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Conference

Business Disability Forum Annual Conference 2024

Business Disability Forum Annual Conference 2024 graphic: the icons of 3 people in separate circles, with smaller icons connecting them. One small icon is a lightbulb, and the 2 others are speech bubbles. On the left of the image are the event details.

Business Disability Forum Annual Conference 2024

We can work it out – reasonable adjustments in a modern world

London and online. Kindly hosted by BT Group.

Register to attend in-person (London)

Register to attend online

We all like to do things our way, but living and working with other people often means working out what works for everyone and is reasonable. Join us for our Annual Conference, which is all about working it out together to make a more inclusive world for everyone.

The clash of the adjustments

A panel of experienced DEI Professionals with experience of working in retail, emergency services, law firms, government departments and large telecommunications and pharmaceutical companies will work through scenarios based on real-life situations when adjustments needed by disabled people might clash. How do they, and we, work it out for everyone in the workplace?

What the world needs now: the skills DEI Professionals will need in 2024 and beyond

Speaker: Birgit Neu, Senior DEI Advisor

The world is changing, and business needs to adapt to survive and thrive. Culture warriors are suggesting that Disability Equality and Inclusion departments and professionals are no longer needed but is that true or is disability inclusion “safe”?  Birgit Neu outlines the challenges ahead for businesses and DEI Professionals and will consider disability in the context of geopolitical tension, the anti-woke agenda, data monitoring, the implications of AI and much more in conversation with our CEO Diane Lightfoot and audience members.

Who Are We? Data Monitoring and Disability Workplace Reporting

Speaker: Angela Matthews, Director of Policy and Research, Business Disability Forum

Disability monitoring and data collection is a hot topic for DEI Professionals. There are good intentions and reasons behind the desire for disability data monitoring and reporting, but what is the reality of trying to collect and analyse such data? Even more importantly, does it lead to greater disability inclusion? Angela Matthews will be trailing some of the themes from our ground-breaking data monitoring project that is looking at what data to capture and why – and what to do with the results!

Disability Inclusion Stories: hear from 3 of our Disability Smart Awards 2024 winners

As always, we like to bring you practical, real-world examples of disability inclusion in practice. Hear and be inspired by Charlie Magadah-Williams, Head of Diversity & Inclusion People and Culture at Primark, Kim Whippy, Enablement Manager, Inclusion, Culture and Wellbeing at PwC UK and Nainika Vyas, Brand Manager, Vanish at Reckitt sharing why and how they implemented their inclusion initiatives and what they learned along the way.

Where Are We – where and how we work in today’s world

Speakers: Emily Jackson, Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum; Vasiliki Arvaniti, Head of Asset Management and Executive Committee, Derwent London Plc; Bela Gor, Director of Legal and Content, Business Disability Forum (Chair)

We now live and work in a post-pandemic world and it seems we may never go back to the way we used to work. Where and how we work, and what we want from our lives, has changed.

Some CEOs and businesses (and government departments) want a full-time return to office working. Most employers are opting for a hybrid model and while some employees prefer office working for their physical and mental health, others simply do not want to return to the office, claiming greater productivity and work-life balance. Disabled employees may also have agreements to work from home as reasonable adjustments.

Then there is the new generation of workers who grew up with computers in their pockets, and who put great importance on meaningful work.

How can we get the balance right for everyone and work it out?

 

Watch this space for speaker updates and conference news.

Register to attend in-person (London)

Register to attend online

Upcoming Events

People talking during an event. They are wearing BDF lanyards.
May 21, 2024
Event

Northern England Network

We will be hosting our next Northern England Network on Tuesday 21 May 2024 from 10 am to 11:30 am, open to Business Disability Forum Member and Partner organisations. Performance management and disability Emily Jackson, Senior Disability Business Partner at BDF, will share what good performance management looks like. We’ll discuss a number of aspects […]

10:00 am - 11:30 am
London
Westminster Bridge and the Palace of Westminster
May 23, 2024
Event

Central Government Network

Our next Central Government Network meeting will take place on the 23 May 2024 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm, open to colleagues from central government organisations and agencies in our membership. There have been many disability-related employment policy developments recently. Angela Matthews, our Head of Policy and Research, will provide a summary of what […]

10:30 am - 12:00 pm
London
June 11, 2024
Event

Mastering inclusive language for global success with Texthelp

Ever felt unsure about what to say when it comes to disability and neurodiversity? You’re not alone. That’s why we’re hosting a webinar, together with Texthelp and ING, to dive into the ins and outs of global language surrounding these topics. This webinar will be hosted by Texthelp and introduced by Donna Thomson, Principal Marketing […]

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
London
Image of construction cranes
June 19, 2024
Event

Construction Network

We will host our next Construction Sector Network meeting on Wednesday 19 June 2024 from 10:30 am – 12 noon, open to Business Disability Forum Construction Sector Member and Partner organisations. Inclusive Design and Neurodiversity We are delighted to be joined by Jean Hewitt, Accessibility and Inclusive Environments Specialist at Buro Happold. They will share their […]

10:30 am - 12:00 pm
London
Delegates at a Technology Taskforce event.
June 20, 2024
Event

Technology Taskforce

We will host our next Technology Taskforce meeting on Thursday 20 June 2024 from 3 pm –  4:30 pm, open to Business Disability Forum Technology Taskforce members. All things Google We are delighted to be joined by Christopher Patnoe, Head of Accessibility and Digital Inclusion at Google. Christopher will sharing with us his latest work on […]

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
London
June 20, 2024
Event

Legal Ease for the Financial Sector – webinar

Join Bela Gor, our Director of Legal & Content and Emily Jackson, Senior Business Partner, for an in-depth exploration of the Equality Act 2010 and other disability related legislation as it affects the financial sector in the UK. This webinar will consider the law as it affects financial service providers of products and services ranging […]

10:00 am - 11:00 am
London

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