WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS
Funke Abimbola MBE
??General Counsel?? Healthcare Exec??Non Executive Director ?? BBC TV & radio commentator ?? ??Best-selling author, 'Climbing Mountains' ?? LinkedIn Top Voice ??Keynote speaker??Proud mum??MBE??
"Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance."
Verna Myers, VP, Inclusion Strategy, Netflix
Welcome to the first ever edition of The Diversity Accelerator, our new LinkedIn newsletter!
WHY DOES DIVERSITY MATTER?
The answer to this all important question was what drove me to leave a stellar, 20-year corporate career to start The Austen Bronte Consultancy in September 2020.
I am passionate about driving positive change across the business world.
Throughout my career, first as a corporate lawyer and then as a senior leader within the global pharmaceutical industry, I have experienced and observed appalling discrimination and prejudice in the workplace.
I quickly realised that the workplace was far from being a level playing field.
My race and gender have both presented some real barriers throughout my career.
In addition to this, I have seen socio-economic class, disability and sexual orientation present barriers for countless colleagues.
As lawyers, we believe in justice, fairness and the rule of law.
So it was all the more galling to find myself and others on the receiving end of unfair treatment within the legal profession itself.
My resulting anger has fuelled my efforts to improve diversity in the workplace for over 20 years, initially with a focus on the solicitors' profession and then the wider business world.
Collaborating with an army of individuals and organisations has led to tangible improvements in the workplace for those from under-represented and minoritised groups.
But it took George Floyd's murder in May 2020 for me to realise that I needed to devote my full time efforts to this critical cause.
In September 2020, The Austen Bronte Consultancy was born.
WHAT DO WE DO AT THE AUSTEN BRONTE CONSULTANCY?
Supported by an amazing team, I offer a unique blend of over 20 years’ expertise in corporate law, diversity & inclusion, healthcare and media commentary to a wide range of organisations with one thing in common.
Our clients are all high-performing organisations committed to embedding a sustainable culture of diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity to maximise potential.
Using our Integrated Leadership Approach?, we improve leadership and maximise potential by leveraging the positive impact of diversity, inclusion, belonging & equity.?
So why does diversity matter in business? Because there is both a compelling business case and moral case for diversity in the workplace.
And we have worked with some amazing organisations committed to shifting that dial including Levi Strauss & Co, Charlotte Tilbury, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Macquarie Bank, Hogan Lovells, Hiscox to name a few.
To find out more about how we can help you, click on the link below:
2022 - HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR
The year started with some stunning award recognition for me and my team in January.
Mogul, a global organisation that supports diverse companies and leaders, recognised us as top 100 diversity, equity and inclusion leaders during 2021, our first full year of trading!
More at:
Hot on the heels of this, Newcastle University, my alma mater, decided to award me the honorary role of Visiting Professor of Practice within the Law School!
See:
And I was then interviewed by British TV presenter, Holly Willoughby.
Holly and I both attended Burgess Hill Girls' School many years ago and she was keen to support my work at The Austen Bronte Consultancy by featuring me as a 'Wylde Woman' in January as part of her new 'Wylde Moon' wellness platform.
Have a read of our interview at:
In February, I delivered some training to the in-house legal team at Sky's headquarters in London.
Incredibly, this was my first 'in person' training delivery for several months and I received a very warm welcome from the legal team.
The training focused on how in-house lawyers can become more effective business partners and align with business goals, something that my own legal team had successfully mastered during my time as General Counsel at Roche.
I am indebted to Imogen Winfield (Browne Rudnick LLP) for recommending me for this important piece of work.
Thanks also to Joy McElroy, Robbie Jones and Michelle Conway (Sky).
February also saw me attending the launch of Holly Willoughby's new perfume (borrowed from) The Wild at the English National Opera in London. It was incredibly kind of Holly to invite me to this exclusive event as a 'thank you' for all the work I have done to improve the lot of others over the years.
Thank you, Holly, for being such a strong supporter and champion of my work!
