The DE&I Reset: How Asia Is Defining Belonging on Its Own Terms

Across the region, belonging is being shaped not by imported frameworks, but by local values, histories, and needs.

In Japan, there’s a growing spotlight on neurodiversity as a workplace strength. Companies like Hitachi and Fujitsu are investing in training that reframes autism, ADHD, and other cognitive differences as creative and operational assets. The cultural shift isn’t loud, but it’s deliberate. It is less about labeling, more about adaptation. For example, job descriptions are being rewritten to prioritize clarity. Meeting formats are being tweaked to allow for asynchronous participation. These are structural changes grounded in empathy.

In Indonesia, platforms like Gojek are treating language not just as a communication tool but as an inclusion mechanism. Their teams actively adapt user interfaces, customer service, and even driver-facing training materials to reflect regional dialects and informal speech patterns. By prioritizing Bahasa Indonesia and acknowledging local variations in tone and expression, Gojek ensures users across Indonesia’s archipelago feel seen and understood. Inclusion, in this context, means reflecting everyday life, not abstract ideals.

Even in multinational contexts, brands are moving beyond global playbooks. In Singapore, some are shifting from “diversity training” to cultural fluency coaching which helps cross-functional teams navigate differences common in international teams in power distance, conflict style, and feedback norms. It’s less about hitting diversity quotas, and more about building shared understanding.

DE&I initiatives in Asia aren’t disappearing as they are in the US. Asia is maturing on local terms, in local languages, and with local logic. The challenge isn’t to scale Western models. It’s to listen better to what inclusion already looks like on the ground.