By Dr. Drew B. Mallory
The “one-size-fits-all” model of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)—largely exported from the United States—is collapsing under the weight of political backlash and cultural irrelevance. This is not a retreat, but a necessary evolution. The future belongs to leaders who replace performative compliance with Contextual Intelligence, leveraging indigenous frameworks like Kreng Jai, Ubuntu, and Interculturalism to build resilient, high-performing global teams.
The headlines in 2024 and 2025 have been relentless: corporate giants rolling back diversity initiatives, universities shuttering inclusion offices, and a legislative assault in the United States branding DEI as “divisive” and “illegal.” To the casual observer, DEI is dying. To the global strategist, however, this “death” is the most positive development in management history.
What is dying is not the value of inclusion, but the hegemony of a specific, Western-centric, largely American delivery mechanism. For decades, multinational corporations (MNCs) and universities have treated DEI as a franchise model, exporting American definitions of race, gender, and identity to subsidiaries in Bangkok, Berlin, and Johannesburg, expecting identical results. It failed because it ignored a fundamental business truth: culture eats strategy for breakfast.
The demise of “copy-paste” DEI clears the wreckage for something far more robust: Contextual Inclusion. This new era demands that leaders trade the blunt instrument of compliance for the precision tool of Contextual Intelligence—the ability to interpret and react to changing surroundings—and build inclusion frameworks that resonate with, rather than impose upon, local values.
The Cost of the “Copy-Paste” Failure
The economic imperative for diversity remains irrefutable. McKinsey’s 2023-2024 analysis confirms that companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are (still) 39% more likely to outperform peers in profitability, and diverse teams are (still) 70% more likely to capture new markets. Yet, global firms are also (still) failing to realize these gains because their inclusion strategies are culturally tone-deaf.
In Asia, Western models of “radical candor” and “speaking up” often crash against the bedrock of high-context communication styles. A psychological safety program that demands public vulnerability may succeed in New York but can be actively harmful in Bangkok. Inclusion here must navigate local cultural analogues: Mianzi (face) in China, Hiya (shame/propriety) in the Philippines, and Kreng Jai in Thailand—a desire to maintain social harmony and avoid imposing on others.
Meanwhile, In Europe, the imposition of US-style racial categories often clashes with the continent’s distinct “Interculturalism” approach, which prioritizes social cohesion and dialogue over rigid identity politics. The “death” of this monolithic model is a correction. It allows organizations to stop performative box-checking and start building frameworks rooted in local reality.
From Compliance to Context: Global Frameworks for the Future
If the Western model is receding, what takes its place? The future of inclusive leadership is being written in the Global South and Europe, where institutions are innovating frameworks that merge local wisdom with global standards.
1. Southeast Asia: The “Bamboo Ceiling” and Kreng Jai
In Southeast Asia, the Western insistence on “assertiveness” as a leadership trait has created a “Bamboo Ceiling” for local talent—a term coined by leadership strategist Jane Hyun to describe how Asian professionals are often stalled in middle management. Hyun’s research highlights that multinational firms frequently overlook high-potential Asian leaders because they do not fit the extroverted Western ideal. This is a failure of context, not competence.
Contextually intelligent leaders recognize characteristics like Kreng Jai not as passivity, but as a mechanism for group cohesion. Instead of forcing public debate (“speaking up”), they build “relational safety” through private consensus-building, honoring the local preference for harmony while still extracting diverse viewpoints.
2. Africa: Ubuntu and Values-Based Leadership
While the West debates individual rights, African business philosophy offers Ubuntu—”I am because we are.” Unlike Western models that focus on protecting the individual from the group, Ubuntu emphasizes the interdependence of the individual and the community. Research from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) demonstrates how this philosophy can be operationalized into “values-based leadership.” In this model, a leader’s legitimacy is derived entirely from their ability to nurture the community, shifting the goal of DEI from “representation” (counting heads) to “interdependence” (making heads count). This approach enhances employee engagement and resilience in volatile markets more effectively than imported compliance models.
3. Europe: Interculturalism over Multiculturalism
Europe is increasingly moving toward “Interculturalism,” a policy paradigm championed by the Council of Europe and the Intercultural Cities Programme. This differs significantly from US/UK Multiculturalism. While multiculturalism often leads to parallel lives (co-existence), interculturalism emphasizes interaction and the forging of a common public culture. For European businesses, like those challenging US attacks on DEI, this means moving beyond “diversity days” to structural programs that force cross-cultural collaboration, viewing diversity as a resource for innovation rather than a legal category to be protected.
The Role of Business Education
Business schools can be the incubators of this new leadership mindset. Here in Southeast Asia, Sasin School of Management stands as a proof to the power and impact of contextual inclusion. We are the only business school in Thailand to be listed on the Financial Times (FT) Top 100 and was recently ranked within the top 5 schools in ASEAN for diversity. We are also the only business school in the world to be featured for two consecutive years on the INvolve Outstanding Executive Role Models lists, supported by YouTube.
We did not achieve this recognition by copying Western curricula. Instead, we operationalized inclusion through projects that matter here. We operationalize inclusion through projects like the Neurodiversity at Work Research Centre (NWRC), which helps companies identify the high-value skills of neurodivergent talent to meet local employment quotas. We also lead by example with initiatives like our canteen program employing ex-convicts, proving that we are leaders in a country that once put little effort into these issues. Similarly, while the United States built a frenzy of anti-trans legislation, our T*Factor study—the world’s first academic research on trans* professional leadership in a non-Western context—found that successful Thai trans* leaders leverage Nata (social face) and Gam (karma) to build resilience. We have further supported this work with our LGBTQI+ Inclusion Toolkit, now adopted by dozens of local and MNCs.
Practical Advice for Leaders
The “death” of DEI is actually the birth of sustainable inclusion. Here are some ways that leaders can navigate this shift:
| Old Model (“Dead” DEI) | New Model (Contextual Inclusion) | Practical Action |
| Universal Metrics | Local Relevance | Stop using global KPIs for every region. Measure “inclusion” differently in Tokyo (group cohesion) than in New York (individual expression). |
| Compliance & Rights | Innovation & Performance | Reframe DEI not as a legal obligation but as a “competitive advantage” for capturing diverse markets. |
| “Speak Up” Culture | Multiple Channels | Abandon the demand for radical candor in high-context cultures. Use anonymous digital tools or intermediaries to gather feedback without causing loss of face. |
| Deficit Mindset | Asset Mindset | Stop viewing marginalized groups as “needing help.” Identify the unique skills (resilience, adaptability) they bring, as demonstrated by research like the T*Factor. |
Conclusion
DEI is not dead; it is shedding its skin. The rigid, colonial implementation of diversity initiatives is expiring, making way for a living, breathing practice of inclusion that honors local wisdom. By embracing Contextual Intelligence, leaders can stop fighting culture wars and start building the high-performing, culturally attuned organizations that the 21st century demands.
Dr. Drew B. Mallory
