Diversity and Inclusion Summit 2022

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Legal Island and Included present the Diversity and Inclusion Summit 2022 - A Close Look at Inclusive Leadership and the Practical Tools of D&I.

This year’s edition of the highly successful Diversity & Inclusion Summit is specifically designed to help both HR professionals and D&I practitioners implement workplace D&I initiatives more effectively.

With a hand-picked speaker line-up, attendees will learn from the UK and Ireland’s top D&I thought-leaders, activists, authors and consultants.

With an emphasise throughout the day on the practical aspects of D&I initiatives, this Summit has a strong focus on inclusivity, and how this can be maximised with the rise of the hybrid and remote worker.

A recent report from Deloitte found that inclusive organisations have a competitive advantage, with higher levels of engagement, trust and career satisfaction. Employees also reported more positive experiences with hybrid working, lower levels of burnout and planned to stay with their company longer.

Our expert speakers highlight the opportunities that now present themselves for much great inclusivity in this new world of work in which we find ourselves now.

This event will challenge you, stretch your thinking and encourage you to re-examine what you thought you knew.

After a full day of expert sessions, you’ll understand:

Is D&I still very much All Show and No Go? with Stephen Frost, CEO, Included
Is equality law keeping up with developments in D&I? with Ciara Fulton, Partner at Lewis Silkin
The dangerous D&I myths with leading D&I author and activist Simon Fanshawe
Inclusive online meetings - how to bridge the meeting performance gap, with Rob Hopkin, Co-founder, Axis
How engagement, wellbeing and inclusion, when fully aligned, underpin a purpose-led, values-based, and people-centred organisation with David Liddle, CEO, The TCM Group

When & Where

This event will take place online on the Hopin platform between 9.15am and 3.45pm on the 5 May 2022. The full recording will be available to watch when the event ends.

Price

Standard Rate: £145 + VAT

In association with our partners:

Applied; Getaxis; Lewis Silkin; TCM; Academy for Diversity and Innovation.

eLearning Training Course: Diversity & Inclusion - The Importance of Conscious Inclusion (50% off for all event attendees)

Attendees of this event will receive an exclusive 50% special offer on Legal Island’s brand-new eLearning course, Diversity & Inclusion - The Importance of Conscious Inclusion, on behalf of your organisation. This course will help your staff understand the importance of inclusive behaviour in the workplace and the value it brings to both your staff and your organisation.

About this course

Whilst Northern Ireland continues to progress towards a society that is more inclusive and fairer for all, recent events such as differing opinions on Covid vaccination status, Climate change, and the Black Lives Matter and #Metoo movements have forced us all to focus and reflect on issues relevant to diversity and inclusion like never before.
This course will share suggestions on how to work in a positive and inclusive manner with people who have very different views from your own. It will also explain equality legislation in Northern Ireland, which provides protection against harassment and discrimination.

What topics will be covered?

+ What diversity and inclusion is
+ The law relating to diversity and inclusion
+ The importance of inclusion
+ How to work in a positive and inclusive manner

