Deloitte’s Maya Rafii on 5 common factors that derail inclusion programmes

Why even the best-intentioned inclusion strategies fail, and how leaders in the Middle East can turn awareness into lasting cultural impact

Inclusion has evolved from a nice-to-have aspiration into a strategic imperative, and yet many organisations struggle to translate intention into impact.

What makes some inclusion efforts stall or even flop? In my work with different teams in the Middle East, I’ve seen pervasive derailers undermining progress that often occur below the radar of leadership.

Below are five of the most common points of pitfalls, along with how leaders in the region must address them to ensure inclusion becomes sustainable rather than symbolic.

1. Treating culture as a one-size-fits-all template

A frequent misstep is believing that a “best-in-class” inclusion framework can simply be implemented into the Middle East without adaptation. Culture can’t be standardised – especially in this region, where expatriate and local dynamics, generational mix, and linguistic-ethnic diversity coexist. We have been seeing an increasing shift toward microcultures, recognizing that multiple cultural layers exist within large organizations rather than enforcing a single uniform culture.

When inclusion is treated as a rigid external template, it often feels alien, imposed, or tokenistic to local teams. How to avoid this? Co-creation. Core organizational values should be blended within the local context, but the flexibility for each individual to express their identity should remain. Inclusion grows when people feel the framework reflects them, not when they must fit into it.

2. Ignoring the maturity of the business

Inclusion strategies should align with a business’ lifecycle and transformation journey. An early-stage startup, for instance, has a fluid structure and more tolerance for experimentation. A large, legacy enterprise may require more structural reforms and mindset shifts before bold inclusion initiatives take hold.

While many organsations prioritise inclusion, they often struggle with execution capability. When inclusion ambition exceeds organisational readiness either in systems, leadership, or employee culture, initiatives stall, become superficial, or provoke resistance. This can be avoided by conducting a diagnostic of maturity before launching programmes: assessing governance, changing capacity, communication systems, and leadership bandwidth.

Ambitions should be aligned with readiness – over time, inclusion accelerates as an organisation evolves.

3. Weak leadership accountability

It is not enough to delegate inclusion to HR or diversity teams without visible, sustained commitment from the top. Very few organizations connect inclusion outcomes directly to business metrics such as profitability or productivity. Without this alignment, inclusion becomes a side project, not a strategic enabler.

Employees pay more attention to what leaders do than what they say. When senior executives sponsor initiatives, mentor diverse talent, lean into discomfort, and integrate inclusion into performance metrics, they send a signal that inclusion matters. Without that signal, efforts become fragmented or lose credibility. Inclusion goals should thus be made measurable and part of leadership scorecards by implementing inclusive behaviour, feedback loops, and learning journeys at the senior level.

Fifty-four per cent of women in the UAE versus 43 per cent of women globally have confirmed that opportunities provided to them by leadership is a key enabler for success at work. Leaders should therefore be held accountable to ensure that inclusive career advancement isn’t a discretionary effort, but a core leadership responsibility.

4. Neglecting psychological safety

Inclusion cannot thrive in an environment where people fear judgment, exclusion, or reprisal. Psychological safety (the belief that one can speak, question, or make mistakes without penalty) is not optional. It is foundational. If managers do not create psychological safety on their teams, inclusion initiatives plateau; diverse voices remain silent, ideas go unshared, and trust erodes.

Psychological safety is a cornerstone of team collaboration as it allows for the creation of norms around safe dialogue by encouraging dissent, reward vulnerability, and transparent feedback response. Safe spaces, structured reflection, and inclusive facilitation should be built to reinforce safety over time.

5. Reducing inclusion to gender equality

Focusing solely on gender misses the breadth of what inclusion must cover. To name a few: abilities, generational diversity, neurodiversity, cultural backgrounds, and thought diversity. Narrowing inclusion to a gender-only model leads to ceiling effects as it gets siloed into women’s programs while other dimensions weaken.

Deloitte’s Women @ Work 2025 report revealed that 20 per cent of women in the UAE have experienced non-inclusive behaviours in the past year compared to 28% globally. Less than half of these women reported their concerns, however, caused by a fear of consequences. This highlights a wider cultural resistance to inclusion that goes beyond gender lines. It is therefore imperative to monitor sentiment and behaviour across all dimensions in the workplace.

Expanding inclusion

Inclusion does not thrive by accident. It is sustained when leaders align culture, accountability, and safety. The Middle East’s unique mix of nationalities, evolving business models, and ambition demand inclusion not as a checkbox but as a living business principle.

For leaders in this region, the path forward is clear: diagnose your organisation’s maturity, commit publicly, build psychological safety, and expand inclusion beyond gender. The real success lies when the intention becomes embedded in everyday decisions, behaviours, and outcomes. Inclusion isn’t a separate programme – it’s a leadership journey, and the real test isn’t in launching initiatives, but in ensuring people feel safe, seen, and empowered every day.

The writer is the MD and Purpose, Culture and Inclusion leader at Deloitte Middle East.