Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion and Diversity: A deep dive for senior leaders

Watch the recording

More business leaders are recognizing that cultivating diversity and equality in the workplace is not just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing. Research shows that customers and employees expect companies to drive equality and that it has a tangible impact on performance, innovation, and the bottom line. 80% of business professionals also believe that companies have a responsibility to go beyond profit and make an impact on society.

While we know organizations that are gender and culturally diverse are more likely to outperform others, diversity alone doesn’t move businesses forward. Inclusion is integral and indeed the key to leveraging the benefits diversity brings.

This free webinar for senior leaders combines the personal expertise of Dr Debbie Bayntun-Lees – Professor of Organization Development and Change and Dr Josephine Mbithi – HR Director at the UN Development Fund. Both are passionate activists in the field of Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and Belonging, and have recently completed their doctoral research in this area.

Join this 45-minute webinar to explore:

• The personal challenges leaders are facing and how to overcome them
• What good organization leaders are doing to build inclusion and anti-racism
• The changing role of HR in supporting the leadership journey

Speakers: Dr Debbie Bayntun-Lees, Professor of Organization Development and Change and Dr Josephine Mbithi, HR Director at the UN Development Fund

When? November 17th, 2 pm GMT

Catch up on the recording!

Speaker: Dr Debbie Bayntun-Lees, Professor of Organization Development and Change at Hult Ashridge

Debbie is an experienced leadership and Organizational Development consultant. Her recent doctoral research looked at ‘How women experience being silenced in everyday conversational life’, revealing the complex practices of power that silence and stifle the female voice

She specializes in developing organizations ’capacity for change and innovation’, working largely with boards, senior teams, HR practitioners, and often whole system interventions. Employing a range of theoretical perspectives, experiential learning, and 'real-time' practical interventions, Debbie works at the intersection of leadership, strategy, and cultural change. She has a track record of successfully supporting clients develop collaborative and inclusive leadership, lead strategic and cultural transformation initiatives, and develop high-performing teams in large, fast-paced, complex organizations, including the UK National Health Service and local government, and global corporations.

Debbie’s approach is informed by her practical business and organizational development experience. Previously she was Managing Director of Connecting for Change Ltd, Education & Business Development Director of Doctors.net.uk (an online virtual learning & networking resource), and has held several senior management positions in the UK National Health Service.

Speaker: Dr Josephine Mbithi, HR Director at the UN Development Fund

Josephine M. Mbithi is an accomplished Human Resources Leader with a strong track record demonstrating leadership success across the human capital domain in complex international settings. She has over 25 years of international human resources experience across various industries in both the private and public sectors.

Her recent doctoral research explored the personal experience of being a black Kenyan woman navigating the global workplace. Revealing the invisible work done in order to be in relation with others, whilst negotiating power relations, constructions of gender, and the multi-layered politics of difference and identity within organizations.

Josephine’s achievements range from establishing HR governance and managing HR services to leading HR transformation and being a key driver of organizational reform and renewal. Her most notable achievement was her key role in reforming the HR function and Strategy at the Global Fund in Switzerland. Prior to this Josephine worked with The Coca-Cola Company based in Morocco and Kenya and with the World Bank Group supporting client groups in Africa, South Asia, and East Asia based in South Africa and Kenya. She currently holds an HR leadership role based in New York.

Josephine is a Hult International Business School alumni (Arthur D. Little School of Business, Cambridge Massachusetts) and Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School