How can D&I professionals build resilient careers?

How can D&I professionals build resilient careers?

By Jo Faragher on 28 November 2025

‘Job hugging’ may sound like a Gen Z workplace cliché, but it’s a sentiment many D&I professionals will be familiar with right now. Since Donald Trump was re-elected to the US presidency in 2024, there’s been a rollback in D&I programmes and the impact on the market for professionals has been hit hard. According to a survey by Resume.org, 20% of companies have eliminated DEI programmes since the election, and another 10% have reduced investment.

Many companies have renamed or redefined the function to include other focuses such as wellbeing or sustainability. Either way, it’s an unsettling time for D&I professionals, many of whom are ‘hugging’ their current job whether they love it or not, or are looking for work when there are fewer opportunities available. “A lot will depend on the maturity of the organisation and where they’re at in terms of inclusion,” says Sarah Churchman OBE, former chief inclusion, community and wellbeing officer at PwC and now a non-executive director and consultant.

She argues that companies that are further along in terms of embedding D&I and making it part of “business as usual” will already be focusing on what improves inclusion and belonging, and where there is strong senior-level support for D&I at a strategic level this will continue. Professionals working where the function may be at risk or feel less valued can still effect change in their roles by ensuring there is equity in talent acquisition, recruitment processes and any other aspects of HR they may be working on. “Where people might be most vulnerable is when they were recruited into those roles based only on lived experience and without corporate exposure. But even then, if it’s an organisation where they can move, they will have developed great management skills, budget skills, team leadership and an understanding of the operations of the business,” she adds.

Change enablers

Sally Spicer, co-founder of Talent Included, believes that the most sought-after D&I professionals are moving away from being programme leaders to becoming systems designers. “They can identify bias in workflows, influence leadership and behaviours, and what capabilities businesses need for upcoming challenges such as AI adoption,” she explains. “DEI people are already operating as organisational designers, change enablers and behaviour shifters.” Away from the polarised debate around the role of D&I in business, many people in these roles are perfectly qualified to support organisations through what is likely to be a period of rapid change in the next few years, she adds.

Spicer also notes that D&I roles are becoming more niche, much like we have seen with the evolution of accountants in recent decades. Where once we simply recruited accountants, now we can hire an M&A specialist or a forensic accountant or someone who only works with charities. D&I roles will move the same way, she suggests: “Niche skills are becoming central to the success of organisations. So a D&I professional could be focused on employee engagement, or working with customers on accessibility and product development, or steering ethics as companies ramp up adoption of AI.” If people are happy doing what Spicer calls “DEI in disguise”, working on systems change and cultural transformation, this is where the impact will be.

Navigating resistance

It’s the D&I professionals that “speak the language of the business” that will be the most resilient in the coming years, argues Gamiel Yafai MBE, founder and CEO of Diversity Marketplace, and who can align what they’re doing with the strategic goals of the business. “Business alignment is crucial for any form of culture change,” he says, whether that’s moving to a shorter working week or navigating a restructure. “Seventy percent of the work we do is behavioural change, particularly with leaders.”

Indeed, navigating resistance from leaders is something most D&I professionals will be used to and skilled at. In a boardroom of 10 executives, says Yafai, only two might be fully on board with DEI, two vehemently against it and six who are on the fence. “Tapping into those who are allies and recognising who to work with, and who to spend time on, is a really important skill,” he adds. These situations develop a host of other skills too, including political astuteness (when to raise something and when not, and who with); better cultural intelligence (understanding others’ needs and norms); and improved facilitation and mediation skills.

Like Spicer, Gafai believes the profession’s systems-driven approach will help it survive. “D&I professionals have a holistic view of the whole organisation – every department and every leader,” he says. “They know how different leaders need to adapt to bring inclusion into their departments. This is a systems approach to the organisation and organisational change that they can bring. Most department heads are focused on their own function so don’t see this.”

Embedding at every touchpoint

Jenn Barnett, people and culture director and head of EDI at Grant Thornton, feels like the current period of uncertainty for D&I professionals is a recalibration of skills that was always set to happen, but has been compounded by economic and political factors. “Businesses want to know that D&I adds value so we need to look at what’s important for the business. It’s like being a consultant – you look at the problem, what’s causing it, and put in actions to mitigate,” she explains. Future-focused D&I leaders have the ability to persuade across different audiences, understanding issues deeply through data and influencing systemic change across the employee lifecycle. That could be how work is allocated or how performance reviews happen, for example.

“It’s embedding your skills at every touchpoint, considering who needs to think about this. It can’t just be one central team, it needs to flow through every business decision,” she says. This may feel uncomfortable to some leaders as there’s a sense of relinquishing the role, and they will need deep relationships and respect in the organisation to have those conversations that truly embed D&I. This will become even more important as businesses accelerate their use of AI, she advises. D&I teams could lead the charge on building psychological safety so employees feel safe about AI developments, encourage critical thinking and ensure that everyone can access training to use it in a positive way.

There is potentially an exciting role for the profession in the workplace of the future, and Spicer concludes that it needs to lean into that power, particularly when it comes to self-development. “You can’t do everything in this role, so think about what you can do. What lights you up? Where do you want to have an impact? Identify the skills you have and double down on those, or find out how you can acquire them,” she advises. “We spend a lot of time advocating for others; now it’s time to advocate for ourselves.”