The Top 10 Allyship Speakers To Hire For 2024 Events

As we move towards an increasingly diverse society, it is crucial to ensure that we, as a community, are educated on the importance of diversity and inclusion. With over 55% of people stating that they have experienced discrimination at their current job, it is clear a change needs to be implemented. With the support of allies, we are now becoming more progressive within our society, but it is vital that we continue to raise awareness of issues. If you are interested in gaining a specialist insight into the importance of allyship, take a look at our selection of the Top 10 Allyship Speakers to Hire for 2024 Events.

What is Allyship?

Allyship is a term used to describe someone who is not personally a member of a marginalised group but supports their beliefs and takes action to help others within that group. You can be an ally to many different racial groups, religions, ethnicities, people with disabilities, and LGBT+ identities.

Source: Inclusive Employers

Why is it Important to Be an Ally?

Being an ally within today’s society is incredibly powerful when looking to make a change. Minority groups continue to be discriminated against within our communities and this needs to come to an end. Allies stand up for the equality of their peers, rather than just for themselves. Within the workplace, 80% of white employees view themselves as allies to women of colour, but only 10% of black women and 19% of Latina Women say they have white colleagues that are strong allies. It is crucial that everyone feels included within the workplace and having passionate allies surrounding them ensures that a change will be made.

Source: National Institutes of Health

Top 10 Allyship Speakers to Hire!

On the basis of the extensive market research conducted by The Diversity & Inclusion Speakers Agency across 262 events during 2022-2024, the following have been regarded as the best keynote speakers on allyship:

• Pauline Miller
• Nina Goswami
• Asif Sadiq
• Stephen Frost
• Jean Tomlin
• Catherine Garrod
• Kelly Holmes
• Inga Beale
• John Amaechi
• Ben Cohen

Book An Allyship Speaker Today

Pauline Miller

Pauline Miller is an admired change agent within the insurance sector. With over 20 years of experience working in HR, she has devoted her career towards increasing diversity within the workplace. As the current Chief Equity Officer at Dentsu International, Pauline has made some remarkable achievements throughout her career and is now looking to share this knowledge with a wider audience. Having worked with employees at many different organisations, she recognises the issues that minority groups face every day and is wanting to share the importance of being an ally with people around the world.

Testimonial:

“Can you inform Pauline that we are really appreciative of the time that she gave to speak at our BHM event. I believe what she shared was open, honest and authentic and touched many in so many ways” - Lisett, Manager, Versus.

Nina Goswami

Nina Goswami has built a remarkable career for herself and is greatly respected throughout the LGBT community for her incredible achievements. In 2009, she began her BBC journey as their Broadcasting Journalist but after 13 years of hard work, she was given the opportunity to become their first official Creative Diversity Lead. As a proud ally, Nina has been able to implement projects such as 50:50 into the company to educate employees about the importance of equality for all.

Asif Sadiq

Asif Sadiq is an award-winning diversity and inclusion expert with over 20 years of corporate experience. Passionate about making change, Asif has worked with many different businesses to ensure that diversity and inclusion is their top priority. Having seen first-hand the issues that employees face every day, he aims to educate businesses of the importance of equality and the benefits it can have on performance. As the current Chief Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Officer at Warner Bros, he has built a renowned reputation for showcasing his allyship to not only the LGBT community, but to people of all ethnicities and backgrounds.

Testimonial:

“A huge thank you, Asif. The session was everything we hoped it would be – your content prompted some really great questions which I hope is indicative of colleagues on the call reflecting on their own practice. I have already had several colleagues reach out to me directly to say how inspiring they found the event. Thank you for arranging the presentation by Asif Sadiq. The Army Inspectorate is conducting a review into the training and education of behaviours, so listening to Asif was really useful.” - Maria, Leadership Consultant, Leadership and Engagement Team, Ministry of Defence

Stephen Frost

Stephen Frost is a globally recognised expert on all things diversity and inclusion. As the current founder and CEO of Included, Stephen shares his vast knowledge on inclusivity with his clients. Throughout his career, he has showcased his beliefs as an ally with audiences around the world and aims to educate people about the importance of facing equality issues in the workplace. Aside from his professional career, Stephen has written three books that all focus on the benefits of a diverse talent pool .

Jean Tomlin

Jean Tomlin is an inspirational businesswoman who has developed a successful career within the HR industry. She has gained the opportunity to implement organisational systems for some of the most successful organisations within the UK, including the BBC, Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer’s. Throughout her career, she has fulfilled many important roles, including the Director of HR, Workforce and Accreditation for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. With helping people being her main career focus, Jean has educated her audiences about the importance of equality and the reasons behind why she is an ally.