Programme

Time	Session
9:15am	Welcome and Introduction Chairs Sandra Kerr CBE, Race Director, Business in the Community and Barry Phillips BEM, Chairman, Legal Island
9:30	Is D&I still very much “All Show and No Go?” How do we get to do truly meaningful D&I work in today’s workplace? Leading D&I author and consultant Stephen Frost, CEO, Included explains.	Engagement, Wellbeing and Inclusion –the new workplace Trinity? Author and HR expert David Liddle explains how the three, when fully aligned, underpin a purpose led, values based, and people centred organisation. David will also explore why the way that we deal with conflict and underperformance at work is central to a workplace culture that fosters true inclusivity.
10:15	D&I : Beware Some Dangerous Myths… Is there actually compelling evidence of the business case for D&I? Do a majority of employees now bring their whole selves to work? Is stereotyping really such a workplace pariah? Did Drucker really say “What gets measured gets done? And why is it relevant to D&I? Let’s be frank most bias in the workplace is conscious? Or is it? Join leading D&I author & activist Simon Fanshawe to find out.	Starting from Scratch – The D&I Journey of an SME A look at how one organisation began their D&I journey last year. The mistakes made, the lessons learnt, the benefits shared. Susie Leacy, People Operations Director, HEAnet
10:45	Break
11:00	Badging your D&I Activity There are now multiple D&I kitemarks available nationally and internationally to help you structure and brand your D&I activity. Leading D&I Consultant Mark Fenton reviews what’s on offer, how they stack up and how to work out what’s best for your organisation	Pregnant Then Screwed A hard look at the truth about what is now termed the “Motherhood Penalty” and how to fix it Women’s rights campaigner Joeli Brearley tells it exactly as she sees it
11:30	Break
11:40	D&I & You! A call to action from two leading D&I Charities We hear from two organisations that help support disadvantaged people into the workplace. Find out what they can do for you and what you can do for them.
11:55	D&I Resources – Here’s our Top Ten D&I activity is never easy. We share our top ten resources to help you do it better and more cost effectively.
12:10pm	Break
12:25	Panel Discussions: Part 1: Litigious workplaces, woke warriors and cancel culture – is meaningful workplace discussion and dialogue now a lost cause? Part 2: Re-interpreting the role of the workplace in driving greater equality into society. Do we actually ask too much from today’s employer? Panel members: Simon Fanshawe OBE, Cllr Uruemu Adejinmi, Raafi - Karim Aldini, Included, and Nuala Murphy, Diversity Mark	The Art of True Workplace Forgiveness Do you struggle or see colleagues struggling to work well together because they can’t get forgive each other for a past wrong? Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the Brighton Hotel bombing in 1984. In this powerful session his daughter, Jo Berry, explains her personal journey towards personal forgiveness for the bomber Patrick Magee and the lessons for everyone striving to forgive others both inside and outside the workplace. Jo Berry, founder of Building Bridges for Peace
1:00	Lunch
2:00	Inclusive Hybrid Organisations As you craft your company’s hybrid work plans and policies, we need to be aware of the inequities hybrid work can create or make worse. But the question is, what do you really need to consider and do from a cultural and process perspective to be(come) an inclusive employer? Dr. Barbara Covarrubias Venegas, Co-Founder of the Academy for Diversity and Innovation, will show you 5 practices to be(come) an inclusive employer.	Strictly Dancing Around the Disability Issues? Deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis won the hearts of millions recently when she triumphed at the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing Final. But what does her fight for recognition in in a world designed by non-disabled people exclusively for them really tell us aboutour approach to D&I? Disability activist Seònaid Ó Murchadha argues we’re all out of step.
2:30	Conducting Inclusive Online Meetings Knowledge workers spend up to 70% of their time in meetings and yet 50% are ineffectual and unengaging. Certain voices dominate, undermining the power of diversity, degrading decision quality and perpetuating group think and flawed orthodoxies. Rob Hopkin reveals the power of alternative approaches to online meetings now practised in some organisations that are truly powerful.	Men and Why They’re the Solution to Better D&I Implementation in the workplace Leading D&I Consultant Mark Fenton bravely puts his neck on the line to argue that meaningful D&I initiatives start with men.
3:00	Break
3:15	Is Equality Law Keeping Up with Developments in D&I? The employment team at Lewis Silkin tackle this big question whilst looking at the very latest case law relevant to the world of D&I.	The Future of Interviewing & D&I What is the history of the interview, how has it changed and will it change over the next decade? What are the implications for D&I, and how is it changing to accommodate different groups and technology? Patrick White from Applied highlights some quick wins on the journey towards fairness for all accessing employment.
3:45pm	Concluding Remarks and Summit Close

Testimonials

"I'm partially deaf so digital events make it so much easier for me to hear all the speakers with no background noise or disruptions."
Shirley Delaney, HR Manager, Megazyme

"The range of sessions and content was brilliant. The platform used was very easy to navigate through which was great."
Niamh O'Farrell, HR Partner, Scope

"I liked the variety of the sessions, so many different topics were covered, there was also a good range of speakers."
Steffi Reilly, IQEQ

