Inclusion trends in 2025: small steps, bold change

Inclusion isn’t something you ‘do’ once. It’s something you live — every day, in every decision, across every team.

As we move through 2025, the most inclusive organisations are rethinking how they show up for their people and communities. Not through slogans, but through systems. Not with perfection, but with purpose.

Here are five shifts we’re seeing — and how you can bring them into your work, wherever you are.

🌱 1. Inclusion starts with purpose, not paperwork

Forget checklists and dry strategies. Inclusion is becoming mission-driven. That means setting bold, shared goals and rooting them in your day-to-day work.

📍Example: Adur & Worthing Councils embed inclusion through Our Plan, connecting community priorities to everything from workforce development to participatory budgeting that tackles the cost-of-living crisis.

Try this:

• Co-create a bold inclusion mission with staff and communities
• Embed it in job descriptions, funding decisions, and team priorities
• Share progress (and where you’re learning) with honesty

“Inclusion in 2025 isn’t a policy — it’s a purpose. Make it real by weaving it into every goal, every budget, every conversation.”

🔧 2. Move beyond awareness — fix the systems

Awareness days and training sessions matter. But inclusion only sticks when it’s baked into how your organisation runs.

📍Example: The London Office of Technology & Innovation (LOTI) built an Inclusive Design Framework to make accessibility and equity core to their technology procurement.

Try this:

• Audit your systems using CIPD’s Inclusion Maturity Model
• Redesign onboarding, recruitment, and procurement to work for everyone
• Track not just who’s in the room — but who’s thriving

“Don’t just raise awareness. Rethink the systems that leave people out — and rebuild them for everyone.”

💻 3. Use digital to open doors, not close them

Digital isn’t neutral. The best inclusion teams are using tech to reduce bias, boost accessibility, and involve more people in shaping services.

📍Example: Nesta supports councils using participatory platforms that let residents help decide local budgets — and bring marginalised voices into decision-making.

Try this:

• Train teams in inclusive design and ethical AI using guidance like Design Council’s principles
• Use co-designed tools and open-source platforms to make engagement more accessible
• Be transparent about how you collect and use data with frameworks like BIT’s ethical guidance

“Inclusion and digital go hand-in-hand in 2025. Let’s design tech with — not just for — those it affects.”

🫶 4. Participation is your superpower

Inclusion isn’t a one-way broadcast — it’s a conversation. The shift from consultation to co-creation is reshaping how policies and programmes are made.

📍Example: Community Leaders sessions in Adur & Worthing bring residents, officers and partners together to design solutions — side by side.

Try this:

• Map how different groups can engage using frameworks like Participation Matrices
• Invest in grassroots capacity with partners like The Young Foundation
• Use plain English and visual tools to make participation easier for everyone

“Stop consulting. Start co-creating. Participation makes inclusion real — and builds solutions that stick.”

🌈 5. Inclusion means wellbeing — for everyone

Mental health, flexible working, and accessible policies are central to inclusion in 2025. It’s not just about who gets in the door — but how they’re supported once they’re in.

📍Example: The Behavioural Insights Team found that small changes — like flexible hours for carers — can make a big difference to inclusion and wellbeing.

Try this:

• Use Mind’s guides to start conversations on mental health
• Encourage line managers to lead with care, supported by tools like CIPD’s people management hub

“Inclusion isn’t just who’s in the room — it’s how they feel when they’re there. Wellbeing is equity in action.”

💡 What now?

Inclusion doesn’t have to start big. In fact, it’s the small things — done consistently and with care — that build lasting change.

🔹 Start with one team.
🔹 Ask one new question.
🔹 Make one process fairer.

Then share what you’re learning. Be honest about what’s working — and what’s not. That’s what leadership looks like in 2025.