News flash: Dream and Leap sponsors the National Day for Staff Networks 2025 conference

Wednesday 14th May was a truly great day at the Staff Networks Day annual conference, and what an honour and privilege it was to share my story and to meet all the incredible people I did as part of it all.

Why did we put our name to this event though?

At Dream and Leap we believe passionately in the power of diversity. We know firsthand how diverse groups of people deliver the best performance outcomes, and we know that the key to diversity sits in inclusion and an environment that people feel they can authentically belong in.

Staff Networks are a critical life system that provide employees - of all walks of life - with a safe place to engage with people similar to themselves on a regular basis.

It’s a place where those who all too often find themselves marginalised or underrepresented can seek and provide support, and where they can provide feedback and ideas on how to make their workplace more inclusive and equitable. Staff networks are a vital community within the larger community of an organisation's culture.

Staff Networks Day provides a brief time and space where people who fight every day to make there Staff Networks a success and ensure their continued existence in their organisations can find kinship and ideas among people from a whole array of different organisations. It’s an event that celebrates all that Staff Networks are, and inspiration for all that is possible through Staff Networks. It energises people to keep up the good fight and to continue striving to make the world of work we each reside in equitable, fair, inclusive and representative.

We’re at a pivotal moment in our efforts to build an inclusive, equitable and representative world. Yesterday's conference showed us that there are people – just like me – who are willing to continue to fight for this and how Staff Networks are the life system for making this happen. And what a day yesterday was in highlighting the importance of these staff networks!

I don’t think I’ve come away from an event or conference so inspired, invigorated or energised as I did from the Staff Networks Day conference yesterday. The energy throughout the day was positively palpable!

Yesterday I got to share my passion for creating a more diverse and inclusive world. And what company I was amongst too. It was nothing short of an honour to sit alongside such esteemed speakers as Leon Mann MBE, Donna Fraser OBE OLY (she/her) and Cordelia Osewa-Ediae FRSA…. and what inspirational stories they shared too.

I make a habit with any conference or event I speak at to stay the whole day. The richness and learning you get from seeing other great speakers share their story and light the room up with their passion and purpose is life affirming.

Yesterday I got to share my story of how - just-shy-of-18-years-ago - a fire was lit in my belly to create a more inclusive, equitable and representative world. How the birth of my first born child opened my wife and I’s eyes to a world we were unsighted on and unfamiliar with when she came into the world different to what we expected or anticipated.

I got to share how I’ve seen the world evolve and change the way it views disability and difference in the time she’s been on this planet and how seminal moments like London 2012 and pioneering companies like Channel 4 and the BBC have been catalysts for changing the mindset of people about disability and difference.

That said, I also got to share my views on where we find ourselves today in the all too complicated world of diversity and inclusion. How decisions on one side of the world will have impact on our side of the world regardless of how many thousands of miles we might be away in location.

I shared how leaders are being tested and how we’re watching on to see what these leaders and their organisations truly value as they decide which path to take in either choosing to roll back on their DEI policies and commitments or double down on them in this pivotal moment.

I also spoke about the moment we find ourselves in now, where we have a choice to do more and go further. How ‘intersectionality’ – the interconnected nature of social categorisations (like race, class, and gender) which collectively shape an individual's experiences and opportunities - provide a means to enhance people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, while at the same time accelerating allyship, inclusion and belonging amongst people.

I'll say it again, we’re at a pivotal moment in our efforts to build an inclusive, equitable and representative world and yesterday showed us that there are people - just like me - who are willing to continue to fight for this and how staff networks are the life system for making this happen.

Here’s to next year’s conference and all that we can achieve between now and May 13th 2026!