The business world is increasingly global. Consider this: 90 percent of Seramount’s Chief Diversity Officer Collaborative (CDOC) and Diversity Best Practices (DBP) partners have global operations, and those that don’t have global operations rely extensively on the global supply chain.
Understanding local, country-specific cultural norms is vital to developing a talented and innovative workforce, maximizing engagement, and successfully navigating suppliers, customers, and clients. Yet Seramount’s research finds that many DEI efforts, especially those that started in the United States, do not consistently or successfully reach local talent and markets. Our research examines the best ways to build global corporate DEI structures that maximize local cultural competence. This research is applicable to companies new to global corporate DEI efforts, to those struggling to succeed across different countries, and to those that have been in the space for some time but still see areas to continue to improve.
This report demonstrates how Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) and other DEI leaders can use local cultural context to drive a powerful global structure. We outline three essential elements in a global strategy—dedicated local resources, executive global DEI councils, and culturally appropriate local ERGs—and explain how to get the most out of these elements by focusing on structure, values, and communication. In addition, this report includes relevant results from Seramount’s 2025 Global Inclusion Index as well as profiles of the countries included.
