A moment of madness?

I have told several of my friends and family that we’re launching Unity Works, a DE&I communications specialist proposition this month. I have been met - by and large - with a good giggle.

I understand! It is not the natural year of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Political headwinds are blowing against ‘woke’ cultural movements, major US companies - including Google, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and BlackRock [1] - are scaling back their DE&I policies and targets, and economic stagnation combined with tariff chaos means business leaders have other things to worry about. Perhaps it is a moment of madness.

But I think there's a method in it too.

There are three main issues facing businesses when it comes to marketing inclusion, and they’re not going anywhere.

Firstly, consumer spending power continues to follow authentic inclusive campaigns. No cultural vibe shifts can mask the realities of an ever-more diverse population, and that diverse population wants to spend its money on brands doing things well. Adverts featuring black people perform better[2], 50% of people are more likely to recommend a product or service if their advertisements are diverse and representative[3], and 71% of LGBTQ consumers are more likely to interact with an online ad that authentically represents their sexual orientation[4]. With marketing budgets contracting, performance and ROI is everything; authentic inclusive campaigns are a financial must-have.

Secondly, regulatory and legislative pressure is bedding in, not backing off. At a sector level, the FCA’s DE&I in FS consultation paper is crystal clear: “diversity and inclusion are regulatory concerns”[5]. Even with no new DE&I rules and regs[6], the FCA still plans to support industry initiatives which boost diversity. Concurrently, the Financial Reporting Council’s revisions to the Corporate Governance Code - which came into play this January - place additional pressure on Boards in particular, requiring a diversity of personal attributes, inclusive culture, and diverse executive pipeline for good corporate governance[7].

And at a broader policy level, last Autumn, the Labour Government announced a draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill[8] confirming their intention to introduce a mandatory requirement for employers of 250+ employees to publish their disability and ethnicity pay gaps. While there’s no set date, it is likely the mandate for firms to have this data collected will hit within the next year - and this brings a whole host of challenges to communicate the findings well.

Thirdly and lastly, all of those concerns about productivity, growth, and the bottom line are all well and good, but the UK is 80% service-led… and those services are driven by people. The UK is heavily dependent on an engaged, happy, productive workforce. Our recent research revealed that 71% of C-suites and HR Directors in the UK believe DE&I is going to be more important to prospective employees in the next couple of years. Businesses that fail to talk about diversity properly will fall behind in the recruitment race - and those that can run engaging, authentic, cool campaigns will be top of the list for young talent.

So with these three pressures, AND a more complex societal conversation, it actually feels like businesses are crying out for expertise more than ever before.

That’s why we’re launching Unity Works, and why we’re launching it now. We can use our truly second-to-none specialist skills, across strategy, PR and research, social and search, digital development, content, and creative to solve client communications challenges which link to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We can do it as consultants, balancing business needs with communications excellence. And we can do it with passion, energy, and authenticity - we love inclusive comms, and we’re here to help you love it too.

To find out more about Unity Works, check our our webpage here or email unityworks@teamspirit.co.uk

Sources:

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/03/01/state-street-drops-corporate-board-diversity-requirement-here-are-all-the-companies-cutting-dei-programs/
2. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/big-uplift-performance-when-black-people-themselves-represented-ads/1730746
3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331225/customer-attitude-diversity-inclusion-in-advertising-us-uk/
4. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/management-and-culture/diversity-and-inclusion/inclusive-marketing-consumer-data/
5. CP23/20: Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together to drive change - Foreword p3
6. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/12/bank-of-england-decides-against-new-rules-on-improving-diversity-and-inclusion
7. https://sustainability.slaughterandmay.com/post/102j73g/the-uk-corporate-governance-code-2024-changes-from-a-sustainability-and-di-pers
8. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/office-for-equality-and-opportunity-to-break-down-barriers-to-opportunity