Top 10 Diversity and Inclusion Books to Read in 2025

Top 10 Diversity and Inclusion Books to Read in 2025

Why Stay Updated on Diversity and Inclusion?

Leaders who keep learning about diversity, equity and inclusion create better places to work and learn; the benefits are measurable. Companies in the top quartile for executive-team gender diversity are 39% more likely to financially outperform their peers; the figure is also 39% for ethnic diversity. Reading itself supports continuous learning; just six minutes of reading can reduce stress by 68%, making regular DEI reading both practical and restorative. Diverse leadership also fuels growth; organisations with above-average leadership diversity generate 19% more revenue from innovation. Expectations are shifting; 76% of job seekers consider a diverse workforce important when evaluating companies, so visible DEI commitment strengthens recruitment and retention. The skills landscape is moving fast; nearly 23% of jobs will change in the next five years and over 40% of core skills will shift, so leaders and educators need a learning mindset that includes DEI literacy.

The takeaway is simple; up-to-date DEI knowledge helps you make better decisions, build belonging, and inspire others. Use these books to spark discussions, refresh policies, and shape curricula; when people feel seen and included, performance, wellbeing and innovation improve.

What Are the Best Diversity and Inclusion Books to Read?

This official selection of the Best Diversity and Inclusion Books to Read in 2025 is based on vetted data collected from exclusive speaker evaluations and comprehensive audience polls. Each title offers practical insights you can apply straight away.

  1. Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire – Akala – Learn how history, class and race shape modern Britain; use it to challenge bias and re-examine policy.
  2. Diversify – June Sarpong – Explore six ways to connect across difference; turn awareness into everyday inclusive habits.
  3. What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition – Emma Dabiri – Move from performative allyship to meaningful coalition-building and structural change.
  4. Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias – Pragya Agarwal – Understand how bias forms and how to interrupt it in hiring, teaching and daily decisions.
  5. Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking – Matthew Syed – Apply cognitive diversity to solve complex problems and improve team decisions.
  6. Neurodiversity at Work – Theo Smith & Amanda Kirby – Recruit, support and develop neurodivergent talent; redesign processes so every brain can thrive.
  7. Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law – Haben Girma – See accessibility as innovation; learn practical, human ways to remove barriers.
  8. Inclusion Revolution – Daisy Auger-Domínguez – A step-by-step playbook for dismantling racial inequity at work with accountability.
  9. A Dutiful Boy – Mohsin Zaidi – Build empathy and understanding around faith, sexuality and identity in modern Britain.
  10. Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig – Strengthen mental health literacy; create compassionate cultures that help people stay and succeed.

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire – Akala

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Akala is a bestselling author, MOBO Award-winning artist and founder of the Hip-hop Shakespeare Company. In Natives, he threads lived experience with history to show how empire, education and media shape race and class in Britain today. He writes with clarity and evidence, making complex ideas accessible. For corporate leaders and educators, the value is twofold; it challenges assumptions, and it offers language you can use to open difficult conversations.

Use this book to audit how history appears in your content, classrooms and campaigns; one practical example is reviewing case studies and reading lists to reflect multiple perspectives, then measuring changes in engagement. Akala’s work is energising because it pairs critique with agency; readers come away better equipped to spot structural bias, talk confidently about race, and advocate for fairer systems that help people thrive.

Diversify – June Sarpong

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

June Sarpong OBE has spent two decades communicating with wide audiences; as a broadcaster and former BBC Director of Creative Diversity, she understands how inclusion lands in real life. Diversify introduces the six degrees of integration, a simple framework for making contact across lines of difference. The book mixes research with stories, which makes it ideal for leadership workshops and staff training.

For businesses and schools, the immediate win is practical action; schedule “small bridges” such as cross-team shadowing, mixed-group projects or classroom exchanges, and track participation and sentiment. One example; pair senior leaders with early-career staff from under-represented groups for reverse mentoring and publish three changes you implement as a result. Sarpong’s style is warm and direct, which helps readers turn awareness into habit; over time, that consistency shifts culture.

What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition – Emma Dabiri

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Emma Dabiri is an academic and broadcaster who reframes how we talk about race; her approach is rigorous, conversational and refreshingly practical. In What White People Can Do Next, she moves the focus from individual guilt to collective action; the goal is coalition, not performance. Readers learn how historical narratives are constructed, how power operates, and how to organise around shared interests.

Use it to redesign allyship programmes; set objectives beyond attendance, such as policy changes or resource shifts, and publish progress. A simple example is auditing procurement and allocating a percentage to diverse suppliers, then reporting outcomes to staff and students. Dabiri’s work helps leaders and educators steer conversations that are often tense; with clearer terms and structures, you can build durable, respectful alliances that deliver results.

Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias – Pragya Agarwal

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Dr Pragya Agarwal is a behavioural scientist who explains bias with precision. Sway shows how biases form early, how they are reinforced by context, and how they shape choices in hiring, grading and everyday judgement. The science is balanced with tools; readers learn interventions that reduce bias without blame.

