Issues concerning equality, diversity and inclusion at work have been developing unevenly for some time. While advances have been made with statutory instruments like the Equalities Act 2010, and heightened awareness of issues of race and gender inclusion at work through the Black Lives Matter and MeToo movements respectively, this has been juxtaposed with hostile and inflammatory rhetoric on issues such as gender recognition and migration on behalf of the UK Government. The recent decision to remove the Minister for Disabled People seems at odds with recent work demonstrating commitments to the Disability Employment Charter and is indicative of the ambivalent and contradictory attitudes towards inclusive workplaces more generally.

By January 2025 a General Election will have been held in the UK, and this may see a shift in both the rhetoric and regulation surrounding workplace equalities. The Labour Party’s ‘New Deal for Working People’ includes a raft of measures to reshape and redesign the labour market, with various initiatives concerned with progressing on equalities, such as the introduction of mandatory publication of ethnicity and disability pay gaps, the removal of discriminatory age bands and many more.

Therefore, there may be a greater interest in questions of equality at work, and the role of workplace equality representatives and negotiations of a more robust nature within firms may be developed. In our research we have seen how in some countries such as Spain there has been a move towards company-based equality plans that must be discussed with trade unions.

This is indicative of the growing demand that equality measures must be the subject of discussion and engagement and not simply and unilaterally developed in a symbolic manner with minimal dialogue or involvement of those who are marginalised at work and within the labour market more broadly.

More generally, there is a sense in which we need to move away from a tokenistic approach to equality and instead shift towards a more meaningful and sensitised approach to include a wide range of worker voices within such deliberations. The return to a more robust form and support of equality politics at work could be one of the driving features of the coming year yet what shape this takes will be interesting to observe. Whether the emphasis will be on enforcement and inspection, the role of different stakeholders in shaping equality initiatives, or the expansion of categories of groups supported by equality legislation may very much depend on a range of factors. Furthermore, how these changes within the UK converge with the European context will be of interest too given levels of volatility across the continent.

Organisational practices related to equality at work may not always follow or align with the broader political changes one foresees. One of the themes which is emerging from our research is the role of the political and regulatory context in shaping the contours of equality narratives and practices in any given society and its employing institutions, however there is not always a clear line from the political context – broadly speaking – into the workplace and employer. To this extent the changes we are likely to see at that broader level will need a constant observation and awareness as to the way organisations mediate and respond to such external challenges and disruptions.