"It was scheduled very well. Presenters did not talk too long. There were sufficient breaks. I also liked the roundtable discussion at the beginning."
Martina Cronin, Development Manager, South Leinster CIS

"I liked that i had the flexibility to join the event from my own location."
Emma Turley, Learning & Development Manager, Crash Services

"[I liked] the calibre of the speakers and the interesting discussions in the chat box."
Ellen Nolan, Solicitor, McCann Fitzgerald

"The practical advice from the speakers and access to their vast array of experience."
Joe Richardson, NICS

"[I most liked the] diversity in conversation and insight."
Jason Doyle, Corporate Team Travel Manager, FCM Travel Group

"Quality speakers who were all experts in their field - so knowledgeable and engaging."
Justine Carty, Solicitor, PRAI

"The variety of the speakers and the pace was perfect 40/45 mins per speaker meant it kept the interest."
Jenny Torley, HR Advisor Equality, Inclusion & Legal, NIFRS

Presenters

Barry Phillips Chairman

Legal Island

Barry Phillips (CEO) BEM founded Legal Island in 1998. Since then, the company has become the leading workplace compliance training company on the island of Ireland.

Barry curated and chaired the first-ever AI for HR online event in September 2023. Since then, he has organised numerous webinars and workshops for HR on AI topics. He also presents a weekly podcast summarising important developments in AI for those in HR.
Sandra Kerr CBE Race Director

Business in the Community

Sandra works together with business leaders and government policy makers to influence action on race in the UK. The Race at Work survey in 2015 with 24,457 responses and in 2018 with 24,310 responses provided the evidence to establish the Race at Work Charter announced by the Prime Minister which now has more than 500 employer signatories.

In 2012 Sandra was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for Services to Black and Minority Ethnic People.

In 2019 Sandra was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list for Services to Equality and Diversity. Sandra published the Race at Work Black Voices Report in August 2020 and the Race at Work Charter 2020 report in October 2020.
Stephen Frost CEO & Founder

Included

Stephen is a globally recognised diversity, inclusion and leadership expert, and founded Included in 2012. He leads the team and works with leaders around the world to embed inclusive leadership in their decision-making.

From 2007-2012 Stephen designed, led and implemented the inclusion programmes for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games as Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the London Organising Committee. From 2004-2007 Stephen established and led the workplace team at Stonewall. Stephen has also led D&I at KPMG and worked in advertising and consulting.

Stephen was a Hertford College Scholar at Oxford and a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard. He remains a Visiting Fellow of the Women and Public Policy Program. He has won various awards from the 2010 Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions and 2011 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum to one of Management Today’s Change Agents for his race and gender work.

He has taught Inclusive Leadership at Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University and Sciences Po in France and advised the British Government, Royal Air Force and the White House. He is author of The Inclusion Imperative (2014), Inclusive Talent Management (2016) and Building an Inclusive Organization (February 2019).
David Liddle CEO & Founder

The TCM Group

David has developed significant expertise and authority in the areas of organisational dynamics, conflict resolution and transformational culture. He is author of two highly acclaimed books Managing Conflict and Transformational Culture and has recently been recognised as one of the top 20 HR Most Influential Thinkers.

A lifelong mediator, David has spent the last 30 years reframing HR systems, management processes, and leadership behaviours. He puts purpose, people and values at the heart of his customers’ organisations. With a passion for collaboration, inclusion and empowerment, he brings people together to deliver high impact transformational change.
Simon Fanshawe OBE Author of "The Power of Difference- where the complexities of diversity and inclusion meet practical solutions" (Published Dec 2021 by Kogan Page)

Co-Founder Diversity by Design

Simon Fanshawe OBE - co-founder of Diversity by Design and works with clients to achieve significant change in diversity as a talent strategy to meet their business challenges; author of The Power of Difference; one time co-founder of Stonewall.

