Towards Race and Gender Equity Conference

On Friday we held our first EDI conference, entitled “Towards Race & Gender Equality”, with a mix of speakers and workshop sessions.

Aimed at colleagues within the education sector, it was a truly inspiring event. A huge range of topics were discussed, from what diversity and inclusion really means, to practical solutions for delegates to take away with them and begin implementing in their own schools.

Speakers included Asif Sadiq MBE, Senior Vice President at WarnerMedia for Equity & Inclusion International, where he looks after some of the world’s most iconic brands such as Warner Bros, CNN, Cartoon Network and HBO Max to name a few. He has been key in implementing diversity and inclusion activities and programmes to create an inclusive environment for all. He has gained a huge variety of achievements for his work such as the Police Officer of the Year Award and Civil Servant of the Year Award. He has also gained recognition with the Mosaic (Prince’s Trust) Award for mentoring and the prestigious Asian Professional Award.

Laura Bates BEM also spoke at the conference. She is the Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and now works with governments, police forces and schools to tackle gender inequality. She is the bestselling author of Everyday Sexism, Girl Up, The Burning (nominated for the Carnegie medal) and her new book, Fix the System Not The Women. She writes regularly for the New York Times, Guardian, Telegraph and many others. She is a regular contributor to the Today Programme, Woman’s Hour, Channel 4 News, Newsnight and more, and has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Honours List for services to gender equality.

The conference was hosted by our very own Deputy Head (Pastoral) Nick Pursall and Assistant Head (Equity and Pupil Wellbeing) Lydia Mantle, who also delivered a workshop based on the lessons that we have learned on our journey so far.

Other organisations delivering workshops included Bold Voices, FLAIR, and BAMEed Bristol & South West.