Let’s be honest: EDI has become overwhelming because performance has been the focus for many.
From pronouns and policies to awareness days and public statements, the EDI landscape is now so crowded that many organisations are paralysed by fear, fear of getting it wrong, fear of excluding someone, fear of being called out for not doing enough. So instead of doing EDI well, organisations do it loudly, sporadically, badly, or not at all.
Our EDI Calendar highlights religious holidays, awareness days, and inclusion moments, not so that organisations can tick them off, but so they can plan with intention. Because the reality is this: there are too many dates to treat them all equally.
The United Nations alone lists over 200 international awareness days. That’s four each week, often several on the same day. And that’s before UK observances, religious calendars, sector-specific events, or internal priorities are even considered. If that feels unmanageable, it’s because it is.
Here’s the part many organisations don’t want to say out loud: you cannot meaningfully fund, resource, or communicate 200+ EDI moments a year. Trying to do so is exactly why EDI feels expensive, exhausting, and fake.
Most organisations already know EDI calendars exist. They just use them as:
So a date is picked at random. A statement is issued. A graphic is shared. Support is “shown”.
And nothing changes. And EDI gets labelled a failure.
When EDI is treated like a performance, the cost is high and the impact is low. When it’s treated as a strategy, the opposite is true.
What to stop doing immediately
If your EDI budget is stretched, the answer is not to “do more with less”. It’s to stop wasting money on activities that look busy but deliver nothing.
1. Stop treating the EDI calendar like a content schedule
If the only output is a post, a graphic, or a statement, you’re not doing EDI, you’re managing optics.
If it starts and ends on LinkedIn, stop.
2. Stop scrambling at the last minute
Late speakers, rushed campaigns, emergency approvals and overnight Canva designs are signs of poor planning, not commitment.
Last-minute EDI always costs more and delivers less.
3. Stop paying for the same 30 minute “intro to EDI” every year
That’s not progress, it’s stagnation.
You’re paying repeatedly to stand still.
4. Stop one-off talks with no follow-up
A keynote without action is a performance.
No behaviour change, no accountability, no learning journey = zero impact.
5. Stop trying to cover everything
Not every awareness day is relevant to your workforce, sector, or risks.
Prioritisation is not exclusion. It’s good leadership.
How to allocate EDI budget properly
Used correctly, an EDI calendar is a strategic planning tool, not a pressure point. The first step is categorising dates into three groups: Invest, for areas of importance backed up by workforce or user data and known risks that warrant real budget; Support, for low-cost, high-intent internal learning; and Observe, for dates acknowledged quietly with no spend or guilt.
Second, prioritise impact over optics. Avoid reactive spending by asking what you want to change and who needs to be involved before committing funds. Plan annually or quarterly with clear ownership, remembering that reactive EDI is expensive while planned EDI is controlled.
Third, spend deeper rather than wider. One intervention that drives behaviour change is worth more than ten awareness posts; depth creates impact, while volume creates only noise. If your budget is spread too thin, you are performing inclusion, not investing in it.
Finally, measure what matters. Stop tracking vanity metrics like likes and attendance. Instead, measure engagement quality, leadership confidence, and policy changes. If you can’t explain what a specific spend achieved, don’t repeat it.
EDI didn’t become overwhelming because there’s too much to care about. It became overwhelming because organisations confuse performance with progress. Calendars became content plans, budgets became reactive pots and activity replaced strategy.
An EDI calendar isn’t a visibility test. It’s a decision-making tool. Used badly, it creates noise, panic, excess spend, and tokenism. Used properly, it creates focus, control, and impact.
Our EDI Calendar isn’t there to help you cover everything. It’s there to help you choose what matters. Use it to prioritise, plan, and invest with intent. Say no to noise and focus on impact.
Download our EDI Calendar and start using it as a planning tool.
