Introduction: The New Reality of Board Diversity Something significant is happening in boardrooms across the world. Over the past decade, board diversity and inclusion has moved from being a governance aspiration to a strategic necessity. Companies have made measurable progress in bringing more women, professionals from varied backgrounds, and diverse experiences into their boardrooms. However, recent years have also witnessed a growing debate around DEI initiatives. A global

Let me tell you something that most DEI conversations get wrong from the very first sentence. They frame DEI in leadership as something a company does for its people. A goodwill gesture. An HR initiative. Something you announce in a press release and then measure once a year in an employee satisfaction survey. That framing is the problem. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace are not something you do for people. It is something you build with people — and when you