As interesting of a year as 2024 was for DEI, 2025 could be an even more notable year. That’s true at both the corporate and university levels.

Many DEI advocates are anxious following 2024’s wave of politicized attacks against DEI and the future attacks expected to come. Others are nervous about the implications of unregulated AI on recruiting and hiring, especially when it comes to hiring underrepresented talent. 

I understand the anxieties. I’ve spoken to them, and I share in some of them. But today, I want to interrupt those anxieties with a different thought.

What if these challenges to DEI can actually make our work to elevate underrepresented students + hire excellent talent stronger?

Organizational DEI is at an inflection point. And that’s an opportunity. With the right DEI strategy in place, I believe we can drive more realized, more mature, and more sustainable programs in 2025 and every year after. Adapting our approach now could mean achieving even more of the things we originally sought to do with this work. 

Making DEI resilient, though, requires forward-looking tactics that address emerging trends while incorporating lessons from the past year. Ready to get to the bottom of a 2025 DEI strategy that can carry your organization into the future? Here’s how to refine and reinforce your strategy for the year ahead.

1. De-silo DEI

For as long as we’ve talked about the need to de-silo DEI, actually breaking out of siloes can be hard. Many of us have continued defaulting to standalone DEI teams. They’re good for expertise and accountability, but they can also keep DEI on an island.

In 2025, truly embedding DEI into every part of your organization will be a non-negotiable. The push to integrate DEI into the fabric of operations — rather than isolating it within standalone teams — is critical for long-term resilience. It’s also more likely to result in a DEI approach that’s lived instead of lectured on, driving real results. 

Leaders should proactively establish cross-department DEI ownership in 2025. Examples include:

• Embedding inclusivity into workflows: Teams like product design, recruitment, and customer experience should all incorporate DEI-informed principles as standard practice.
• Pairing expertise with accountability: While it’s great to have DEI experts guiding strategy, accountability for execution belongs to all team leaders.

Think beyond compliance. Organizations like Microsoft, which made inclusive design a product team standard, and Intel, which integrates DEI metrics into its ESG frameworks, demonstrate the potential of a holistic DEI approach. Start building these systems now to avoid playing catch-up later.

2. Audit, Audit, Audit

Auditing your DEI program will remain essential in 2025, not just to manage risks (as seen in the ballooning of corporate DEI audits) but also to identify opportunities for more impactful, data-driven initiatives. Start the year by using audits and/or employee surveys to assess your programs, policies, and outcomes. That will help you uncover any disparities.

To maximize the value of audits and surveys:

• Ask the right questions: Use audits and surveys to evaluate how well your DEI initiatives address specific challenges, like representation gaps, equity in promotions, or employee resource group (ERG) effectiveness. Collect identity-specific data wherever possible, so that you can cross-compare response trends across groups.
• Explore incentivization tactics: Surveys, including any identity demographics questions in them, should be optional. But how can you drum up engagement? Can your ERGs help you increase survey participation?

3. Treat Data as Evidence 

In the future era of DEI, data is going to make the difference between defensible programs and those more vulnerable to backlash. By treating data as evidence, you can prove your DEI policies and programs are founded on real, measurable gaps and needs — or adapt policies until that is the case. 

Here’s an example of a program defended by data: 

• You’re a career counselor who surveyed MBA graduates for jobs accepted post-program. You see that white candidates fared best after graduation. 
• Rather than chalking that up to hiring bias, review your program for any support, counseling, and networking gaps underrepresented MBA candidates may be experiencing. 
• Capture gaps in the form of concrete data points as much as possible, and transparently share that data. 
• Then, set up a program to close your program’s gaps. 
• Continue to communicate about the reason for your program and the impact it’s making; don’t just one-and-done it.

4. Build Guardrails for Responsible AI in DEI

AI use will keep expanding rapidly in 2025, but it can only support DEI efforts if implemented responsibly. Make sure your organization has frameworks in place to monitor AI tools for bias and inequity. Future-ready steps for AI and DEI integration can include:

• Engage ERGs as testers: ERGs can provide critical insights by auditing AI tools for unintended biases before rollout. Pay them for this work!
• Prioritize fairness metrics: Develop benchmarks for AI fairness and inclusion and tie them to your organization’s DEI goals.
• Train teams on ethical AI use: Make sure employees know how to assess whether AI tools align with DEI values.

5. Go All-In On Skills-Based Recruiting Channels

Skills-based hiring practices keep gaining ground, with 81% of employers using them in 2024 vs. 73% in 2023 and 56% in 2022. And 2025 will be no different. 

