OnDemand: The Allyship in the Workplace Conference 2026
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*Presentation decks for speakers who have given permission for their materials to be shared
Supporters Included
2026 Overview
Allyship is increasingly referenced in corporate strategies, yet too often remains undefined, unsupported and inconsistently practised. With over 45% of UK adults experiencing workplace discrimination (Ciphr, 2025), allyship must move from optional advocacy to shared accountability embedded in governance, performance and everyday practice.
Research has linked inclusive cultures to driving retention, innovation and organisational performance, but without visible allyship that tackles discrimination, these benefits remain unrealised. Now is the time to move from intent to impact and embed allyship as a driver of meaningful equity.
- 76% of survey respondents from Black, Black British, Caribbean or African ethnic groups say they have suffered discriminatory experiences at work or faced hiring bias (Ciphr, 2025)
- 19% of adults in the UK have faced ageism at some point in their careers (Ciphr, 2025)
- 12% of workplace discrimination reported as gender discrimination (Ciphr, 2025)
The Allyship in the Workplace Conference 2026 examined the latest policies and strategies to drive meaningful action and achieve long-lasting allyship to confront systemic inequalities. The event went beyond surface level understandings of allyship, focusing on implementation and best practices that are necessary to successfully integrate inclusive policies.
2026 Agenda
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Professor Arun Verma, University of London
Keynote: Allyship in Action: Preventing Sexual Harassment Before it Happens
- The shift from responding to complaints to preventing harassment before it occurs
- The new employer duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and what this means in practice
- What active allyship looks like when witnessing inappropriate behaviour, microaggressions or harassment
- Bystander intervention: practical tools for employees, managers and leaders
- Creating cultures where concerns are raised early rather than after harm has escalated
- The role of leaders in modelling allyship and setting behavioural expectations
Rosie McInerney, Founder, Third
Keynote: A Practical Path to Advancing Racial Equity and Inclusion
- Knowing how to appropriately act as an active ally, when to speak up and call out microaggressions and how to address unconscious bias
- Ensuring diverse voices are represented, heard, and involved in decision-making, examining the barriers to career progression and leadership
- Addressing systemic inequalities through an assessment of organisational practices to guarantee employee growth, safety and performance
- Implementing organisational strategies that address racial inequalities through mentoring programmes which provide businesses with a structured approach to DEI
Sandra Kerr CBE, FCABS, Race Equality Director, Business in the Community
Questions and Answers
Comfort Break
Keynote: Allyship That Drives Change: Using Leadership and Voice to Open Doors for Women
- Break down gender norms, challenge biases, socialisation and gender stereotyping in the workplace
- Examine recruitment and hiring practices to reduce gender discrimination, addressing tokenism, and improving pathways for career progression through sponsorship and mentoring
- Identifying the importance of using your voice to ensure women’s contributions are recognised and rewarded
- Explore the crucial role male allyship plays to challenge gender discrimination and call out microaggressions
Cllr Hilaria Asumu, Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Walkden South, Salford City Council, CEO, WSH BME Kidney Network
Case Study: From Fragmented EDI to Integrated Inclusion Using an Intersectional lens
- A four-year journey of cultural transformation – Building an educational, evidence-based approach through our Freedom from Racism work, to create sustainable organisational change.
- An intersectional lens – Understanding how overlapping identities shape people’s experiences and why inclusion must reflect this complexity.
- From anti-racism to integrated inclusion – Using race as the catalyst for embedding equity, belonging and inclusion across all protected characteristics.
- Embedding lasting change – Integrating inclusion into leadership, governance, workforce development and everyday practice
Sutopa Sen, Head of Freedom from Racism/Anti-Discrimination, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Questions and Answers
Lunch Break
Keynote: Addressing Ageism in the Workplace: Creating Age-Inclusive Workplaces
- The case for support for addressing both ends of the ‘workplace age spectrum’
- Where does ageism show up in your workplace and what actions can you take
- What are ‘age-friendly policies’ and how can they retain valuable talent
- Fostering inclusivity across all ages
Tracy Riddell, Head of Age Friendly Employers, Centre for Ageing Better
Case Study: Allyship in Action: Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity in the Workplace
- Building a working environment that is inclusive and dismantles discriminatory structures to retain valuable talent
- Supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues by encouraging deeper understandings of experiences, barriers and struggles providing next steps to being an active ally
- Deep dive into organisational strategies from inclusive hiring practices, pronouns in signatures, reporting processes, and inclusive language, to navigate how organisations can ensure that all platforms are inclusive
- What it actually means to be an active ally for the LGBTQ+ community through confronting common allyship misconceptions to guide organisations on advanced allyship initiatives
Alex Matheson, Director of Inclusion, LGBT Foundation
Questions and Answers
Comfort Break
Case Study: Workplace Allyship for Colleagues Living with HIV: Health Equity at Work
- Dismantling HIV workplace discrimination and stigma, exploring effective allyship initiatives from lived experience
- Understanding how to be an active ally to support colleagues living with HIV, including empathy, educating, and listening
- Examining toolkits for organisational and individual allyship, through learning, confronting microaggressions and providing support to provide a safe and empathetic working environment
- Confronting misconceptions of HIV, and giving direction on allyship strategies that can be implemented to ensure business alignment with the UK’s HIV Action Plan 2025-2030
Jen Illman, Lived Experiences Programme Manager, Terrence Higgins Trust
Joined by Sebastian Rotaru, Positive Voices
Panel: Building Inclusive Workplaces with Disability Leaders
- Ensuring HR teams have a strong understanding on the diverse challenges faced, and what barriers must be dismantled to ensure an inclusive workplace
- Addressing all types of disabilities by examining what it means to be an active ally, providing a safe and comfortable working environment for disabled colleagues
- Implementing models that transform and strengthen organisations’ disability allyship and remove barriers to disabled leadership
- Initiatives to build equitable workforces based on lived experiences of working and living with a disability, without making assumptions
Jane Hatton, Chief Executive Officer, Evenbreak
Michelle Jackson, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Shaw Trust
Jennifer Lobley, Senior Strategy and Policy Adviser, ACAS
Questions and Answers
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Professor Arun Verma, University of London
Conference Close
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OnDemand
Full access to the OnDemand conference – get instant access after purchase to expert insights and curated content, including recordings of the sessions and downloadable presentation decks for speakers who have given permission for their materials to be shared.
2026 Speakers
Professor Arun Verma
University of London
Dr Damon Young
EDI & Accessibility Lead
British Council
Sandra Kerr CBE
FCABS, Race Equality Director
Business in the Community
Cllr Hilaria Asumu
Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Walkden South
Salford City Council
Tracey Riddell
Head of Age Friendly Employers
Centre for Ageing Better
Alex Matheson
Director of Inclusion
LGBT Foundation
Jen Illman
Lived Experiences Programme Manager
Terrence Higgins Trust
Jane Hatton
Chief Executive Officer
Evenbreak
Rosie McInerney
Founder
Third
Testimonials
I really enjoyed the variety of topics covered and wide range of expertise shared. I feel like I’ve got some really interesting topics to bring back to my organisation and offer greater food for thought in conversations around allyship.
An insightful, informative and enjoyable event. The neurodiversity allyship session was particularly inspiring while also offering key practical takeaways. All the speakers brought valuable insights and experience and I left with much to think about that will inform our work moving forward.
Well structured conference, set at a good pace with an interesting mix of keynote speakers.
An excellent event giving opportunities to learn from a diverse set of professionals and organisations.
Fantastic session with great networking opportunities and practical takeaway’s which I would consider implementing in my organisation.
