If Talent is Everywhere, Why Isn’t Opportunity?

Welcome back to The Moat.

In this edition, we dig into what it really takes to make your culture findable, usable, and scalable for great people before and after they join.

Because a culture that’s only great on the inside isn’t enough if the door’s still locked.

I’ve been thinking about what I said before about building a good culture where people feel safe, valued, and free to be themselves.

But here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter how welcoming or inclusive your culture is if the right people can’t even get through the door.

Creating a culture where people can be themselves is only half the battle.

The other half? Making sure anyone with the talent and drive can actually get a shot in the first place.

A lot of companies think they’re doing the work because they hit their “diversity targets” or have a bunch of smiling, diverse faces on their website. You’d think some About pages were commissioned by UNICEF the way they showcase diversity, equity, and inclusion.

But real inclusivity and diversity in the workplace doesn’t mean slapping a label on your team and calling it a day.

It’s about access. Making sure talented people can show up, get a chance, and actually succeed—no matter where they come from or what’s stacked against them.

If someone has the skill, why should anything else hold them back?

And if your culture doesn’t make room for that, then all the psychological safety and collaboration in the world won’t matter.

So let’s talk about what inclusivity actually means and how to make sure it’s real, not just something that looks good on your About page.

What We’ve Learned About Inclusivity Through Access

Inclusion that actually works:

• Make access easy: Build systems that help the right people find you and thrive.
• Look beyond cities: Hire for talent, not geography.
• Prioritize real skills: Corporate values should include curiosity, quick learning, and deep thinking over degrees.
• Act on feedback: Listen, then improve.
• Structure your flexibility: Support remote work with systems that help people succeed.
• Build inclusivity into the culture: Make it the norm, not a special project.

You know what bugs me? Companies throw around the word “inclusivity” like it’s a shiny badge they get to wear.

They brag about diversity targets and updated websites, but then keep building barriers they don’t even notice.

Hiring from the same big cities. Looking for the same polished resumes. Expecting everyone’s life to fit into a perfect 9-to-5 box.

But real inclusivity? It’s just about making sure talented people actually get a shot.

No matter where they’re from, how they look, or what their circumstances are.

What I’ve seen work:

• Don’t Hire by Pin Code: Talent doesn’t care where you live. If you’re remote-first, your systems should be too. Build structures that help anyone, anywhere, show up and thrive. (If you’re curious, I’ve written more about how we balance objectivity and performance while staying fully remote - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/work-shouldnt-feel-like-audition-avani-nagwann-ezbwf)

• Brain Over Badge: Fancy degrees are cool, but curiosity, sharp thinking, and fast learning? That’s the real flex. We hire for that. Everything else comes later.

• Feedback ≠ Formality: Don’t just ask for feedback, but use it. The best cultures act on what they hear, not just nod through retros.

• Making Flexibility Real: Flexibility is great, but it has to be backed by structure. We’ve built cadences, a PMO function, and daily systems that help people get more from their day. Because structure builds trust. And trust is what makes remote work actually work.

• Inclusion Isn’t an Agenda Item: If your culture only “includes” people in theory, it’s broken. Build access into your day-to-day, make it default, not decoration.

So ask yourself:

Are you making it easy for smart people to find you?

And more importantly, are you built to help them thrive once they do?

Why Culture Fit Shouldn’t Mean Culture Copy-Paste

“Culture fit.” Sounds nice, right? But most of the time, it’s just a fancy excuse for hiring the same kind of people over and over again.

People love to say they’re building a great culture. But if that culture only works for a certain type of person, is it really that great?

When “culture fit” means expecting everyone to think, act, and work the same way, you’re just recycling the same ideas. And shutting out anyone who doesn’t fit the mould.

What if instead of asking, “Do they fit in?” you asked, “What do they bring to the table?”

A strong culture doesn’t keep things the same. It lets new people bring their strengths, experiences, and ideas to make the whole thing better.

To build the best teams, you must start at the very beginning, hiring people who challenge, improve, and push each other to be better.

So, are you actually building a culture worth joining?

Or just making sure everyone fits the same mould?

What This Means for You

Inclusivity and diversity in the workplace doesn’t mean being nice or saying the right stuff. It’s about building systems that actually make it possible for people to find you, join you, and grow with you.

That means designing a culture that actually works instead of just looking good on a website.

Every day. At scale. Without depending on vibes or one hyper-aware manager doing all the emotional labour.

Because culture can be systemised.

Inclusivity can be built into your defaults.

And once that happens, it just feels normal.

So maybe the real question isn’t “Are we inclusive?”

It’s "Have we built something where good people can come in and do great work, no matter where they’re from or what they look like?"

If you have, trust me, they’ll know.