Testimonial:

“The audience was moved and inspired, Jean did a great job” - The Institute for Family Business (UK)

Catherine Garrod

Catherine Garrod has built her career around her strong passion for diversity and inclusion. She has been able to provide the clients of Compelling Culture, the company she founded, with support regarding inclusion plans, wellbeing reviews and anti-burnout strategies. Her roles throughout large businesses such as PepsiCo and Sky have been devoted towards creating an inclusive workplace as she believes a positive workplace will seek positive performance results. Working with many different teams has allowed her to understand the issues they face at work, which is why she is a proud ally for many different groups throughout society.

Testimonial:

“Catherine is a force to be reckoned with, bringing people together to achieve shared ambitions. She understands when to empower the voices that need to be heard to drive meaningful, long-term change. And she was always brilliant at emboldening me to deliver my best work.” - Tsednia, Network Chair, Sky

Kelly Holmes

Col. Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the UK’s most inspirational athletes, recently famed for her empowering coming-out journey, after spending 34 years in silence. From a young age, Kelly had the ambition to both join the army and win an Olympic gold medal. Becoming a Physical Training Corps in the Royal Army, Kelly was awarded an MBE for he services to the British Army in 1998. As her sporting desire continued, she began competing in 1993 and a year later, won the gold medal in the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games before successfully completing her second goal of winning an Olympic gold medal in the 800m final. Having faced adversity within her previous careers, Kelly understands the importance of equality within society and the support of allies to encourage people to live as their true selves.

Testimonial:

“If you could pass on to Kelly a personal thanks from myself and Katie. The talk exceeded our expectations, the energy, authenticity and inspiration Kelly gave our colleagues was brilliant and since the session finished only 30 minutes ago, we have been inundated with positive feedback and comments. A huge thank you for agreeing to be part of our employee wellbeing initiative”- Megan, MDLZ

Inga Beale

Inga Beale is a powerhouse within the business community and is admired for the success she has gained within a male-dominated industry. The first female to be named the CEO of Lloyds of London, Inga made history at the 300-year-old company and after 5 years as their CEO, she received a damehood for her services to business. As a member of the LGBT community herself, Inga understands the need for change within the workplace and has ensured that the stereotypical boundaries have not stood in the way of her empowering success, pushing the importance of having a workplace full of allies.

Testimonial:

“Dame Inga Beale’s talk was brilliant for an organisation like ours; she covered topics such as diversity, leadership, team work and culture change which affect us all in our daily working lives. She was animated and engaging throughout the virtual presentation, utterly unphased by technological hitches and a large audience. Inga answered the questions posed at the end in a very considered way, from teams at all levels and functions at our company. I am absolutely certain that we all left the presentation with thoughts on how each of us can contribute to fostering greater collaboration.” – Kerry, Open Health

John Amaechi

John Amaechi OBE is a highly respected Psychologist, Organisational Consultant and High-Performance Executive Coach. He has developed an incredible career for himself having been the first British male to play for the NBA and became the first former NBA player to openly come out as gay shortly after his retirement from the sport. Having built a career purely on talent alone, John was admired for his bravery when he came out as gay, and is now keen to ensure that others are supported in their decision to come out. Having been supported by allies after he opened up about his sexuality, John has written two books about his personal experiences and what he believes needs to change to ensure that others feel accepted within our community.

Ben Cohen

Ben Cohen is admired for being one of the heroes in the England 2003 Rugby World Cup Squad. He guided the team to numerous victories throughout his career and played a key role in monumental triumphs. With a passion for helping others, he set up the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation to raise awareness of the long-term effects of bullying. As an honoured ally of the LGBT community, he became one of the initial inductees into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame. Recognising his powerful position as a straight man with a large LGBT following, he has taken a stand to support the LGBT+ community.

Testimonial:

“Wanted to say a massive thank you for all your help and information last week, the event was a great success! I look forward to working together again in the future!” - Gabriella, Red Consultancy

Book One of Our Allyship Speakers Today!

If you are looking to book one of our leading allyship speakers, don’t hesitate in contacting our dedicated booking agents on 0203 9816 297 or by completing our online contact form.

The speakers featured in this blog post have been vetted by the Diversity & Inclusion Speakers Agency & have received positive customer feedback across 262 events taken place between 2022 & 2024.