OBI Property has teamed up with developer Allied London to host an event focused on diversity in the workplace and its effect on business growth.
The event takes place from 7.30-9.30am on Thursday 12th October at Enterprise City (ECUK), the former Granada Studios site.
The discussion will include a look at the short- and long-term practices needed to help overcome barriers to fostering a diverse workforce.
The panellists are Kirsty Styles, talent and skills lead at Tech North (chair); Naomi Timperley, director and co-founder, Tech North Advocates; Kirsty Devlin, business development manager, Webantic; Vimla Appadoo, service designer, Department for Work & Pensions; and Mylo Kaye, CEO of Dreamr.
“Diversity is a key issue facing Manchester businesses, particularly those experiencing fast growth,” said Joe Averill, OBI Property.
“Is Manchester in danger of becoming pale, male and stale – and how do we stop that from happening?
“Our challenging event will be asking its audience and panellists some uneasy questions of themselves as we explore and address diversity.”
Is it opinions formed at school age or work place culture which are creating the issues? Are we going to be able to break through the stigma and develop a healthy workplace which embraces both differences and similarities of any individual?
Daisy Barnes of Allied London, which is delivering Enterprise City, said: “We’ve got some big plans when it comes to how ECUK can support diversity in Manchester over the coming 12 months.
“Diversity is something everyone needs to be positively supporting, not just because without it the city is missing out on major talent, but because it makes business sense too.
“This event intends to put diversity on the discussion table again. This is something that we’ll continue to talk about until we’re confident that we’ve done everything we can to support it.”