In a moment when the world is watching how leaders respond to hard questions about identity, equity, and belonging, the recent Supreme Court ruling feels like a step backwards. It is seen by many as a narrow and binary definition of gender at a time when so many are courageously living beyond it.

Inclusive leadership has never just been about checking boxes or issuing carefully worded statements. It’s about who we see, who we hear, and who feels safe being themselves. At its core, inclusive leadership means leading for everyone, not just for the majority or the most comfortable.

This ruling might be a legal precedent, but legal definitions don’t always reflect lived experiences. Inclusive leaders understand that identity isn't one-size-fits-all.

People’s realities are complex, fluid, and deeply personal. To force them into categories that don’t fit is to erase them.

When leadership teams only reflect what’s “safe,” familiar, or majority-approved, they send a message (intentionally or not) that difference doesn’t belong. That kind of culture isn’t just harmful; it’s bad for business. Diverse teams are smarter, more innovative, and more resilient. But diversity without inclusion is performative. It doesn’t work.

This moment is about more than bathrooms or boardrooms. It’s about belonging. If members of your team feel erased, marginalised, or tokenised, then inclusion is incomplete. And when people don’t feel safe, they can’t thrive. Now is not the time for silence or neutrality disguised as professionalism. Now is the time for leadership rooted in empathy, courage, and action. Not to “take a side,” but to create a space where everyone feels safe, seen, and supported.

So ask yourself: Are you creating a culture where people can show up as their full selves? Do your organisation’s policies match your values? And are you leading with empathy, or just managing optics?

True leadership goes beyond PR-safe diversity statements. It requires equity in systems, empathy in relationships, and policies that back up both.

We don’t all have the same lived experience, but we all have a role in building spaces where every person feels they belong.