Picture: With Holly Willoughby at perfume launch, London, February 2022
March was an incredibly busy month being Women's History Month. This year's theme was the rather compelling Break The Bias.
I was privileged to be part of a number of gender-focused initiatives throughout the month.
One of the highlights for me was being part of a panel discussion at global law firm, Clifford Chance.
The panel included myself, Emma Hayes OBE?(Chelsea Ladies FC manager),?Seema Jaswal?(acclaimed sports journalist and commentator) and?Ben Purkiss?(former chair of the Professional Footballers'?Association and Clifford Chance associate).
It was an honour partnering with Accelerate>>> (the firm's gender parity network) to discuss how bias can be broken in the world of football and how goals play out for law and business.
A big 'thank you' to the network's co-chairs Angela Clare-Chaggar and Amy Bird for moderating our discussions with such poise, grace and professionalism.
Thanks also to Leana Coopoosamy-Pearson for recommending me for this work.
I also judged the We Are The City Rising Star awards for the 4th consecutive year.
Founded by Vanessa Vallely OBE, these awards are the first to focus on the achievements of women below Senior Management or Director level – representing the female talent pipeline and the next generation of future leaders.
The winners have now been announced and the full winners list can be viewed by clicking on the link below.
Congratulations to all the winners including Richard Pickard, Lee Chambers, Bianca Yau, Annika Allen, Bola Adesina, Egbe Manton and so many others!
April marked the opening of applications for the 2022 cohort of the Akindolie Medical Scholarship.
I co-founded the scholarship scheme with my siblings Dr. Omowunmi Akindolie and Dr. Femi Akindolie in memory of our incredible father, Dr. Frank Olufemi Akindolie, who passed away suddenly in 2012.
The scheme supports UK medical students from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Read more about the scheme at:
April also brought the start of our work with Warwick School, a leading, boys' independent school in the West Midlands.
I am extremely proud of the work that we do to enhance diversity and inclusion within schools and our work with Warwick School will continue until later this year. It has been a pleasure working with headmaster James Barker, Deputy Head Teaching and Learning, Kimberley Wyatt and other members of the senior leadership team.
More about this important work at:
领英推荐
We do a lot of work within the healthcare sector and April was no exception when we partnered with Here for Each Other, the staff wellbeing service for Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.
And we were delighted by the feedback received from network lead, Westley Igbo!
Our work within the education sector continued in May with me delivering a series of change programmes at my alma mater, Newcastle University Law School.
Diversity is essential on university campuses and I really enjoyed returning to where I studied law all those years ago!
More about our important work together on the university's website at:
At Newcastle University Law School, May 2022
And June has certainly been a busy month including delivering a keynote speech at Chambers and Partners' ENGAGE 2022: European D&I, Pro Bono and Sustainability Summit.
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June prompted me to share an interesting post about meeting Prince Charles twice within a 10 month period - read my post at:
I gained some excellent leadership insights from attending a CBI (Confederation of British Industry) event.
CBI President Lord Bilimoria shared openly and authentically about leading in crisis, drawing upon the 7 C's formulated by Harvard Business School's Professor John Quelch:
"Calm, Confidence, Communication, Collaboration, Community, Compassion.......and Cash!"
Is there anything else that you would add to this list?
The gender pay gap within the legal profession remains vast, especially amongst some of the largest law firms. The Next 100 Years Women in Law project partnered with Gapsquare to see how we can accelerate pay parity in the legal profession, starting with a data collection exercise resulting in a new report.
An illustrious panel (comprised of Dana Denis-Smith, Zara Nanu MBE, Bola Gibson, Oliver Jackling, Christina Blacklaws and Liz Turner) discussed the report's findings.
Have a read of the report at:
June is Pride Month.
As a staunch ally for the LGBTQ+ community, it was an honour and a privilege to have an interview published as a blog by Its Gets Better, a project that exists to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe.
Have a read of the blog at:
Incredibly, this roundup is, by no means, everything that happened during the first 6 months of 2022!
But it gives you all a flavour of the type of work involved in driving positive change across the business world through The Austen Bronte Consultancy.
