Trend Shift 8: diversity and inclusion is being refocused rather than abandoned

Summary

McKinsey's eighth shift finds that organizations are sharpening rather than dropping their diversity and inclusion efforts. In 2025, as political backing for such programs weakened in some countries, many organizations reconsidered their stance, yet 90 percent of the roughly 10,000 leaders surveyed still treat D&I as a priority. Nearly half, 46 percent, call it a strategic priority built into long-term goals, and another 26 percent describe it as an operational priority with concrete initiatives in place. Globally, four in five organizations are keeping or expanding their efforts, seeing them as a driver of innovation and long-term resilience. At the same time, companies are paying closer attention to what works and refining their approaches to achieve measurable impact.