Journi

7 days to go and we have AMAZING speakers lined up for the Leadership Conference that already has a whole host of trailblazers sharing there knowledge. Added to the speaker line up is: 🔈 Sharla-Jaye Duncan Founder and CEO of Journi and Day one 🔈Calmetta Coleman Chief Operating Officer of the Chicago Urban League 🔈AMANI SIMPSON Award-Winning Youth Coach, Filmmaker and Entrepreneur ❤️ Save the Date: Friday, September 13, 2024 – just a few weeks away! 🎟️ Grab your discounted ticket here and be part of an unforgettable experience! https://lnkd.in/grUUSJy6 #leadershipconfernce #bypnetwork #londonevents

🚀 Change the Race Ratio launches it's 2024 Progress Report. 🚀 We're pleased to share the insights and the positive steps businesses are taking, with 91% of the FTSE 350 signatories setting a target to increase senior management representation. 📊 Some highlights: ✔ The survey shows an increase in companies’ reporting on ethnicity pay gaps, with 79% now publishing there ethnicity pay gaps ✔ 91.2% of all our respondents now have at least one racial or ethnic minority board director, up from 83% for the year prior ✔ Board representation stood on average at 15.32% up from 14% the year before ✔ Almost half of respondents reported having 2 or more ethnic minority directors on their board, with the average board comprising of 10 members ✔ All Change the Race Ratio FTSE350 signatories achieved their Parker target of having at least one ethnic minority board director, compared with 77% of the whole FTSE350 ✔ 85% of all respondents have set a target for senior management, up from 74% the year prior Download the full report 📑

This is 4 years in the making 👀 In 2020 almost all corporates vowed to invest in their #inclusion and #diversity efforts. As someone whose life work is dedicated to this, I was relieved. But, as time passed, I became worried 😟 Why? Because I witnessed corporates spend a lot of money on ineffective strategies. Corporates thought they were making a difference, but what they implemented left them in the same place they started. A few examples: 😥 events that just talked about the problem. But what about solutions? Whenever I posed this question to the speakers at events they would draw a blank... and then proceed to give me an inspirational anecdote about a white man who didn't believe in them. While stories and lived-experiences are a great place to start, it's certainly not the end. We need more sharing about what is working, how much it costs, and how corporates can adopt best-in-class practices to empower overlooked talent. 😥 countless award ceremonies. Awards ceremonies, used in the right way, are powerful. But every corporate wanted an award for their #edi and some paid a lot of money to enter. I've met corporates who can reel off the countless number of trophies they've collected, but one close look at their data and I would only nominate them for the 'smoke and mirrors' category. I'm not expecting corporates to be perfect, but implementing powerful interventions beats awards any day. 😥 edi reports with misleading stats. One company stated they DOUBLED their 'senior black heritage' employees in a year. This meant they went from 2 senior black heritage employees to 4, out of a group of 1000+... which isn't much progress at all. The corporate knew that there would not be the same level of praise if they reported this honestly, so they took the easy path. So what now? 4 years in and it's time to stop, pause and reflect on the best way to move forward. Now is the time for corporates to take a strategic approach to creating improvements over time, not short fixes like awards and meaningless stats. In partnership with BusinessLDN we are supporting their corporate members to understand where they truly are on this journey, and what they can do to produce effective outcomes. More importantly they are committed to sharing what actually works with peers. Journi is grateful for this investment of resource from BusinessLDN and all the Leaders who are engaged in bringing this to life. A few heroes to mention are Muniya Barua, Kerry Reid, Dan Cohen, Karen Blake, Mark McLane, Yvonne Achan-Oryema, Laura Durrant, René Carayol MBE, Colin Jones, Noeline Gunaratnam. Now is our time to demonstrate to the anti-woke fans across the pond that we're still here. But strategically stronger.

Companies that lead on inclusion have a competitive advantage, especially when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best staff.   That's why we're delighted to be teaming up with Journi to deliver a new Inclusive Leaders Programme for our members.   This interactive workshop-based programme will support chief people officers, HR directors and senior business leaders to develop data-led approaches to improving ED&I across their workplaces.   Places are limited - register your interest here ⬇ https://lnkd.in/eEQv2qv6

Show up, anyway! My start in life hasn't been the easiest but my big achievements have been because I simply 'showed up', even when it was hard to do so. Like... ➡ in 2006, when the police forced entry to my family home on the morning of my A Level exams. They mistreated my brother and left me shaken up. I showed up to the exam hall, did what I could, and ended up getting the best results in my year group. This led to an offer to read #Biochemistry at King's College London. I remember teachers scolding me for being late that morning and I thought... 'if only you knew!' ➡ in 2012, I was down to the last £6 of my #student overdraft but was invited to pitch at the School for Social Entrepreneurs. After 15 rejections from funders, I was tempted to skip it but went. I gave the pitch of my life, which helped to secure a £150k corporate contract. Not bad for my early 20s. ➡ in 2018, I was pretty low because of a bad break-up. I wanted to spend the day with covers over my head but the lovely Sian Jarvis, CB, FRCGP(H) invited me to a women's lunch. I went and met the olympian Denise Lewis (pictured here), who was one of my childhood heroes. This moment shifted my energy for months to come. I could share a million more examples but showing up is simply the thing that's got me through. It doesn't matter where you've started, show up and you'll soon figure out where you're going. Hope this helps a fellow professional x --- Feel free to follow Sharla-Jaye Duncan