PODCAST SPOTLIGHT
Every month, I will feature a podcast discussion from The Power of Privilege and Allyship Podcast, the podcast series that I co-host with my son, Max.
This month's spotlight is on the inspiring conversation Max and I had with our dear friend Tunji Akintokun, Senior Director, Head of Marketing Solutions, LinkedIn (UK and Ireland).
Click on this link to download and listen to our conversation:
And please subscribe, rate, share, like and comment on the podcast!
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT CORNER
**FREE GUIDE!**
When it comes to inclusion, Employee Resource Groups play a critical role within organisations.
These groups are set up to support staff across a wide range of different under-represented groups but many can fail and are not set up for success.
I am giving away a free guide setting out our '7 tops tips for successful employee resource groups'.
Contact us via our website at https://funkeabimbola.com/austen-bronte-consultancy to get your free copy!
*LAUNCH OF DIGITAL TRAINING!*
I ran several polls across my LinkedIn network to ask a simple question:
Do you think we should offer The Austen Bronte Consultancy's clients the option of both digital training solutions and 'live' delivery?
And the result was a resounding 'YES'!
So I am excited to have launched our first, ever, digital training solution, a masterclass called Starting Conversations: Why Diversity Matters.
Designed for either individuals or larger groups, the masterclass will empower and equip you to start important conversations about diversity within any organisation.
You will also be given practical ideas about what you can do to drive positive change, both as an individual and as an organisation.
Enroll today by clicking on the link below:
**LAUNCH OF IMPACT? CAREER COACHING PROGRAMME!**
We also launched IMPACT?, a new career coaching programme aimed at supporting ambitious, high-potential individuals working within a corporate, a law firm or any other organisation and feeling 'stuck' in their careers.
This programme is delivered by me live online and comprises 1-1 coaching sessions that will give you the tools to overcome limiting beliefs and other barriers to your career progression.
Click on the link below to find out more:
And that brings me to the end of the first ever edition of The Diversity Accelerator, our LinkedIn newsletter!
If you have enjoyed this newsletter, please subscribe and share it widely across your LinkedIn network.
Thank you for your support!
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ABOUT PROFESSOR FUNKE ABIMBOLA MBE
Professor Funke Abimbola is the CEO of The Austen Bronte Consultancy, a global consultancy firm driving positive change across the business world.
She is a multi-award-winning Corporate Lawyer, global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Leader, C-suite and healthcare executive, BBC commentator, Non-Executive Director, Public Speaker, and podcast host.?
Most importantly, she is the proud mother of a 19 year old son and future software engineer studying computer science at university.
She was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by HRH Queen Elizabeth II for services to diversity and young people in the 2017 birthday honours list.
Twitter: @Champ1Diversity
Instagram: @theaustenbronteconsultancy
Vice President at Bank of Singapore, Asia’s Global Private Bank
2 年A phenomenal journey Professor Dr. Funke Abimbola MBE ???? And thank you for the special mention ??
Trusted Inclusion and Social Impact Board Advisor | ESG | Future of Work | AI Ethics & Governance Advocate | UN Women Delegate | Award Winner & Conference Speaker | Ex-Global DEI Partner | Mentor & Coach
2 年This is brilliant Professor Dr. Funke Abimbola MBE ! Looking forward to future releases!
Author, Speaker, CEO, Founder of WeAreTheCity/WeAreTechWomen/Gender Networks/Rising Star/TechWomen100 Awards/Trailblazer50/Pioneer20/Thrive20/Themis20. OneTechWorld/WeAreTechWomen Festival/LevelUp Summit/WomenInTechWeek
2 年Well done Funke
The Founder, President and Vice-Chancellor of Cine Plus International University. Businessman and Politician (National Democratic Congress) Presidential Candidate Hopeful for 2028 Elections.
2 年An impressive Achievements.
EMEA Creator + Community Manager at LinkedIn | Nurturing the greatest Thought Leaders & Industry Experts | Ex @Instagram
2 年This is so great!!