The Army Inclusion Team is a small, high-impact team operating at the strategic centre of the British Army, delivering system-wide change to improve equity, inclusion and organisational effectiveness across a workforce of over 150,000 personnel.
Operating in a complex, hierarchical and high-tempo environment, the team has established itself as a critical driver of cultural and behavioural transformation. It works across policy, leadership and lived experience, ensuring that inclusion is not treated as a standalone initiative, but as a core component of operational effectiveness and fighting power. Central to this is the team’s role as an advocate for the Army’s people. Not only those from protected groups, but the whole force – working to improve lived experience by creating an environment that is fair, inclusive and enables individuals to perform at their best.
Over the past year, the team has led the development of the Army’s first Equity Action Plan, alongside a Gender Action Plan and a revised Race Action Plan. These programmes provide, for the first time, a coherent and evidence-based framework to identify and address structural and cultural barriers across the organisation. By aligning equity with performance, the team has reframed inclusion as essential to effective leadership, decision-making and organisational credibility.
Alongside strategic delivery, the team provides real-time, expert advice to commanders and policy owners across Defence. It is routinely sought out for guidance on complex and sensitive issues, supporting leaders to make informed, lawful and proportionate decisions. This advisory role goes beyond ensuring compliance with policy and legislation; it supports leaders to navigate difficult command decisions, understand the impact of those decisions on individuals, and act in a way that is both operationally effective and respectful to those affected.
A defining feature of the team’s work is its focus on behaviour. Through practical interventions, it actively influences how people lead, make decisions and treat one another. This includes relaunching the Army’s approach to constructive challenge, providing accessible tools that empower personnel at all levels to speak up, challenge inappropriate behaviour, and contribute to a more accountable culture. The team also works directly with units experiencing behavioural or disciplinary challenges, providing targeted support to help address underlying issues, improve standards and rebuild trust.
The team plays a critical challenge function across the organisation, including reviewing and shaping policy and guidance to ensure that the needs of the Army’s people are properly considered. By influencing how policies are written and implemented, it helps ensure decisions are fair, proportionate and reflective of the diverse workforce they affect.
The team also manages and supports four key networks: the Army Servicewomen’s Network, Army Parents Network, LGBTQ+ Network and Army Multicultural Network. These networks provide advocacy for personnel, as well as a vital source of lived experience, insight and feedback that informs decision-making at all levels. They enable the organisation to better understand its people and respond more effectively to their needs.
The team has strengthened governance and assurance through its work on Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance and has supported the Army’s response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission consultation following the Supreme Court ruling on the interpretation of sex in the Equality Act. This has helped ensure that the Army’s approach remains legally robust, operationally practical, and maintains dignity and respect for all personnel, including transgender colleagues, within a complex and evolving landscape.
Despite limited resource and increasing external scrutiny, the team has consistently delivered above expectations. Its work has improved trust, strengthened leadership, influenced behaviours and created the conditions for a more inclusive and effective force. The Army Inclusion Team exemplifies what a high-performing diversity team can achieve, delivering lasting, organisation-wide impact.
