The Inclusion Imperative For Repairing Corporate Governance

This is a moment of rapid, unpredictable technological, economic and political change. Careful decision-making proves especially critical, yet many firms are abandoning decades of organizational research showing how inclusive practices strengthen governance capacity. The retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion ("DEI") signals a broader problem: leaders increasingly normalize inconsistent, even impulsive leadership that can harm firms, shareholders and stakeholders alike. This essay argues that inclusive leadership is essential to strong governance and challenges the narrative that firms have universally abandoned their inclusive practices. This essay first recounts the dramatic rise and recent retreat of DEI practices in corporate governance over the past two decades. This essay proceeds to show how the tech sector's rise to dominance has normalized governance pathologies, drawing on epic failures in governance such as WeWork to illustrate how homogenous leadership teams make critical mistakes. Our research is the first to draw on 2025 proxy evidence, showing that many firms, with overwhelming support of shareholders, have maintained inclusive governance. These firms understand what their retreating counterparts have forgotten: that robust governance requires diverse voices, careful deliberation, and the institutional wisdom to resist impulsive reactions to shifting political winds. Long-term success depends on inclusive governance.