Cultural diversity in the workplace: What is it and how does it impact the modern workplace, and importantly how does your company/employer deal with it?
This evening discussion will be focused on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), it will explore equality, retention, wellbeing and mental health in the workplace. The event will be specifically focused on: race, gender, disability and sexuality. The key aim being to discuss the various challenges diverse groups face and how to best tackle these, what employers are doing to be more inclusive and to create a better working culture and to outline what best practices can be shared.
With a strong panel of industry leaders, we are looking for them to share their knowledge and perspectives from their respective industries to ensure you strive to have a healthy and diverse team in your organisation.
Programme:
6.00pm Arrival and networking
6.30pm Panel Session
- Mie Østergaard, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Forward Trust
- Charlotte Tappin, Head of Human Resources, UHY Hacker Young
- Patti Kachidza, InterLaw Diversity Forum
- Drew Christie, Founder member and current Chair of BCOMS
- Moderator: Benjamin Obinali, Trainee Solicitor – Corporate, Investment Funds, Gowling WLG
7.30pm Drinks and networking
8.30pm End of event
Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Forward Trust
Mie currently works for Forward, a charity that helps more than 18.000 people a year impacted by addiction, crime, homelessness, or long-term unemployment. Mie specialises in working collaboratively with organisations to implement new initiatives in order to increase diversity, reduce inequalities and help create more inclusive organisations.
Previously she worked for the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the first ever EDI position in any royal college, as their Race and Equality Manager.
Before moving into the mental health sector, Mie worked in football, in 2019, she created Tackling Racism, a TV series on Sky Sports News. Mie began her career with the Jason Roberts Foundation and Rio Ferdinand Foundation before becoming a freelance consultant in 2016, working with Women in Football, Aspire Charity, Football Black List and BCOMS.
Head of Human Resources, UHY Hacker Young
Charlotte is the Human Resources Director for UHY Hacker Young’s London and Nottingham firm, where she leads her team in the ongoing development of the firm’s talent strategy. Charlotte has been with UHY for 12 years, and in recent years has taken responsibility for UHY’s National Talent Management Group. This group comprises HR specialists from across UHY’s 23 offices, from senior leadership to assistant level, and is designed as an opportunity for knowledge sharing and collaboration between the different HR practitioners throughout the network, providing a central hub for progressing key retention and recruitment goals for UHY. As the head of the HR department Charlotte has also spearheaded the development of UHY London and Nottingham’s Diversity and Inclusion Policy, which is in its final stages before completion.
Senior Lawyer, Axiom Global
Patti is a financial services and technology lawyer. In her career of several decades she has held a number of roles covering a range of specialist areas, including:
Senior Lawyer in Capital Markets and Infrastructure Finance – Santander
Wealth Management Lawyer- Coutts & Co
Head of Litigation- M&G Prudential
Head of Credit Compliance – PayPal
Special Counsel, Government Bail Out Scheme- Royal Bank of Scotland
General Counsel at Towry Investment Management (now Bestinvest)
In her spare time Patti writes on Artificial Intelligence and is an affiliate of UNESCO’s International Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. She is also a pro bono lawyer who represents women charged with murder in domestic situations. She is also Deputy chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum.
Founder member and current Chair of the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS)
Drew is an experienced, international award-winning Producer and Journalist.
Over his 20+ year media career, he has written, produced and directed content for elite broadcasters and companies in Britain and the Middle East, including BBC Sport, Endemol, Abu Dhabi Media, Sport360, Aurora Media Worldwide, News UK and Discovery.
Drew is a founder member and current Chair of the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS), a Black-led organisation that works to help diversify the UK sports media.
Benjamin Obinali – the moderator
Trainee Solicitor – Corporate, Investment Funds, Gowling WLG
Benjamin is a final seat trainee solicitor at Gowling WLG and the co-chair of Gowling’s racial network EmbRACE. Over the course of his training contract Benjamin has spent time in the Corporate – Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity team, the Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration team, the Real Estate Finance team and finally the Corporate – Investment Funds team. At Gowling Benjamin also has a Real Estate sector and a Government sector focus, alongside a Nordic and Africa jurisdictional focus. Prior to his legal career Benjamin spent his initial years in consultancy, advising public sector companies on their risk policies and controls before later transitioning to financial crime. During his time in financial crime Benjamin spent time working both in the legal and in the banking sector, and he had a particular focus on risk, sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering.
Benjamin will be moderating the panel.