We are delighted to welcome Multicultural UK to the accrEDIted™ Community.
Multicultural UK, founded by the brilliant Shazana Raja, is a creative communications and audience-insight agency helping organisations connect meaningfully with diverse communities. Through data-driven campaigns, inclusive storytelling, trusted community networks, inclusive recruitment support and inclusive marketing, we help brands and public bodies embed equity, representation and cultural authenticity into their communications, outreach, marketing and people strategies.
Our Community is a directory of amazing specialists, who see the need for our impartial accreditation, and can help with all sorts of EDI related issues and challenges that you might be encountering on your journey.
Check the Community out here or get in touch for more information.
Founded by the fantastic, multi-talented Hira Ali, Advancing Your Potential (AYP) is a leadership and inclusion consultancy with a core specialisation in allyship, women’s leadership, ethnic minority leadership development, and intercultural communication. Through their flagship programmes, they help organisations build inclusive cultures where diverse talent thrives. Her Allies equips organisations with the tools, training, and coaching materials to embed everyday allyship, enabling employees to advocate for one another and create supportive workplaces. Her Way to the Top empowers women at every stage of their careers with workshops, coaching, and resources that help them overcome barriers, amplify their voices, and lead with confidence. AYP also deliver tailored workshops, executive coaching, surveys, benchmarking, focus groups, and EDI consultancy.
Our Community is a directory of amazing specialists, who see the need for our impartial accreditation, and can help with all sorts of EDI related issues and challenges that you might be encountering on your journey.
Check the Community out here or get in touch for more information.
We are thrilled to welcome Male Allies UK to the accrEDIted™ Community.
Founded by the amazing Lee Chambers Male Allies UK exist to engage men in inclusion, building allyship skills and close gender gaps in both directions. They do this through workshops, training, consulting and facilitating spaces, with their work being research-led, evidence-based and focused on practical, relevant action. Male Allies UK have clients across 13 industries, understand commonalties as well as sector specific challenges. Led by business psychologist Lee, Male Allies UK uses it’s profit to fund work with boys in schools, with it’s research report into UK boys being launched in Parliament in October 2025. They also fund a number of women’s initiatives, with a particular focus on access to services for marginalised women and violence reduction. Their mission is to make gender unity a reality.
Our Community is a directory of amazing specialists, who see the need for our impartial accreditation, and can help with all sorts of EDI related issues and challenges that you might be encountering on your journey.
Check the Community out here or get in touch for more information.
Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. The day celebrates the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary people, while also combating disinformation, discrimination, and hate.
The day was created in 2010 by trans advocate Rachel Crandall, who wanted a day to celebrate the lives of transgender people while acknowledging the challenges they face.
Today, 15 years later, Transgender Day of Visibility is more needed that ever. With governments in the UK and USA targeting trans people, attempting to remove their rights, making their paths to gender affirming healthcare more difficult than ever and transphobic hate crimes increasing, there has never been a scarier time to be a trans person.
The USA has been grabbing headlines since Trump’s inauguration. With his immediate and extreme Executive Orders aligning with Project 2025 removing Trans rights, before moving on to women and everyone else. People have been likening the dystopian reality unfolding in the US to the book and television series The Handmaid’s Tale. If you want to know more about what is happening in America, Erin Reed is a great LGBTQ+ journalist who gives regular and insightful updates about anti-Trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation there.
Whilst, for some, it might feel like a more subtle attack in the UK, the Labour Party has been a huge disappointment to the LGBTQ+ communities since coming to power. With ongoing debates about gender recognition, gender affirming health care, single-sex services, and the impact of the Cass Review on youth gender services, and the government taking steps to clarify legal gender definitions – Trans rights are definitely under attack. The Labour government backtracked in February on promised reforms to make it easier for people to legally change gender.
Wes Streeting, Health Secretary claims to be “led by the evidence” but consistently relies on so called “independent evidence” which, at best leaves Trans voices out and at worst, is deliberately anti-trans. The Sullivan Review (commissioned by the Conservatives but being accepted by Labour) to review how data and statistics record gender identity and “biological sex” is yet another example. The review was led by sociology professor Alice Sullivan. However, Sullivan has ties to anti-trans groups such as Sex Matters. Her association with gender-critical groups should have been seen to compromise her position as an independent reviewer and was a “clear sign of bias” but is something the Health Secretary appears willing to overlook.
Aside from the government’s failing to understand, listen to or represent Trans and Non-binary voices, the media constantly echoes and amplifies anti-trans sentiments, spreading misinformation and stirring up hatred.
What is clear to us through our work, is those with strong anti-trans opinions, have rarely met or know any trans people. Their views have been entirely shaped by scare-mongering headlines.
That is why on this day of Trans Visibility we want others to actually see and hear about Trans people from Trans people. Get to know the human beings who are debated and vilified by a government and media who doesn’t know them.
