conversation changes.

3. Use Your Power to Open Doors

If you're in a position of leadership, you have power, whether you acknowledge it or not. The question is: Will you use it to maintain the status quo or to create opportunity?

Tomorrow's action: Identify one high-potential person in your organization who doesn't have a sponsor. Become that sponsor. Put your reputation behind their advancement. Open doors they can't open themselves.

4. Lead with Radical Curiosity

In times of fear, we retreat to what's familiar. Fight that instinct.

Tomorrow's action: In your next team meeting, consider using phrases like these: "I might be wrong about this. What am I missing?" Then actually listen. Create space for dissent. Reward people who respectfully challenge your thinking.

5. Build Bridges, Don't Burn Them

The easiest thing right now is to surround yourself with people who think like you. It's also the most dangerous.

Tomorrow's action: Look at your last five meetings or the last few weeks of emails. Who was in them? If you're seeing the same faces, same backgrounds, same perspectives, then you're not leading, you're hiding or self-replicating. Schedule time (in-person or virtual) with someone outside your usual circle. Listen more than you talk.

This Is Our Moment to Reverse the Retrenchment

I've been through recessions, bubbles, transformations, and disruptions. But I've never seen anything like this: a coordinated attempt to convince us that fairness itself is the enemy, to burn down the actions and systems that were recognizing human potential and distributing opportunity more equitably.

Don't believe it.

The companies that will thrive in the next few decades won't be the ones that retreat to 1950’s management practices. They'll be the ones brave enough to build workplaces where everyone, literally everyone, can contribute their best.

Your competitors are betting you'll play it safe. They're counting on you to abandon the very practices that drive innovation, engagement, and growth. They're hoping you'll prioritize short-term political comfort over long-term success.

Prove them wrong.

A Personal Promise And a Challenge

I've spent 30 years trying to build more inclusive workplaces, not because it was easy or popular, but because I’ve seen the far-reaching benefits. I've seen what happens when we tap into all available talent instead of just the familiar few. I've watched companies shift their culture when they stop confusing comfort with competence.

And I promise you this: The leaders who stand firm right now, like the managing partner who led his firm through a true cultural change,  those who refuse to let fear dictate their values, will be the ones history remembers. Not for being activists, but for being actualists. Leaders who led when leadership mattered most.

So here's my challenge to you:

Don't just read this and nod. Don't just share it and move on. Act.

Pick one thing from this article and do it tomorrow. Then pick another and do it the next day. Build momentum. Create ripples. Show your team that authentic leadership isn't about following the political winds; it's about having the courage to do what's right, especially when it's hard.

Because here's the truth: The workplace wasn't perfect before. But we were making it better. We were building something that worked for everyone, not just the privileged few. The quick retreat from so much work and investment has exposed the vulnerable areas in the work of Inclusion and the operation of our workplaces. 

Our workplaces may never be the same. Stay tuned for Part 2 on this very topic. 

In the meantime, your actions speak louder than words. 

Share this with another leader who needs to hear it. Start a conversation with your team. Most importantly, commit to one concrete action tomorrow or next week that moves us forward, not backward.

Because inclusion isn't a program we run. It's a choice we make. Every single day.