He was awarded the OBE in 2013 for services to higher education. In the same year he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sussex for services to the University and equality and social justice.
Susie Leacy People Operations Director

HEAnet

Susie came from Musgrave Wholesale Partners, one of the Musgrave Group divisions, supporting the wholesale and Foodservice areas in a time of organisational change. Susie is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Functional Head in HEAnet who has responsibilities for People Operations. This incorporates all people related matters including the people experience and workplace experience teams for HEAnet as well as supporting our subsidiary EduCampus Services. Susie’s focus is ensuring that our people at the centre of what we do and how we work together. Alongside being a People Operations Director, Susie is also an Executive Coach as well as providing coaching and mentoring to HR professionals.

Susie graduated from the Dublin Institute of Technology and holds a Master’s in Business Studies specialising in Human Resource Management from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business. She also holds Chartered Fellowship Membership with CIPD (The professional body for HR and people development), holds Agile HR certification, has an accreditation in Advanced Coaching with Neuroscience as well as being EQi 2.0 & EQ 360 accredited.
Mark Fenton CEO & Founder | Executive Coach

MASF Consulting Ltd.

Founder of a specialist advisory firm focused on the power & influence of the Inclusion of Diversity. Inclusion empowers organisations to attract and retain the best talent and enables this talent to be at their best everyday. Transformation focus - business, culture and strategy. Start-up and Scale-Up expertise. Advisory Board Member of Irish Tech Society. Senior international executive with over 20 years' experience, the majority of which gained while living and working in London and Paris.

Mark also works as an Executive Coach (for example via the University College Dublin (UCD) MBA Coaching Panel, and the UCD CEMS Mentoring Panel) and has been accredited as a Senior Practitioner by the European Mentoring & Coaching Council.
Joeli Brearley Founder & CEO

Pregnant Then Screwed

Joeli founded Pregnant Then Screwed in 2015 after her own experience of pregnancy discrimination. She writes for the Telegraph, is the winner of the Northern Power Women Agent for Change award, is an Amnesty International Human Rights Defender and a member of the United Nations Working Group: Women’s Human Rights in the Changing World of Work. In January 2021 she took the Government to court for indirect sex discrimination due to the way self employed mothers were being financially penalised by the income support scheme. Her debut book: ”Pregnant Then Screwed: The Truth about the Motherhood Penalty, and how to fix it’’ was published by Simon & Schuster on the 4th March 2021
Uruemu Adejinmi Chairperson of Longford Municipal District, Longford County Council

Cllr Uruemu Adejinmi is mayor of Longford municipal district, marking a series of firsts for the county, as she is the first migrant, first African and first black female to become mayor.

Uruemu’s election as Cathaoirleach of Longford Municipal District also makes her the country’s first female African mayor. Her journey into politics began in 2016 when she supported a candidate in a local election. Shortly afterwards, her neighbour asked her to join Fianna Fáil.

In 2018, she undertook an internship with the Immigrant Council of Ireland, shadowing Joe Flaherty while he was a local councillor. In 2020, Mr Flaherty became a TD and Uruemu was co-opted to his seat.

Uruemu is passionate about getting information across to diverse community groups to help them to get access to services and support, and encouraging political parties to engage more actively with migrants.
Raafi-Karim Alidina Consultant & Author

Included

Raafi-Karim Alidina is a consultant at Included, where he designs and implements behavioural insights interventions to improve equality, diversity, and create inclusive cultures in organizations. Raafi is co-author of Building an Inclusive Organization: Leveraging the Power of a Diverse Workforce.

His research on using behavioural economics for inclusion in organisations and the development of a behavioural measure for inclusion as part of his Masters in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School was awarded the Jane Mansbridge Research Award, and the Susan C Eaton Memorial Prize for the top HKS Masters Thesis in Social Policy.
Nuala Murphy Interim Head of Business

Diversity Mark

Head of Business Diversity Mark - the awarding authority on Diversity and Inclusion across the UK and Ireland. Nuala has been described by the Irish Times as “one of the next generation of female business leaders in the North.”

A community builder and connector by nature, Nuala has been an impassioned advocate for women’s equality with a deep commitment to creating workplaces where every person has a seat at the table and a chance to be heard. With a deep expertise in D&I issues and experience building communities that empower and connect people across differences.