Not only does skills-based hiring drive better candidate fit than hiring from resumes — something 94% of employers agree with — it’s also a great way to reach underrepresented talent. They’re more likely to want companies to engage them with real project opportunities and transparent selection criteria. For university leaders, real project recruitment is also a great way to get underrepresented candidates in front of employers while adding to their work portfolios.

To strengthen your skills-based strategy in 2025: 

• Invest in experiential opportunities: Engage candidates through real-world projects, like Case Challenges, that allow them to show employers their skills in-action.
• Partner with diverse institutions: Build pipelines with universities and organizations that are focused on underrepresented talent to reach a broader pool of qualified candidates. Look out for partner groups in the communities you operate in, too.
• Focus on skills in job postings: Make sure your job descriptions and evaluation criteria clearly define the required skills and how you plan to assess them, and remove any unnecessary requirements. 

Investing in these practices now will drive both DEI and recruitment success in 2025.

6. Revisit Your DEI Goals, and Move Beyond Representation Metrics

We know from legal experts — including the ones we heard from at WeSolv’s Navigating Diversity Programming Risk panel — that DEI goals focused on diversity “quotas” are more likely to come under fire in 2025. Plus, while representation remains an important benchmark, focusing on it alone can backfire. Time and again, we’ve seen organizations amp up their underrepresented talent recruiting efforts without first taking time to stop and assess the culture they’re bringing that talent into. 

In 2025, smart DEI goals will focus just as much on qualitative outcomes as they do on quantitative, top-level ones. To follow suit: 

• Frame goals around practices you know benefit DEI. Example: We know degree requirements on job listings are more likely to lock out Black workers, 65% of whom have skills from alternative means. Yet, 60% of mid-level jobs in the U.S. today require bachelor degrees when they aren’t relevant. Instead of a vague goal to “hire more Black talent in 2025,” address a real entry barrier like this in your DEI goals.
• Bake DEI factors into related people leadership goals. Everything from employee engagement and retention to advancement can all be DEI indicators, especially when you have the data to detect the right patterns. Rather than relying on standalone DEI goals, see how DEI fits into things you’re already measuring.

7. Operationalize Pay Transparency

Here’s a hard pill to swallow: The U.S. gender pay gap just grew for the first time in a decade. Pay equity should be an ongoing focus in 2025, even in states where it isn’t required (yet). Fair pay practices aren’t just about compliance; they’re also about building trust and driving equity. To start out: 

• Publish salary ranges: Be upfront about pay ranges in job postings and internal role transitions to remove ambiguity.
• Conduct annual pay equity analyses: Evaluate pay across gender, race, and other identity groups to identify and correct any gaps.
• Educate managers: Train leaders on equitable pay practices and how to handle conversations about compensation transparently.
• Create a transparent pay & promotion ladder: Don’t just share what different positions earn now. Set minimum and maximum pay thresholds across a “ladder system” defined by skills, title, and responsibility-based ladder system. Include specific criteria for advancing up the ladder as much as possible. This shows people what they could earn with a promotion, which drives retention.

8. Invest in Up-Skilling

As workplace demands evolve, future-proof 2025 DEI strategies need to prioritize inclusive learning and development. These practices ensure all employees, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, have equitable access to growth opportunities. To get started: 

• Embed DEI into leadership training: Develop training programs that teach leaders how to build and manage diverse teams.
• Offer mentorship programs: Pair employees with mentors across departments and seniority levels to support career advancement.
• Upskill for future roles: Invest in training for emerging skill sets, like AI literacy and sustainability, with a focus on equity in access.

9. Tie Everything Back to the Business Case 

Here’s another piece of advice that’s been said since the earliest DEI programs emerged. But the truth is that many of us haven’t quite perfected it yet. To better anchor DEI in your business strategy in 2025: 

• Quantify the ROI: Use metrics like employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and innovation output to show the financial and operational benefits of DEI programs. For example, teams with higher inclusion scores often outperform their peers in productivity.
• Link DEI to market goals: Highlight how diverse teams drive better decision-making, improve customer experience, and open access to underserved markets. Be as specific to your industry as possible.
• Make DEI a competitive advantage: Showcase how your organization’s DEI efforts differentiate you in talent acquisition, especially with Gen Z and Millennial talent who prioritize inclusive workplaces.

As we look ahead to 2025, the organizations that truly embed DEI into everything they do won’t just keep up — they’ll lead. By staying flexible, leaning on data, and tying DEI to real business goals, you’ll create a strategy that’s built to last. The key? Start now. The work you do today will set the stage for more impact in 2025 (and every year after!).