Don't Look Back in Anger
As 2025 draws to a close, it's hard to miss how conversations about fairness, equity and opportunity have become more charged than ever. What were once broadly shared goals or ideas are now often framed as contested territory. Instead of debate we have dogma, false binaries and culture-war positions that leave many feeling either defensive, silenced or exhausted. In many cases all three.
Beneath the noise and away from the heat, something else remains true. The loudest voices, whether those demanding retreat or those defending every initiative, do not represent the vast middle ground of people who want workplaces that are fair, effective, and humane. And we certainly cannot say that the views and beliefs of most people are what lead the narrative right now.
And yet, as we have seen this year, narratives shape reality.
The extreme positions that dominate the debate may not reflect opinion, but they create it. The more these voices monopolise attention, the more their framing is treated as the only available or at least the defining one.
Through On Balance, my intention has always been to remain rooted in shared ground for reflection. Where there is public debate, I have attempted to see different perspectives, interrogate evidence and weigh whether these are supporting fairness.
That requires looking beyond slogans, resisting false binaries and acknowledging nuance. The goal has been to keep a focus on what is actually shaping opportunity inside organisations for everyone.
A defining lesson from this year is that as culture wars have dominated this space, attention has drifted away from fairness and the structural issues that matter. So instead of asking who gets access, who gets sponsored and, who progresses, we’ve landed in a place where arguments focus on symbols rather than substance.
The irony here is that the one position that unites all sides of the debate about equity is that fairness does matter.
Looking ahead to 2026, my hope is that we can anchor the conversation in something that most people instinctively recognise as fair: opportunity should not be constrained by background.
In nearly every conversation about equity, social mobility is a common denominator. Yet it remains one of the least visible, and least comfortably discussed, dimensions of organisational life.
As founder of the 93% Club, Sophie Pender advocates for a focus on "the minority that is, in truth, a majority": those whose progress and opportunity are shaped less by talent than by background.
This framing reminds us of what equity is really about: designing systems that don't filter out talent before it has the chance to arrive and recognising that fairness is not about favouring one group over another.
That's why we're starting the year at ECC with an event that looks at equity from this standpoint. Sophie will explore practical questions about what blocks access, progression and potential - the very factors that enable or constrain equity.
The wider debates will continue, but this is where we believe attention is best directed: on how opportunity is designed, experienced and sustained inside organisations.
As we move into 2026, our focus at ECC will remain the same, to help ensure conversations about how opportunity, and how it works, are grounded in evidence and focused on how we can make it work better.
We look forward to continuing that work with you in the year ahead and wish you a peaceful and restful Christmas.