As a diversity and inclusion leader and President of the lean in Belfast Network and President Elect of Lean In UK & Ireland Council, Nuala has led and scaled the Lean In movement across Ireland for more than 7 years, a global community of women who led grassroots groups in countries like Iraq, India, and the United States, which bolstered her ability to work across cultures and race.
Jo Berry Founder

Building Bridges for Peace

Jo Berry is an inspiring speaker who works to resolve conflict around the world. Sixteen years after her father was killed by an IRA bomb, Jo first met with the man responsible, Pat Magee. This initial three-hour meeting led to them speaking on over three hundred occasions, on a shared platform around the world. Their unusual relationship has been told in the BBC documentary "Facing the Enemy", was featured in the film "Beyond Right and Wrong", and inspired "The Bomb", a play by Kevin Dyer.

The founder of the charity ‘Building Bridges for Peace’, Jo advocates that unbounded empathy is the biggest weapon we have to end conflict. With political, religious and racial divides deepening as global and local events unfold, her words offer a message of hope and encourage us all to see the humanity in others.
Dr. Barbara Covarrubias Venegas Keynote Speaker | Executive Coach | Author & Passionate Dancer

Barbara is an Expert for New Ways of Working & Digital Leadership | Virtual Learning Journeys. She defines herself as a Virtual Enthusiast, researcher by education, speaker by passion and author by results. She is passionate about New Ways of Working & Learning, Positive Leadership & CULTURE overall. For the past 10 years, she has been very involved with the intercultural community across the globe, not only as a researcher or professional, but also as a virtual team leader and team member.

She works and teaches in English, Spanish, Italian and German. Besides, she is a passionate dancer (13+ dancing styles) and developed a training concept with the title "Dance your way into hybrid leadership".
Seònaid Ó Murchadha Workplace Coordinator

See Change - The National Mental Health Stigma Reduction Partner

Founder of Amputee Disability Federation Ireland, Seònaid Ó Murchadha (pronounced ‘Show-nid Oh Muraku’) has been promoting the employment of disabled people for more than two decades, regularly contributing pieces across news media, Irish national radio, and television.

With certification from the International Disability Management Standards Council as well as recognition from the Canadian National Institute of Disability Management & Research (NIDMAR), she helps organisations embrace disability and difference by providing creative solutions to disability inclusion at work, facilitating inclusive recruitment processes, and advising on policy. She also represents the Independent Living Movement Ireland on employment issues at government level and was honoured to be elected to their board of directors last year. She currently lectures at Maynooth University on Disability Studies and provides HR support for members of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association.

Nicknamed the Bionic Business Woman by broadcaster Conall Ó Morain when she received her new bionic arm in 2017, she uses the moniker as her social media handle as it is much easier for others to spell or remember!
Rob Hopkin Co-founder

Axis

Rob is a co-founder of Axis, a virtual collaboration platform designed to help organisations harness the power of diverse teams through inclusive, engaging and effective workshops and meetings. Rob is a firm believer in the wisdom of crowds and the power of diverse minds to solve big problems and re-imagine the world. His goal is to provide technology that makes it simple and easy for anyone to design and run meetings and workshops where every voice is heard.
Ciara Fulton Partner, Head of Office

Lewis Silkin LLP

Ciara Fulton is partner and Head of Lewis Silkin (NI) LLP.

Ciara is dual qualified and advises on all aspects of employment law in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. She has significant experience of advising clients on the full range of employment issues including complex discrimination issues, bullying and harassment claims, disciplinary and grievance matters, business reorganisations, senior executive severances, restrictive covenants, employment related litigation and TUPE.

Ciara’s approach is to partner with clients providing practical, commercial advice to resolve HR issues whether contentious or non-contentious. Ciara works with a variety of sectors with particular experience in the construction and infrastructure sector.

Ciara regularly speaks on a range of employment issues at internal and external events and delivers bespoke training to clients on the differences between NI and ROI employment law. Ciara is a member of the Employment Lawyers Group and the NI Representative for the Employment Lawyers Association. Ciara is also a legally qualified member of the Appeals Tribunals NI.
Patrick White Head of International Growth

Applied

Patrick is Head of International Growth at Applied, working as a leading trainer on D&I issues including how to create fairness and remove bias from recruitment processes.