27 Jun 2019
Inaugural Leadership Forum focuses on inclusivity
Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent gives the keynote presentation.
Around 165 University managers gathered at the West Park Teaching Hub on Thursday 20 June for the inaugural Leadership Forum, themed around the topic of inclusivity.
The event – organised by Pauline Matturi in the Human Resources and Organisational Development department – enabled all those who attended to think about how well inclusivity is currently embedded within the University and how we might enhance it.
The day was facilitated by Liz Grant and Jo Bostock from Fantail Business Development, an external consultancy that specialises in helping businesses to build inclusion into their workforce and culture. They led some lively discussion and activities around the theme, prompting all those at the event to think about what inclusivity means to them and their teams.
The day’s inspirational keynote presentation was given by former cricketer Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent. Ebony-Jewel talked about inclusivity from a very personal perspective, reflecting on her journey from her childhood in South London to becoming the first black woman to play for the England team, the first Director of Women’s Cricket at Surrey County Cricket Club and a broadcaster for the BBC’s flagship radio programme Test Match Special.
Adèle MacKinlay, the University’s Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said: “It was a fantastic day and I think everyone found it both inspirational and thought-provoking. It allowed us to ask questions about the extent to which we believe Loughborough is inclusive at the moment and to think about the things we can all do to make the University a more inclusive place.
“Today is just the first step though. It’s now up to everyone who attended the event to consider inclusivity in the context of the areas they’re responsible for to make sure we really are embedding it throughout the University.”
Earlier this year the University launched a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, as part of its overall People Strategy. The full document and the action plan for 2019/20 are both available to read online.