Black Inclusion Week 2022 Events
Black Inclusion Week is an opportunity to come together to create a society that is fair and inclusive for everyone. It is an opportunity to celebrate, spotlight and amplify Black people across the UK and across all walks of life.
As we celebrated the week in our schools, communities and organisations the team have also arranged a week of varied and insightful events, with engaging and insightful speakers and thought provoking discussion topics.
See below for the insightful events that took place during black inclusion week 2022.
Speakers who shared their insights during BIW 2022 include:
Shaun Wallace
Shaun has been Criminal Defence Barrister in private practice since 1984 and an occasional part-time lecturer who often visits schools, colleges and other institutions teaching students on many aspects of the law.
Shaun made a name for himself with regular appearances on British television quiz shows most notably, Fifteen-To-One, The Weakest Link, Greed and Are You An Egghead?
Shaun catapulted to national prominence when on the 5th of December 2004, he became the first black person to win BBC TV’s Mastermind. Since 2009, Shaun appears as “ The Dark Destroyer” on the smash hit teatime ITV quiz show The Chase and in October 2018, released his autobiography, Chasing The Dream.
Shaun’s hobbies include travel, keeping fit and for over 52 years, a lifelong fan of his beloved Chelsea FC.
Sue Liburd MBE DL
Sue is an award-winning businesswoman, senior executive strategist, and human capital innovation consultant. In addition, she has a portfolio of non-executive directorships, NHS public appointments and is a Deputy Lieutenant for Lincolnshire.
Sue works in the UK and internationally, across a range of sectors for some of the world’s leading Brands, Charities and Public sector organisations, influencing thinking at the highest levels. Sue’s purpose is to have a profound impact on the way the world does business. She has a special interest in initiatives amplifying the voices of those who are seldom heard, and alleviating health, education, and workplace inequality.
Sue is currently the Deputy Chair and Ethnic Minority Lead for the NHS England Armed Forces Public Patient Voice Advisory Group, a lead consulting partner for the University of Lincoln Equality and Diversity Advisory Institute and a founder member of Black Inclusion Week.
Sandra Kerr
Sandra Kerr CBE, Race Equality Director, Business in the Community
Sandra works together with business leaders and government policy makers to influence action on race in the UK.
Prior to working at Business in the Community Sandra worked for DWP and the Cabinet Office. Between 2012 and 2016, Sandra chaired the DWP Ethnic Minority Employment Stakeholder Group, advising the Government on employment barriers facing individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
More than 24,000 responses to the Race at Work 2015, 2018 and 2021 surveys provided the evidence to establish the Race at Work Charter which has been recently expanded and now has more than 800 employer signatories. Sandra sits on the Royal Society Diversity Committee, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Strategic Advisory Board and the Cabinet Office Race Board.
Sandra is a big advocate of mentorship, sponsorship and allyship.
Dianne Greyson
Dianne Greyson is the Director of Equilibrium Mediation Consulting Ltd and Managing Partner - Synergised Solutions Ltd. She is a writer and Author of Business Culture Review. Her expertise lies around Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and HR Change Management.
Dianne is the founder of the #EthnicityPayGap campaign which has recently produced a research report on The Impact of the Ethnicity Pay Gap on Black Women. Dianne has also taken an advisory role on the Fawcett Society Pay and Progression for Women of Colour research report. She is a strong advocate for change who seeks to eradicate discrimination from society. Dianne is an Advisory Board Committee Member for ShareAction roviding advise and support around matters concerning the Ethnicity Pay Gap. She is also an Advisory Board Member for Society of Emotional Intelligence UK & Europe.
Dianne is a registered mentor for BTEG and is a Coach supporting Executives, Management and Employees. She also speaks as a subject matter expert on the Ethnicity Pay Gap as well as Equality, Diversity & Inclusion issues.
Awards Nominated for;
Trailblazer 2021
Women Trailblazer 2019
Entrepreneur of Excellence 2019
John Amaechi OBE
There are many things to tell you about John. Obviously there’s all the usual Bio stuff; respected organisational psychologist, an OBE, Chartered Scientist, elected Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, bestselling New York Times author, Research Fellow at the University of East London, and Founder of APS Intelligence.
And then there are all the things he does; Mentor to many, teacher to some, and always using his deep psychological insight combined with real life experience to provide a touchstone for people and companies who want to thrive, achieve and align their beliefs, values and ethics.
But these are the things you need really need to know; John is a giant, literally, he’s huge! He’s also a Dad, Brother & Uncle…from Stockport (a product of the statement ‘The most unlikely of people in the most improbable of circumstances, can become extraordinary’). People who think facts and evidence should bow to ‘opinion’ drive him crazy, he’s passionate about Star Wars, is a self confessed nerd & geek, a former NBA sportsman, has a voice like honey, is transported by music and loves nothing more than to eat decadent foods that are bad for him – especially donuts.
So while you’re questioning everything you thought you knew, John will entertain you with his storytelling, confront you with uncomfortable truths, make you laugh and move you to tears (sometimes in the same minute) and ultimately inspire you to grow and develop in ways you couldn’t possible imagine…..so that you can be a Giant too.
