When DEI was a corporate headline, companies raced to hire heads of inclusion and publish bold pledges. Now, as the language shifts and budgets tighten, the question is no longer who leads DEI, it’s whether inclusion has been embedded into the way teams actually work.

That was the unfiltered topic of discussion in a standout Lead Summit session moderated by Kimberly Lee Minor, CEO of WOC Retail Alliance, with insights from Lydia Smith, former Chief Diversity Officer and VP of Inclusive Marketing at Victoria’s Secret & Co, and Jennifer Velez, Head of DEI, Communications + Culture at Forever 21.

Together, they didn’t talk about DEI as a program. They framed it as a business strategy and a performance unlock.

Lydia Smith kicked off with a story that set the tone: two teams were formed. One was built based on resumes and credentials. The other on raw skills and perspectives. The second team, built without the traditional markers of experience, outperformed the first.

“The takeaway wasn’t just about diversity, it was about rethinking how we define talent,” Smith explained.

She challenged leaders to reconsider the assumptions baked into hiring decisions, performance feedback, and even LinkedIn browsing habits. “Who are you overlooking because they don’t fit your mental image of what competence looks like?”

Jennifer Velez stressed the importance of language in shaping organizational culture especially in performance reviews and promotion tracks.

“Make sure the way you talk about someone aligns with the way you evaluate their performance,” she said. “Bias isn’t always loud. It shows up in the subtle ways we describe people.”

That includes job descriptions, internal feedback, and the language of “fit.” Leaders, she emphasized, must do the work of aligning their internal culture with the audiences they aim to reach externally. It’s not enough to look inclusive on the outside while reinforcing exclusion inside.

Minor framed the challenge in operational terms. “You’ve got to translate inclusion into a business strategy,” she said. “It can’t just live in one department. It has to show up in hiring, in decision-making, in performance reviews and in your bottom line.”

She pushed back on the idea that DEI should be reduced to events or optics. “If you don’t have the people internally to do this well, go find them. The talent is out there. But you have to start thinking differently about how you hire.”

The group laid out tangible next steps for teams trying to rebuild DEI into the core of the business:

As Minor said, “This isn’t about being politically correct. It’s about building teams that win.”

The session ended on a personal note. Minor shared how WOC Retail Alliance, the organization she leads, has built community intentionally with every event attracting a mix of races, genders, abilities, and perspectives.

“People show up because they know they belong before they even walk in,” she said. “That’s the kind of culture that makes a difference.”

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