Equality Exchange Conference 2008 – S Woods
Neil Wooding introduced the day and explained the objectives.
Neil has spent much of his career working with organisations across the UK to promote Equality and Human rights. He is currently the EHRC Commissioner for Wales whilst also holding numerous other posts.
Our first talk came from Dame Gillian Morgan who is the permanent secretary for the Welsh assembly. She talked about her previous experience in the NHS in England and how equalities where high on her agenda. She talked about how important it is to recognise the individual and make sure they are treated as a person and not just a number. Basic things like respecting the fact that people have to right to privacy on a ward i.e. drawing the curtains when a patient is being examined.
She also talked about her experience of living as an asylum seeker and how demoralising it was. Whilst taking part in this experiment the government put a gag on the media on exactly what they were allowed to report in the press.
She talked about how excited she was to be talking on her new role as Secretary for Wales and her hopes for positive change to Wales.
Her speech was very empowering a few of my favourite points were:
Leadership is about leading ourselves.
Our collective task is to move forward as a country to make Wales better.
People are not labels
The second talk was from Sallie Glickman who is the Chief Executive Officer for the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board. She talked about her experiences in Philadelphia when she was first setting up the investment board. It was a slow long struggle but is now a very successful operation. In recognition of her hard work she was recently named one of the regions ’40 under 40’ which recognises young leaders who are proven performers. Her key focuses are about investing in people to better themselves, providing them with support and platforms on which to build stronger futures. She also focuses on building strong partnerships with common goals.
I found her talk very interesting and inspiring because no matter what obstacles that were in her path she still persevered and succeeded in the end, a few of my favourite points were:
Be prepared to ask for forgiveness, because you shouldn’t have to ask for permission. (This was about you may upset people along the way of making things better)
Alone we can do so little but together we can do so much.
Remember: Partners bring credibility (or not), so choose wisely.
In the afternoon we broke into workshops to challenge us as individuals as to what 1 thing we would like to change about equalities in our own workplaces and what were our obstacles.
Part of the day was spent talking to ‘ordinary’ people who have persevered and can provide inspiration.
One lady was Wendy Thomas she is a mother to 4 children 2 of who have disabilities. She also runs a local swim club. Wendy’s son Jack, who suffers from a learning disability, is a member of this club. There is currently an issue involving the Paralympics movement and athletes with a learning disability which is stopping Jack from reaching the highest pinnacle of sporting success, this is a battle which Wendy, with the help of the EHRC is trying to win. What happened was a few years ago one of the countries cheated and there athletes where not disabled at all!! As a result the Paralympics put a blanket ban on all countries entering athletes with learning disabilities. Something which is totally unfair as this penalises all the other countries and their athletes all because one country cheated!
Despite all of this Wendy is still very upbeat with her determination to succeed and provide the best start for her children.
The other was a gentleman called Graham Jones who is the head of Human Resources at Neath Port Talbot Council.
He took over his current role at a time when the council was being pursed over equal pay compensation. Graham made the decision not to fight it and that these people deserved what they were entitled to. The equal payments total payout was £7.7 million paid to 2,300 employees! He also over saw the integration of the councils and a move to a new office space. During his talk he came across as very honest, modest fair man. He saw his achievements as ‘the right thing to do’.
I personally found the day very inspiring hearing about what a big difference just a few individuals’ actions can make. It certainly provided food for thought and reminded me that in the face of adversity a little determination and hard work will help you succeed.
Simon Woods Report Back 18/06/08