Inclusion in Business 2025: Breaking Down Barriers for All Employees

Past and Present Supporters include:

Overview

In recent years, there has been a heightened recognition of the insufficient inclusivity within business workplaces. While considerable progress has been made in implementing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) policies in numerous organisations alongside growing national guidance on enhancing EDI, there are still significant adjustments required to cultivate inclusive workplaces. For employees, it is important they feel that they are working in an inclusive environment:

• Inclusion increases employee engagement by up to 83% (Deloitte)
• Employees who feel their organisation is inclusive are three times more likely to be happy in their job (BCG)
• Inclusion increases staff retention by 50% (Harvard Business Review)
• 36% of employers said their organisation is not planning to focus on any inclusion areas in the next five years (CIPD)

Join us at the 2025 Inclusive Workplaces Conference for the most up to date techniques in implementing inclusion in workplace practices. You will hear best practice case studies covering a range of key topics, including updates from the 2024 Autumn Budget regarding Maternity Pay Allowances, forming staff networks to allow employees to share experiences, managing unconscious bias and overcoming practical workplaces obstacles to inclusion. You will be able to share your experiences and challenges faced in measuring the impact of diversity and inclusion measures through networking with senior colleagues and gain ideas for moving forward.

Why Attend?

✓ Hear high-level keynotes from leading organisations on the latest. diversity and inclusion guidance and advice for HR and management professionals
✓ Case studies showcasing best practice in supporting marginalised staff in the workplace
✓ A wide range of topics including improving racial diversity, tackling bias and discrimination, and creating an inclusive workplace
✓ Networking opportunities with speakers and senior colleagues

For more information or to make a booking please call 0330 058 4285

Agenda

• 9.00am

  Registration

• 9.30am

  Chair’s Opening Remarks

   

   

• 10.00am

  Keynote: Redefining Meritocracy

  • Strategies to improve the representation of women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community across the national workforce
  • Redefining meritocracy by broadening its scope to include other abilities, backgrounds, skills, reasoning approaches, and influences within it
  • Addressing the salary gap and attracting a diverse workforce
  • Encouraging inclusive recruitment practices by challenging biases, implementing blind recruitment strategies, and diversifying selection committees
• 10.20am

  Keynote: A Whole-Organisational Approach to Tackling Barriers to Inclusion

  • Top-down approaches to inclusivity in the workplace
  • Outlining effective communication techniques to foster an inclusive environment
  • Managing unconscious bias in workplace environments
  • Creating a safe space for people to be their most authentic selves
  • Navigating obstacles and improving buy-in within your organisation
  • Combatting workplace discrimination
• 10.40am

  Key Supporter Session

• 11.00am

  Questions & Answers

• 11.20am

  Comfort Break

• 11.35am

  Case Study:

  Tackling Workplace Barriers Faced by Ethnic Minority Employees

  • Ensuring that race equality is embedded into the organisation’s vision, mission, values and business plans. Ensure policies and practices are underpinned by race equality outcomes that proactively address discrimination and disadvantage
  • Providing visible leadership on workplace race matters: identifying and appointing key workplace figures for race equality
  • Outlining the importance of allyship in the workplace and strategies for engaging all employees in racial equality measures
  • Measuring the impact of diversity and inclusion policies on ethnic minority employees covering the Race at Work Charter
• 11:55am

  Case Study: Neurodivergence and Inclusivity

  • Equipping workplaces with the support practices to support neurodivergence
  • Considering the competitive advantage a neurodivergent workforce can provide
  • Highlighting the legal obligation employers have to neurodivergent employees
  • Adjusting recruitment processes to accommodate neurodivergent people

   

• 12:15am

  Case Study: LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in the Workplace

  • Incorporating gender-identity-specific non-discrimination policies and practices in workplace settings, such as bathroom access, gender neutral dress codes and pronoun usage
  • Maintaining a safe and secure environment for LGBTQ+ employees in line with government legislation
  • Developing LGBTQ+-specific diversity training for employees
  • Supporting employers: outlining how to increase value, progression and retention of staff, which includes visibility, support networks, education and training and celebration and recognition of LGBTQ+ events

  Dr Luke Fletcher, Associate Professor in Human Resource Management, University of Bath, (CONFIRMED)

  

• 12:35pm

  Questions and Answers

• 12:55pm

  Lunch Break

• 1:35pm

  Panel: Workplace Inclusivity for Women: The 2024 Autumn Budget– Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance

  • Summarising the Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance which will fall from 46 to 44 percent of the National Living Wage in 25/26
  • Highlighting the effect of the cost-of-living crisis of those on maternity leave
  • Reinforcing flexible work policies: parental leave and return-to-work programmes
  • Challenging current laws surrounding maternity allowance and the universal credit deduction
• 2:15pm

  Key Supporter Session

• 2.35pm

  Questions and Answers

• 2.55pm

  Breakout Networking: Measuring Inclusivity in the Workplace: Overcoming Hurdles and Sharing Successes
  This session will provide you a forum for discussing workplace inclusivity, offering a space for attendees to evaluate outcomes that benefit both employer and employee in practical settings. An open dialogue is encouraged for attendees to knowledge-share and cultivate more inclusive environments in their workplaces.

• 3.25pm

  Comfort Break

• 3.40pm

  Keynote:  Inclusive Environment for Disabled Employees

  • The Disability Confident scheme: supporting employers to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace
  • Assembling employers to retain or recruit disabled people
  • Removing barriers to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions
  • Creating positive conditions that proactively offer reasonable adjustments and foster an environment that allows for open conversations for individuals with disabilities
  • Ensuring Disability Confident schemes are appropriately assessed when employers make a commitment to adhering to the EDI standards

   

• 4.00pm

  Case Study: Building Employee Networks to Create Safe Spaces

  • Encouraging employees to create networks that are entirely inclusive and allow all colleagues to join and support their activity
  • Communicating and reiterating the value of a diverse workforce, fostering a culture where colleagues can be themselves and still deliver the needs of the organisation
  • Creating safe environments for employees to share experiences and seek peer support
  • Leveraging staff networks to promote constructive conversations about workplace inclusivity and providing support to senior leadership
• 4.20pm

  Questions and Answers

• 4.40pm

  Chair’s Closing Remarks

   

Previous Speakers

Sandra Kerr

Race Director

Business in the Community

Lee Chambers

Founder

Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing

Emma Codd

Global Inclusion Leader

Deloitte

Meike Bliebenicht

BP

Neurodiversity Program Lead

Dr Kathryn Watson

Impact Case Development Manager

University of Leeds

Testimonials

Why You Should Attend?

✓ Hear high-level keynotes from leading organisations on the latest. diversity and inclusion guidance and advice for HR and management professionals.
✓ Case studies showcasing best practice in supporting marginalised staff in the workplace.
✓ A wide range of topics including improving racial diversity, tackling bias and discrimination, and creating an inclusive workplace.
✓ Networking opportunities with speakers and senior colleagues.

Who Should Attend?

Pricing Options

Sponsorship

Raise your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business

If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact us HERE

IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.

Virtual vs F2F

Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:

• Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
• Lower sponsorship package costs
• No travel/accommodation
• Less time out of the office
• No stand materials required (lower costs)
• 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
• Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
• Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
• Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access (coming soon)

To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact us below: