SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE SERIES
Achieving Racial Equality
What do we need to do to further promote racial equality in businesses and ensure equal opportunity for all, no matter people’s background or ethnicity?
Join us as we review what companies are doing to develop a fairer playing field for all employees. We will discuss how to address and prevent discrimination, create a welcoming and inclusive culture, and provide support for those from under-represented ethnicities. Our special guest speakers will share their personal experiences and insights on this important topic.
Agenda
11:00am EST / 4:00pm GMT
Fireside Chat: Fostering Racial Inclusion at Work
- Understanding and eliminating unconscious/conscious bias
- Taking biases out of systems and processes – reflecting on Omar’s experiences to date
- How to implement a training process to ensure that the drive for change is being seen as coming from the top down
- Getting the buy-in of senior stakeholders and not letting standards slip back
- Your own experiences of tackling racial inequality and your top tips for other practitioners looking to do the same
Omar Ahmed, Business Process Optimisation Manager, Operations Performance Center, Strategy, Portfolio & Operations, GSK
11:40am EST / 4:40pm GMT
Panel Discussion: Achieving racial equality and eliminating unconscious and implicit bias
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- What practical steps can HR managers take to eliminate unconcious and implicit bias amongst colleagues?
- How effective is unconscious bias training in addressing root causes of racism?
- How important is sharing individual stories in achieving racial equality?
- How can we encourage empathy between colleagues to help stop racism and make everyone feel included in the workplace?
Moderator: Michele Shelton, Principal, Michele Shelton LLC
in conversation with
Dr Robert E. Braylock, Principal and COO, BHK Consulting
Charmain Bucho, Racial Equality Lead and Coach, City and Guilds
Our Speakers
Omar Ahmed, Business Process Optimisation Manager, Operations Performance Center, Strategy, Portfolio & Operations, GSK
Omar Ahmed is passionate about promoting workplace diversity and inclusion. He has made significant contributions in this area as a founder and leader in GSK’s EMBRACE Employee Resource Group, as well as through his membership in the GSK’s Global Ethnicity Council and the Consumer Health I&D Squad.
He has also received numerous accolades for my leadership and dedication to diversity, including being named one of the Top 10 Muslims in Healthcare by Equality X in 2022, an EMpower Future Leader in 2020, 2021, and 2022, a Finalist in the 2022 Black Talent Awards in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Manufacturing, and Construction, and Inspirational Role Model at GSK’s Inclusion Award 2022.
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Michele Shelton, Principal, Michele Shelton LLC
Michele Shelton is an author, keynote speaker, executive coach, and consultant on DEI and human relations. She specializes in race and gender equity, helping organizations make inclusivity more than just a goal. Michele is passionate about confronting the “isms” that negatively impact our humanity and the bottom line at work and beyond. She partners with courageous leaders who are committed to eliminating systems that prevent individuals, organizations, and communities from reaching their true potential.
Throughout her career of more than twenty years, Michele has served in the fight for justice and equality across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She is former Executive Director of the Office of Diversity & Equality and Director of Strategic Partnerships & Mission Integration for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Personnel Cabinet. Under her leadership state government expanded internal and external efforts to promote voluntary and proactive equal employment opportunity compliance, and to advance diversity and inclusion in the Commonwealth’s workplaces, schools, and communities.
Prior to Michele’s appointment to state government, she served as an EEO compliance officer enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with Louisville Metro Government. Her previous experience also includes private sector HR contracting and managing the implementation of program partnerships with the U.S. Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Urban League, and National Minority Supplier Development Council.
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Dr Robert E. Braylock, Principal and COO, BHK Consulting
Having studied to become and been licensed and practiced as a healthcare professional for more than fifteen years, Dr Robert E Braylock crafted the knowledge, skills and abilities to consistently provide positive and memorable experiences for patients. As a unity, equity and justice practitioner, he has excelled even more.
With years of experience afforded through his upbringing and environment, experiences in college, and more than 15 years as a practitioner, these combined factors have influenced Dr Braylock’s ability to provide transformational experiences that help people and organisations move forward in their journey towards advancing unity, equity and justice.
Dr Braylock is the Principal and COO of BHK Consulting, a firm that exist to bring unity amongst communities and nations from different cultures and backgrounds, and to establish justice and equity throughout creation. He is a principal investigator on a project funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services focused on addressing structural racism and racial health disparities in Chicago, Illinois and the United States.
Dr Braylock has also recently released a book focused on racial equity.
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Charmain Bucho, Racial Equality Lead and Coach, City and Guilds
Charmain Bucho is an established educational practitioner with highly developed specialist knowledge and extensive skills and experience in developing strategic direction for products and services for various audiences to ensure good pedagogic practice. She has developed comprehensive experience of project and people leadership and management. She actively promotes the importance of teaching and learning across a broad and unique qualification area and translate the implications of wider educational policy to portfolio priorities, always maintaining a focus on the needs of a new generation of learners. She combines this with an ability to both effectively matrix manage teams and define strategies and market direction to increase revenue.
At City and Guilds, Charmain leads on Racial Equality, supporting the development of an effective Inclusion and Diversity strategy for organisational excellence in employee and product experience. She is committed to expanding racial equity with an intersectionality focus to create and sustain an equitable workplace for all, and seeks to galvanise individuals and teams to develop and apply inclusive, equitable practice in the work they perform.
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What you will gain:
Flexible access to content
Our online conference portal offers a personalised content experience. You can join in with the sessions at work and on the go, live and on demand, and join in the conversation in-session with fellow attendees.
An opportunity to make new contacts
After the learning, join us to meet speakers and fellow attendees and make new contacts at our exclusive after-show digital meetup.
Register here to access the session
Please complete the form below and we will send you across the instructions on how to access the session via email.
Thank you very much for an excellent and thought provoking conference. Many thanks to the team for organising such a great event.
L&D MANAGER, PAY UK