Aggie Mutuma
CEO, Diversity and Inclusion expert, executive coach, speaker
Aggie Mutuma is the CEO and lead consulting director of Mahogany Inclusion Partners. She is a passionate, award winning Inclusion and Anti-Racism expert, People Leader and Executive Coach with a track record of supporting organisations as they build cultures where everyone can thrive.
She works with Exco leaders and their teams to deliver DEI and Anti-Racism strategies. Cross industry organisations she has supported include global FTSE100 organisations, consultancy firms, retailers, third sector and public sector organisations.
She is a trusted advisor for the CIPD and an engaging speaker, for many leading organisations, most recently for the CBI, and the CIPD Annual Conference 2020.
Aggie’s experience of HR leadership in large and small organisations, her experience as an executive coach, her expertise in diversity and inclusion and her warm, empathetic and engaging style all combine to make Aggie an excellent speaker and panellist.
Nikki St Paul
Nikki is an award-winning marketer with a strategic mindset built over 16 years in the pharmaceutical industry. She currently works in Diversity & Inclusion.
She cares deeply about personal growth and strives to be the person, leader, and coach, that she wishes she had. As a D&I Professional, she seeks to create equitable environments that allow people to fit in whilst standing out.
Nikki is a proactive cross-functional commercial leader with a ‘can-do’ attitude who thrives in complex and dynamic environments to deliver results. Analytically minded with the ability to unearth problems and work collaboratively to find resolutions.
Nikki holds a BSc. in Psychology & Sociology and is a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner
Her superpower is making things happen. She is interested in and speaks about belonging, inclusion & diversity, psychological safety and speak up culture.
Hannah Litt
Hannah is Head of Resourcing and Inclusion at Motorpoint Plc. and leads the strategy in all things resourcing, equality, diversity and inclusion within the business. She also chairs the Inclusion committee and ensures that there is a focusing on ensuring there is an inclusive culture in place and driving greater diversity in line with the ED&I strategy that she has created.
Hannah’s experience includes businesses like Travis Perkins, Balfour Beatty and Sainsburys/Argos which all included roles that meant leading people and people strategy which included diversity and inclusion.
Outside of work Hannah is a social justice and human rights campaigner who works has won awards for the work she has done in her local community. Hannah believes that by building an environment whether that be the workplace or your community where people all feel included and like they belong and they can be their true selves everything we do will be more successful as a country as a whole.
Charlene Oke
Charlene Oke (BSc Hons, MA Merit FCIPD) is currently Senior D&I Business Partner at LexisNexis Risk Solutions (LNRS) and a member of the LNRS Inclusion Council. Within this role Charlene has the opportunity to support and influence D&I strategy across more than 9,000 employees and continue to focus on inclusion and engagement within LNRS culture. Prior to this appointment Charlene was an established Global HR Business Partner within the group as well as Founder and Co- Lead of EDGE (Ethnically Diverse Group of Employees) ERG for the last four years. In previous organizations, Charlene has had a career of over 10 years driving HR programs and providing HR leadership across media, travel, leisure and restaurant industries. This has led to a passion and focus on building relationships, employee engagement, coaching and creating people strategies with a D&I focus while partnering with senior leadership teams. Charlene has a Master Degree from London Metropolitan University in Employment Studies & HR and also Chartered Fellowship of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Development FCIPD). Charlene believes that pushing forward “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion should be a part of everyone’s DNA. This allows everyone to be able to be their authentic self and to find their voice. Aside from flying the flag for D&I, Charlene lives in London and spends her spare time trying new cuisines, travelling and making memories with her husband and two children.
Kirsty Jackson
With a long career within HR across various industries, Kirsty has been with Fujitsu, an international Tech company for over five years.
It was inevitable that Kirsty’s career would lead her to where she is today, from volunteering with local community groups focused on underprivileged children and older people in Manchester, to ‘role model’ programmes to inspire girls within areas of low socio-economic activity. More recently, Kirsty has supported Greater Manchester Police with their Independent Community Scrutiny Panel, feeding back on the use of stop and search within the Force.
A natural collaborator, Kirsty used her skills and experience to lead the transform of people-led networks to an Inclusive Community, enabling greater intersectionality, visibility and a renewed focus on inclusion for everybody.
Kirsty was incredibly proud to lead Fujitsu’s award-winning submission for the Black Tech Achievement Awards 2022 where they won Employer of the Year.
Ekow Sanni-Thomas
Founder & DEI Strategist
Ekow is the founder of inside voices, an online platform that helps jobseekers understand how companies treat people of colour, by hearing from current employees. People increasingly want to work for companies that value diversity & inclusion, but it’s not possible to tell which companies are walking the walk before joining.
Originally from the UK, he’s worked in London and New York, and in both places, he grew tired of being the only Black face in the room. Worse, he saw companies misleading and abusing professionals of colour as they lazily tried to become more diverse without becoming more inclusive. He built inside voices to stop the cycle.
