Our free, relaxed and informal event will give attendees the opportunity to hear from a diverse range of speakers discussing their own experiences of successful and unsuccessful allyship, building better relationships with LGBTQ+ colleagues and creating inclusive work cultures.

Aims:

• Hear inspirational stories from LGBTQ+ people and LGBTQ+ Allies

• Provide valuable insight on how to support LGBTQ+ team members

• Offer best practice tools and strategies to empower you/your workforce

• Encourage discussion and create connections

Timings on the night:

18:00 - 18:30 - arrival and refreshments (Ground Floor, Dawson House)

18.30 - 20.15 – welcome/panel discussion /Q&A

20:15 - 21:00 - free refreshments and networking

Venue:

Dawson House, 5 Jewry Street, London EC3N 2EX

Nearest tubes: Aldgate (2 mins walk); Aldgate East (5 mins walk)

Event welcome:

Cynthia Davis - CEO of BAME Recruitment

Panelists:

Joanne Lockwood FRSA - Inclusion & Belonging Specialist, founder and CEO of SEE Change Happen

Gamal Turawa MIDHP QBE - Managing Director of Purple Frog Training Ltd and formerly Police Officer at the Metropolitan Police Service

Faye Green - Recruitment Lead at eBay

Charlotte Davies - Corporal at the Royal Air Force & Co-Vice Chair of the RAF LGBT Freedom Network

Dipesh Davadra - Senior Manager, Digital & Social Media at PwC

Laila El-Metoui - Education Consultant at LelmEducation and Chairperson of Proud London Councils

Panel Moderator:

Luke Davis - COO of BAME Recruitment

To secure your place please click the green Register button above.

Due to limited space and because we want as many people as possible to benefit from the event, we ask that attendees please book no more than two tickets per organisation. If you would like to register more than two people, please email us at: [email protected]

Our venue is wheelchair accessible, however please contact us in advance of the event if you have any accessibility needs via [email protected].

Panelist biographies:

Joanne Lockwood is the founder and CEO of SEE Change Happen, an Equality Diversity & Inclusion Practice specialising in providing Transgender Awareness and support to organisations and businesses. Her mantra is Smile, Engage and Educate and she passionately believes that “people are people” and, no matter who they are, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

Gamal Turawa or ‘G’ as he prefers to be called, was the first openly gay black police officer in the Metropolitan Police Service. Out of a 27 year exemplary police career G spent 14 years as the longest serving police diversity facilitator. Since completing his police service in 2018 he continues to facilitate programmes both nationally and internationally across Europe and the US to both private and public sector organisations. G became involved in training after a series of challenging circumstances in both his personal and professional life took a heavy toll on his health and well-being. This created a turning point that gave him a deeper insight into the emotional/health costs the lack of awareness can cause to oneself and others.

Faye Green is responsible for the recruitment of eBay in the UK, one of the three largest global markets for eBay. With over a decade in talent acquisition within companies including Selfridges, Jack Wills and Topshop, Faye has a background of attracting leading talent into a range of roles. Faye is passionate about diversity and inclusion and works closely with the leadership team and communities of inclusion at eBay to drive this.

Cpl Charlotte Davies has been in the RAF for 18 years and currently works in the armoury and role bay. Charlotte joined the RAF in 2001 after the ban on gay people serving in the armed forces was lifted. Charlotte says: “When I first joined up, someone's sexuality wasn't really spoken about but as time has gone on people have become more open. I prefer people asking questions as it’s the only way to educate people and get the right information out there.” Charlotte is Co-Vice Chair of the RAF LGBT+ Freedom Network. This role allows her to help advise, guide and educate the wider community of LGBT+ matters along with the rest of the network. She has given lived experience briefs to different companies, stations, ranks and networks and has met some amazing and inspirational people through this role.

Dipesh Davadra is a senior manager in the PwC communications team. His responsibilities include working with senior stakeholders to evolve their social media presence, building out the social media influencer strategy and focussing on diverse and inclusive digital content to drive maximum engagement and impact. As a proud LGBT+ ambassador within PwC, Dipesh mentors several individuals in the firm and has spoken internally and externally around his personal journey of acceptance. He also volunteers for Diversity Role Models - acting as a volunteer to speak at school about the importance of LGBT+ tolerance, acceptance and anti-bullying behaviour. Dipesh has worked across several industries in the UK and Australia and has a passion for championing inclusivity to drive impact.

Laila El-Metoui is the winner of the Stonewall Lesbian Role of Model of the Year 2020. She is an Education Consultant who offers strategic and operational support for public sector organisations. Laila has spent 25 years in the Further Education sector and over 12 years experience managing curriculum staff and community programmes, including very large budgets for local authorities and further education colleges in London. She has a strong drive for quality, innovation, inclusion and a genuine passion for education and quality assurance. A well respected ESOL specialist in the UK, her secrets to success include having positive energy, a commitment to social justice and a solid work ethic. She gives regular public talks and presentations at conferences and seminars.

BAME Recruitment is a Diversity and Inclusion Recruitment and Consultancy firm. We believe in helping people and organisations live the definitions of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. For more information about our services please visit: www.bamerecruitment.com.