BEEqual: Balanced Empowered Equal

We have decided to re-name our meetup group to reflect our beliefs in gender equality.

Without further ado… we are delighted to announce “BEEqual”!

Which stands for balanced, empowered and equal.

This meetup aims to welcome anyone wanting to join a community with a common goal of achieving inclusivity and powering change. We’re going to cover what we can do as individuals, in the workplace and through our community to become more balanced, feel empowered and drive equality.

Agenda:

18:00-18:30-Doors Open, Drinks & Nibbles

18:30-18:50- Jake Hobson @Hyperion- Where are all the men?

18:50-19:10- Aygul Zagidullina @Google Developer Expert - Designing Your Career: Explore a Career Change and Do What You Love

19:10-19:55-Panel Discussion (Jake Hobson, Aygul Zagidullina, Lynn McSeveney, Kate Pljaskovova)

19:55-21:00- Networking

Jake Hobson | Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Hyperion

He is a passionate and inspirational leader with the ability to empower individuals and create a truly inclusive environment for all. Jake is key in implementing D&I activities and programmes as well as connecting with stakeholders at all levels to build strong and influential relationships with business leaders and influencers. Jake acts as a role model, providing governance across the business on D&I and cultural change and is committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all.

Where are all the men?
There’s never been more discussion and activity around diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Every week, more and more statistics, stories and initiatives are swirling around: from gender pay gap differentials to the prevalence of company-wide unconscious bias training, it seems that every company and organisation has finally grasped that change needs to happen.

As a D&I Practitioner I see that the majority of conversations and events are attended by women and other minority groups, so where are all the men? During this session, I will explore why the excluded majority are alienated by the conversation on D&I.

Dr. Aygul Zagidullina | Google Developer Expert (GDE) for Assistant | Digital Marketer | Advocate for Women in Tech

Aygul holds a PhD in quantum chemistry and prior to Google dedicated 6 years to scientific research at the University of Stuttgart. She is a Google Developer Group lead, Google Women Techmakers ambassador, Google Launchpad mentor, Google Product Expert, Google Trusted Tester, AnitaB.org London lead, Women in Voice London lead, Women Who Code London lead, and UK STEM Ambassador.

Designing Your Career: Explore a Career Change and Do What You Love
A bioorganic chemist turned quantum chemist turned community manager & digital marketer at Google turned women in tech advocate & UK STEM Ambassador, turned international speaker & Google Assistant developer. As a conference-speaking code-writing world-traveling breastfeeding mom, I’ll trace my career path as a woman in tech all the way from the first steps into STEM on up to being named as one of the NEXT 100 Top Influencers of the European Digital Industry and beyond and share 10 things I learned along the way to help you overcome your fears and make it happen. ‘Is it too late to change careers?’, the answer is no.

Lynn Mcseveney | Head of Talent & Resourcing at NewDay

Lynn is responsible for Employer Brand, Resourcing and wider L&D initiatives. At NewDay maintaining and strengthening a diverse and inclusive culture is a key focus - from audits of their processes to identifying any bias hotspots to educating their leaders to be more inclusive.

Kate Pljaskovova | Co-founder at She Wins

Kate co-founded SheWins.co, empowering women to negotiate for their compensation and benefits and teaching businesses how to negotiate fairly with women when hiring and promoting them. The aim is to reduce the gender pay gap while engaging both sides of the table in fair negotiation. Prior She Wins Kate founded 87%, measuring and improving mental wellbeing in corporates.