Our Trans Inclusion Charity Partners Global Butterflies provide Trans and Non-binary Inclusion training, workshops and consultancy to help organisations become more inclusive. Their Global Butterflies Fund was established to support organisations working to advance human rights and protections for trans and non-binary communities in the UK and worldwide raising £33,000 in 2024.
Their founders Rachel Reese and Emma Cusdin said “Transgender Day of Visibility is a day where we celebrate the positivity, strength and resilience of transgender people worldwide. It’s a day where we come collectively together, in the face of growing discrimination towards our community, and stand tall, proud and unbowed. We need all our allies, on every day but especially this day to be loud and active.”
So, in these worrying time for Trans & Non-binary people what can you do to show your support and be a better ally?
In the workplace:
Ensure you have a zero-tolerance approach to transphobia and misgendering
Have positive policies affirming your commitment to equality and respect in the workplace
Ensure Leadership teams and hiring managers have been trained on Inclusive Leadership and hiring practices
Train employees on inclusion topics, including Trans & Non-binary inclusion regularly
Encourage participation in Employee Resource or Special Interest Groups for shared support and learning
Create a safe and inclusive culture where all your people have a sense of belonging and can show up as their authentic selves
Personally:
Learn – educate yourself. Seek out podcasts, books and blogs (start with the ones listed above) that will increase your understanding and help you see the human stories behind the headlines
Always make the effort to use people’s preferred pronouns – if you accidentally mess up, apologise and do better in future
If you hear someone being deliberately or repeatedly misgendered, speak up and correct the mistake
Call out transphobia wherever and whenever you see it
Be an ally to anyone who you see experiencing transphobia
If you care about equality, diversity and inclusion in your workplace, check, do you have a Trans & Non-binary inclusion policy or plan? Do you have Trans or Non-binary staff or customers who you think you could support better?
An International Day of Remembrance is not enough. Most “Days of Remembrance” are not enough to truly honour the victims of whatever atrocity took place, be it a murder, a massacre or a war.
For the estimated 15 million victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which lasted almost 400 years, it is definitely not enough.
Some would argue that the Transatlantic Slave Trade was abolished so long ago the victims are no longer alive, so is it still relevant? While it’s difficult to definitively pinpoint the single “last” enslaved person’s death, Hannah Durkin, at Newcastle University, identified an enslaved woman, captured in Africa in the 19th Century and brought to United States called Matilda McCrear who is thought to be one of the last. Matilda died in Selma, Alabama, in January 1940, at the age 83. Daniel Smith, who was believed to be one of the last children of an enslaved person, died on October 19, 2022, at the age of 90. Which brings the distant past frighteningly close.
Even for distant descendants of enslaved people, the implications are still felt today. Our founders’ families are of West Indian descent. The Mayers name undoubtedly linked to John Pollard Mayers, Joseph Mayers or Joshua Mayers Gittens. All registered owners of enslaved people in Barbados. The Pearson name also has ties to the Slave Trade in Jamaica. Surnames giving clues to their ancestral families histories. Family trees that come to an abrupt halt, with DNA tests now the only way to trace their true origins.
There have been many campaigns for reparatory justice in the form of economic and social compensation the over the years. Reparations is a complex and contentious subject. How do you begin to value the lives taken, the trauma and suffering caused and the lasting economic damage? And who is going to foot the bill?
Many countries have issued “statements of regret” instead of apologies, resistant to the idea of accepting responsibility and weakening their stance on owing reparations. In September 2015 the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, on an official visit, told the Jamaican Parliament that “the Black people should cease looking back to slavery days and focus on the future.” As a descendant beneficiary of a fortune made by his enslaver ancestors in Jamaica, the Prime Minister’s statement was particularly insulting and misplaced.
Worse than the refusal to consider reparations or even provide an apology, is that in 1835 after slavery was abolished, British slave owners were compensated for their “loss of property”. A staggering figure (for 1835) of £20million was paid to slave owners. A debt which according to the Tax Justice Network, British taxpayers finally finished paying off in 2015, the same year as Cameron’s visit to Jamaica.
Let that sink in for a moment… every taxpayer in the UK up until 2015 was paying the bill for compensating slave owners. Meaning every Black working person in Britain between 1835 and 2015 was compensating the families that had potentially enslaved their ancestors.
When the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade is taught in schools, we hear the names of compassionate abolitionists who campaigned for (and eventually achieved) the abolition of slavery on the grounds of social justice and humanity. However, we are not taught about the revolutions of enslaved people taking place in Haiti led by Toussaint Louverture, or Jamaica by key figures such as Samuel Sharpe and Nanny of the Maroons, or across the colonies. Without these uprisings, and a decline in the economic importance of slavery due to the industrial revolution, it is questionable whether the abolition movements would’ve achieved success.
The famous billboard slogan “We did not come to Britain. Britain came to us.” makes an important distinction for those people who are anti-immigration, anti-refugee, (or just plain racist). It is because of Britain’s history, its colonial past and participation in the Transatlantic Slave Trade that we have a wonderful multicultural society today. For a fascinating whistle-stop history lesson on Black History, Colonialism and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, that you didn’t get at school, we highly recommend checking out Akala’s address at the Oxford Union.
