How to build a genuinely inclusive culture at work

Executive overview

Most organisations treat inclusion as a program or a number — diversity dashboards, resource groups, annual events. That misses where inclusion actually lives: in daily interactions between people and their direct managers.

Deepa Purushothaman, Deloitte's national managing principal of inclusion, shares how Deloitte evolved its approach over 25 years — from a women's initiative to a full culture-change model built around belonging, courage, and community.

The core insight: belonging is felt in moments, not mandated by programs — and you can't create it without having uncomfortable conversations.

Deloitte's 25-year inclusion journey

• Started in the early 1990s when CEO Mike Cook looked around the leadership table and saw no women
• Launched WIN (Women's Initiative) focused on attracting, retaining, and advancing women
• Expanded over time to diversity, then to inclusion — broadening who is part of the conversation
• Now moving away from cohort-based programs toward a culture-and-lifecycle model

Why the cohort model breaks down

• Traditional programs slot people into a single identity: women, South Asian, LGBTQ+
• Staff increasingly see themselves through multiple identities and resist one-dimensional categorisation
• Millennial employees especially reject the idea that inclusion is someone else's problem
• Deloitte's shift: from "here's a box you fit into" to "what does our culture need to support everyone?"

What the research shows

• 30% of Millennials surveyed had already left a company for a more inclusive culture
• Having a diverse leadership team was less important to employees than feeling they belong
• Belonging is individual — it cannot be prescribed; it must be felt
• Inclusion is now central to the talent discussion, not a side initiative

The six pillars of Deloitte's culture model

Deloitte identified six areas employees said mattered most for feeling included:

1. Community — a genuine sense of connection and belonging
2. Purpose — meaningful work aligned to something larger
3. Strength — developing and deploying what people do best
4. Courage — psychological safety to speak honestly
5. Well-being — support for the whole person, not just the worker
6. Flexibility — increasingly important for Millennial men as much as women

Where inclusion actually happens

• Not at events or in BRGs — in daily interactions with direct managers
• Regular informal check-ins matter more than annual reviews
• Leaders who create space for real-time dialogue allow microaggressions to be addressed immediately
• Asking simple questions — "What's working for you? What isn't?" — opens doors that programs cannot

How to start (advice for any organisation)

• Don't wait for the perfect program — start the conversation, even imperfectly
• Get executive buy-in first: Deloitte's initiative was CEO-mandated, board-reported, and funded — not a grassroots side project
• Focus on culture alongside programs; the intangibles (belonging, connection) can't be deferred
• Bring everyone into the inclusion dialogue — including senior white men, who often feel left out of the conversation
• Leaders set the tone; if they don't show up and speak consistently, the culture doesn't shift

The courage to ask

• Many inclusion failures stem from fear of saying the wrong thing
• A simple rule: just ask — "What do you want to be called?" opens more doors than any policy
• Younger generations model this naturally; Millennials ask bolder questions and normalise difficult dialogue
• Personal experience matters: some male executives didn't engage until they imagined their daughters entering the workplace
• Deepa's own lesson: she would now stop a dismissive comment in the moment and address it directly, rather than letting it pass

On leadership style and imposter syndrome

• Deepa found her style by taking elements from leaders around her and making them authentic to who she is
• Sales looked different for her: family breakfasts instead of client dinners — equally effective, genuinely hers
• Many women lead by cataloguing what they don't know; imposter syndrome pushes focus to gaps rather than strengths
• The shift: lead from strength, not from anxiety about credentials