For leaders, start by mapping points of discretion in your processes; structured interviews, diverse panels and rubrics reduce noise. Educators can apply the same logic to assessment and feedback; agree criteria, anonymise where possible, and moderate consistently. As a concrete example, pilot a blind CV stage for one recruitment round and compare the shortlist profile with the previous cycle. Agarwal’s writing makes change feel achievable; the message is hopeful and actionable, which is exactly what busy teams need.

Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking – Matthew Syed

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Matthew Syed draws on psychology, sport and business to show how cognitive diversity prevents groupthink. Rebel Ideas is rich with case studies; when teams include different perspectives and create psychological safety, they spot weak signals and generate better solutions. Syed’s background as an Olympian and Times columnist gives him a rare mix of performance insight and clear communication.

Apply the ideas by designing for dissent; assign a rotating “red team” role in meetings, vary who speaks first, and invite contrarian views before converging. A practical example; run a pre-mortem on a big initiative with a cross-functional group, then build the mitigations into the plan. Leaders and educators will appreciate that Syed goes beyond slogans; he shows how to structure collaboration so diversity translates into outcomes.

Neurodiversity at Work – Theo Smith & Amanda Kirby

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Theo Smith and Professor Amanda Kirby combine practitioner experience with clinical and academic expertise. Their book is a hands-on guide to recruiting and enabling neurodivergent talent, from autism and ADHD to dyslexia and dyspraxia. The tone is positive and practical; readers get job design tips, hiring adjustments and management practices that benefit everyone.

Start small and measure; trial skills-based assessments, offer interview questions in advance, and add quiet zones or flexible schedules. One example; replace timed numeric tests with work-sample tasks and compare performance and hire quality. The authors show how language, tools and environment can function as either kryptonite or rocket fuel; by removing friction, you unlock strengths in memory, pattern recognition and creativity. This book gives leaders and educators concrete steps to make neuro-inclusion business as usual.

Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law – Haben Girma

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Haben Girma is a civil rights lawyer and the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School. Her memoir is both a page-turner and a manual for accessible design; technology, creativity and advocacy run through every chapter. Readers see how inclusive tools, like a wireless keyboard linked to a braille display, make participation possible, then transformative.

Leaders and educators can put the lessons to work immediately; caption videos, offer multiple formats for materials, and test user journeys with assistive tech. A practical example; run an accessibility sprint on your website or learning platform and fix the top ten issues, then share the before-and-after. Girma’s message is energising; accessibility is innovation that benefits everyone. Her story equips audiences to remove barriers with care and confidence.

Inclusion Revolution – Daisy Auger-Domínguez

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Daisy Auger-Domínguez is a seasoned people executive who has led culture and DEI at global brands. Inclusion Revolution is her playbook for leaders who want practical, accountable change; it covers hiring, progression, accountability and communication with unflinching clarity.

Put it into practice with governance; set targets, assign owners, and publish quarterly updates. One example; link manager goals to inclusive behaviours and equitable outcomes, then review in performance cycles. The value for schools and companies is the same; this is a roll-up-your-sleeves guide from someone who has done the work at scale. Readers finish with a clearer plan and the confidence to follow through.

A Dutiful Boy – Mohsin Zaidi

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Mohsin Zaidi is an award-winning author and lawyer whose memoir traces a courageous path to acceptance. A Dutiful Boy has been recognised with major honours and widespread critical praise, and it resonates because it is honest, nuanced and hopeful. For leaders and educators, it deepens understanding of intersectionality; faith, culture, class and sexuality meet in ways policy often overlooks.

Use it to inform pastoral care and employee support; review policies for confidentiality, flexible leave and safeguarding, and train mentors who can signpost help. A simple example; create peer networks with clear escalation routes, then measure uptake and satisfaction. Zaidi’s story invites empathetic conversations and shows how acceptance changes lives; readers learn to listen better and design environments where people can be fully themselves.

Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig

The Top 10 D&I Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge

Matt Haig’s memoir is a candid account of depression, recovery and everyday hope. It has helped millions talk openly about mental health at work and in education; the writing is clear, humane and practical. Readers learn simple strategies that support wellbeing and, crucially, language that reduces stigma.

Leaders and teachers can act on it quickly; normalise mental health conversations, train line managers, and offer evidence-based resources. One example; introduce wellbeing check-ins on project kick-offs and signpost support in every course or induction. The lesson from Haig is powerful; when people feel safe to say they are struggling, they get help sooner, stay longer and contribute more. Building that culture is part of inclusion.

What are the Top 10 Diversity and Inclusion Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge?

Reading these books sharpens judgement, builds empathy and gives you tools you can apply the same day; pairing them with a DEI speaker brings the ideas to life for your team or students. To explore more Diversity and Inclusion speakers, visit our full listings today. For bespoke recommendations and to secure a speaker for your event telephone at 0203 9816 297, or alternatively fill out our online contact form.

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