We believe understanding Britain’s true history, not the “white-washed” version taught in schools throughout the Commonwealth, plays a really important role in improving ethnic pride, integration and acceptance. For us, more than a day of remembrance, that acceptance would really honour the victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Yet today, 60 years later, António Guterres Secretary-General of The United Nations acknowledged in his personal message “The poison of racism continues to infect our world”. Going on to say “I call for universal ratification of the Convention, and for States to implement it in full. And I urge business leadership, civil society, and everyday people to take a stand against racism in all its forms…”
In the last 60 years, some progress has been made. The Race Relations Act came into force in the UK in 1965, banning racial discrimination in public place places, and made the incitement of racial hatred illegal. In 1968, the Act was updated to address the issues of discrimination in the workplace and accessing accommodation. In 1976, the Act was extended again to define and include direct and indirect discrimination. The Commission for Racial Equality was formed in 1976 too (later replaced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2007). In 2000 we saw the Race Relations Amendment Act requiring public authorities to actively promote racial equality. Then 15 years ago in 2010, the Equality Act came into force, updating and replacing the previous legislation.
In Global politics we also saw encouraging signs of change, with Apartheid being abolished in 1992, Paul Boateng becoming the UKs first Black Cabinet Minister in 2002, America electing its first Black President in 2009 and what was lauded as “Britian’s most ethnically diverse Cabinet ever” in 2019 with six Cabinet Ministers being of ethnic heritage. Including Rishi Sunak who went on to become Prime Minister in 2022.
Yet for every step forward we appear to take, we seem to take several backwards too.
In 1970, the infamous Mangrove Nine trial. In 1981, the Brixton Riots. In 1993, the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which prompted the Macpherson Report to be published in 1999, concluding that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist. The racially motivated murders of Mi Gao Huang Chen and Anthony Walker in 2005, and Mushin Ahmed in 2015. The Institute of Race Relations monitors deaths with a known or suspected racial element in the UK. Their research indicates that between 1993 and 2013 that there were at least 105 such deaths in the UK. The Windrush Scandal in 2018, exposed the wrongful detention, deportation and denial of legal rights to Commonwealth citizens who had settled in the UK and continues unresolved today. In 2024 Race Riots broke out across the UK.
In 2023, the Guardian reported that Black people are seven time more likely to die after police restraint. The Institute of Race Relations report included the IOPCs 2019/2020 statistics revealing that 23% of deaths in, or following, police custody are people of ethnic heritage, disproportionately much higher than the ethnic population.
Between 2013 and 2023, according to official data, police recorded hate crimes, in England and Wales rose from 41,294 to a staggering 145,214. In 2013/14 the number of successful convictions for racist or religious hate crimes was 10,532, just under 25%.
All this depressing reading doesn’t begin to detail workplace racism and inequality. Suffice it to say, the CIPD report two-thirds of Black employees in the UK experienced racism last year! Race Discrimination claims have also risen since 2018 according to legal firm Wright Hassall.
Our Charity Partner, Race Equality First are on the frontline working to eliminate racial discrimination and support the victims of hate crime. Their CEO Aliya Mohammed says “Racism continues to be a persistent and deeply ingrained issue in our society. While we have made legal and policy advancements over the decades, we still see racial discrimination in workplaces, in policing, in the justice system, and on our streets. At Race Equality First, we stand firm in our commitment to fighting racial injustice and supporting those affected by hate crime and discrimination. True change requires not just legislation but a collective effort from all of us to challenge racism wherever we see it.”
Their continuous work with the UN aims to bring about lasting change by contributing to international discussions on racial equality, providing evidence on racial discrimination in the UK, and advocating for stronger protections for marginalised communities.
So, 60 years on, what can we all do better to eliminate racial discrimination now?
In the workplace:
Ensure you have a zero-tolerance approach to racism
Have positive policies affirming your commitment to equality and respect in the workplace
Ensure Leadership teams and hiring managers have been trained on Inclusive Leadership and hiring practices
Train employees on anti-racism and inclusion topics regularly
Encourage participation in Employee Resource Groups for shared support and learning
Create a safe and inclusive culture where all your people have a sense of belonging and can show up as their authentic selves
Personally:
Learn – educate yourself on different ethnic groups, religions and cultures. Seek out podcasts, books and blogs that will increase your understanding of people with backgrounds different to your own
Take steps to understand your own biases and privilege
Understand the difference between “not being racist” and “anti-racist” – to create change we all need to be actively anti-racist.
Call out racism wherever and whenever you see it
Be an ally to those who are experiencing racism
If you care about equality, diversity and inclusion in your workplace, check, do you have an EDI policy or plan? Do you have employees of ethnic heritage and a good approach to inclusion to ensure all your people feel welcome and safe?
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