Published by Neil ThompsonFounders Gabrielle Austen Browne and Ashanti Bentil Dhue, launched Diversity Ally, in response to the astonishing lack of diversity within the events, MICE and hospitality sectors.
As event professionals with diversity and inclusion expertise, they have taken ownership of the events industry’s approach to tackling this and are helping to drive meaningful change in the industry.
Since launching in June 2020, Diversity Ally have worked with exhibition companies, agencies, venues, and association's on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in the form of educational workshops utilising their trademark Conscious Conversation and Ally frameworks, D&I consultancy and through organisational assessments rooted in their five unique industry benchmark pledges.
Gabby Austen - Browne, Co-founder Diversity Ally says, “Although, understandably, we are still seeing a lot of focus on the pandemic, we are also seeing tangible movement and commitment from different parts of the events industry who are working towards diverse and inclusive organisations. Whether that’s venues, exhibition companies, associations or agencies, we are seeing more and more that our industry no longer wants to just talk the talk, they want to walk the walk”
Janice Rogers, Corporate Vice President Human Resources at Diversified Communications says, “We worked with Diversity Ally recently on diversity, equity and inclusion training. Participants felt comfortable sharing their candid questions and observations in the “brave space” that Ashanti and Gabrielle created, and learned strategies for having courageous conversations about racism, bias, and discrimination. We feel we have a toolkit and a common language and understanding on how to move forward with our work. And Ashanti and Gabby are wonderful and knowledgeable facilitators!
Suzanne CEO The Florida Festivals and Events Association says, “Consulting with Diversity Ally allowed FFEA to come up with solutions and key objectives based on their industry leading benchmark pledges. The professional team at Diversity Ally presented an honest un-biased report on our current policies and practices. We are now able to take the findings and suggestions from the final report to move forward with actionable insights to make Diversity and Inclusion a priority for our organisation and our members.”
If you are interested in bespoke workshops/ training or consultancy, please contact Diversity Ally here: Gabby@DiversityAlly.co.uk
For more information contact:
team@diversityally.co.uk
ashanti@diversityally.co.uk
T: 0330 1333 421
W: www.diversityally.co.uk