Fraser Longden
Fraser joined the Wickes Group in September 2014. During his time at the Wickes Group, Fraser has covered a number of roles including HR Director and Chief Commercial Officer and since 2017 he has been the Chief Operating Officer.
Fraser joined the Wickes Group after 15 years with Kingfisher. His last roles at Kingfisher included sitting on the main Executive Board for B&Q as Human Resources Director and Executive Vice President HR at B&Q China. Alongside this role in China, Fraser was also the General Manager of the B&Q China Design Centre business.
Fraser is passionate about everyone being able to perform and progress while being their authentic self at work. As a result he is the Executive Sponsor for the ‘RAACE’ (Raising Awareness and Action on Culture and Ethnicity) network and the ‘ Let’s do it with Pride’ Network (supporting our LGBT+ Colleagues). Fraser was recently included in the 2021 EMpower Advocates Executive Role Models list which celebrates 50 senior leaders who are not from ethnic minority background themselves but are championing and advocating for their ethnic minority
colleagues.
Alison Ross
Operations and Culture Director
Alison has broad leadership responsibilities at Auto Trader encompassing technology, operations, people and culture. Having joined in 2002 Alison is proud to have experienced and contributed to the digital transformation that saw a successful shift from traditional publishing to an online only true technology business. A key area of interest for Alison is evolving AT’s progressive culture to ensure the attraction and retention of the very best diverse talent. Alison serves as the chair of Manchester Digital, the independent trade association for the thriving digital sector in the North West of England.
Cheryl Carty
Lead on Sparks Programme & Inclusion and Diversity Consultant
Joining the Inclusive Employers team in May 2021 as an Inclusion & Diversity Consultant, Cheryl brings proven experience in change management and driving cultural employee engagement in the Media industry. Having gained experience across multiple sectors, including finance, marketing, brand management and PR, she uses her business acumen to help organisations with their Inclusive journeys. With experience that extends across a broad range of disciplines including delivery of EDI training, creative strategy, internal/crisis comms, internal/external senior and VIP stakeholder management, organisation and group facilitation training and Staff Network sustainability. Cheryl spearheads the Inclusive Employers Sparks Programme. This programme helps and supports the future leaders of the D&I industry, to gain the skills and qualifications they require to make a difference in your organisation.
Joseph Aninakwa
Inclusion and Diversity Consultant
Joseph joined Inclusive Employers in Feb 2022 , as an Inclusion & Diversity Consultant. He has a background in Learning and Development within Higher Education where he developed and delivered Anti-racism learning interventions over a number of years to a multitude of staff, including senior management. He has over 17 years’ experience in roles such, as business development management, relationship management, membership engagement, mentoring, coaching, facilitator and a business owner. Joseph has a passion for working with young people and communities where young people need access to support. He is involved with charities such as Future Men where he coached and mentored young men and young fathers between the ages of 16-25 year to help them navigate through the multiple challenges they were going through .He also has worked with schools to engage boys and young men through coaching and mentoring. Joseph also delivers a course called Future dads where he facilitates a course for expectant fathers in hospitals around London. As a youth leader at his church Joseph guides young people between the ages of 13-16 years in challenging conversations, as they navigate their adolescence.
Nathan Dyke
Nathan joined Auto Trader UK in 2012. Starting his career as a Graduate Client Manager, progressing quickly through a number of key roles, he has grown into an established leader within Auto Trader’s sales operation.
As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Nathan co-chaired the Auto Trader BAME Network since its inception in 2018 right up to Dec 2021. Under Nathan’s tenure the network established itself as a vital part of the AT community, significantly influencing the strategic direction of Auto Trader’s D & I strategy. Deeply involved in recruitment and future talent initiatives, Nathan continues to be a visible and contributing figure in building a truly multi-cultural environment at Auto Trader.
Nathan is also a member of Auto Trader’s Board Engagement Guild, sharing sentiment from AT’s BAME network and Sales Operation with the Board, to further enhance strategic decisions.
Nathan’s enthusiasm and desire continues to inspire others throughout the business, his contribution was a key factor in Auto Trader being named one of the top 10 organisations in the UK by Inclusive Companies in 2019.Auto Trader was also shortlisted for the Diverse Company Award 2020 at the National Diversity Awards.
Bridget Tatham
Bridget is a partner in Browne Jacobson LLP , Co-Chair of the D&I Committee and Lead Sponsor for the Race Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage community (REACH) in the firm. She has been at the forefront of the drive to make the business reflect the communities in which it operates, influencing senior leaders to adopt a strategy for change from anti-racism training to setting targets and connecting charities in the communities.
She is the proud sponsor of the Black Mentoring Scheme which matches 13 aspiring Black lawyers with 13 great mentors in the firm. The objective is simply to provide aspiring lawyers who are in non-Russell Group universities and provide them with the opportunity to gain impactful work experience supported by a mentoring programme which covers CVs to developing your brand.
Bridget is also the recently elected Chair of the African Caribbean Community Initiative, a charity that provides culturally tailored mental health support for the Black and wider ethnic minority community.
