What Remains When Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Disappear?
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HR departments in many organisations are currently undergoing profound change. While topics such as diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion are increasingly fading into the background, the challenges of shaping modern working environments are mounting. This raises a central question: How can organisations fully harness the potential of all employees and rethink career paths for the future?
The Demographic Challenge Remains
Banning diversity programmes does not make the challenges facing HR departments, managers, and employees disappear. While labour markets in some sectors and functions – for example, in the financial sector – are currently easing, with more qualified candidates becoming available again, demographic change remains a major challenge and will only intensify in the coming years. A 2023 forecast by Economiesuisse predicts that Switzerland will face a shortage of around 431,000 workers by 2040, equivalent to roughly eight per cent of today’s working population. In this context, leaders and HR professionals would be well advised to recruit, develop, and retain talent across all age groups.
We Need the Potential of All Age Groups
Entry-level jobs for young people are increasingly affected by artificial intelligence. This raises an important question: how can we ensure that young people still make a meaningful transition from vocational education or university into working life—gaining experience and taking their first development steps? A long sequence of poorly paid internships is unlikely to be a sustainable solution. A related challenge concerns the growing group of (young) neurodivergent individuals. How can managers and organisations better harness their potential? In many cases, only small adjustments are needed for diverse teams to work together effectively. Expanding knowledge in this area and drawing on the expertise of specialised “bridge-builders” can make a substantial difference. Did you know, for example, that people with ADHD often refer to themselves in the plural? So when they say, “We have a problem here,” they are not referring to the team, but to themselves.
Women during their family phase are also underused talents. Women between the ages of 40 and 50 are among the most dissatisfied groups in many organisations. One of our studies shows that they are highly qualified and ambitious, yet frequently overlooked. Men over 40 are promoted to leadership positions three times more often than women – at a time when more highly qualified women than ever before are active in the labour market. In certain sectors, such as healthcare, urgent action is needed. Today, more than 60 per cent of graduates in human medicine are women, yet 25 per cent of practising physicians are over 60 years old, and more than 40 per cent hold a foreign diploma. Our healthcare system therefore risks losing quality if we fail to retain female doctors and make better use of their potential. Initiatives such as “Aiming Higher – Career Development for Female Medical Residents” address this challenge, as do return-to-work programmes and mentoring initiatives for highly qualified migrants.
Another major challenge concerns older, often highly experienced employees. Around 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce would be willing to continue working beyond the retirement age of 65, yet suitable roles and opportunities are often lacking. Addressing this requires not only changes to institutional framework conditions but also the development of new career paths that allow people to work in a healthy and sustainable way over the long term.
Switzerland Depends on Innovation
Satisfied employees perform better – this is hardly a new insight. Consider when you personally feel satisfied and motivated at work: typically when you feel valued, when your work has meaning, when you are treated fairly and supported in your development, when you enjoy a sense of agency and room to manoeuvre, and when you can be yourself without hiding who you are. These are, in fact, the very themes at the heart of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Switzerland’s competitiveness depends on innovation – and thus on well-educated, motivated and high-performing employees. To remain internationally competitive, companies must retain the increasingly scarce pool of highly qualified talent and fully leverage their potential. Doing so is firmly in their own business interest. For example, including people with disabilities has been shown to enhance a team’s innovative performance. However, this effect is not automatic; it depends on a genuine, lived climate of inclusion. Research further indicates that when such an inclusive climate is present, the health of ALL employees measurably improves. As employees feel more included, their health tends to improve over time—regardless of whether they belong to a minority or a majority group. Leadership is crucial in fostering this environment, supported by inclusive practices embedded across all HR processes.
Continuing Education Remains Essential
So what remains when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) programmes disappear? Many organisations continue to face significant challenges: structural inequalities, unconscious biases, and a lack of inclusive processes still prevent them from making full use of the potential of everyone. At the same time, developments such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and new forms of work raise new questions about fairness, participation, and responsibility. Looking ahead, it is clear that DE&I topics will continue to play an important role in organisations – even if they are reframed as “Talent Management 2.0.” For this reason, continuing education remains essential. Our new programme – “Meet the Experts” – is designed for professionals who want to shape modern working environments and expand their professional impact, and it aims to contribute directly to this goal. The programme addresses key, forward-looking topics such as AI and inclusive HR, neurodiversity, pay analysis, career development, family planning and fertility.
These and many other topics will also be discussed during our D&I Week, where we will reflect on the past, present, and future of diversity and inclusion. The event marks our 10-year anniversary and offers space for exchange, fresh perspectives, and shared reflection.
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Meet the Experts
Meet the Experts is aimed at professionals in HR and the diversity, equity and inclusion sector who wish to expand their professional influence and play an active role in shaping modern working environments. Developed from real-world practical experience, the programme addresses key challenges such as employer attractiveness, skills shortages, flexible working and career paths.
