Laïla El Métoui is an award-winning global equity educator and motivational speaker recognised for driving measurable change in how organisations approach inclusion, belonging and leadership. As the Founder and Chief Executive of Pride in Education, she works at the intersection of education, policy and workplace culture, supporting organisations to move beyond statements towards sustained action. Her work is grounded in lived experience as a disabled Arab lesbian and strengthened by decades of professional practice, allowing her to connect authenticity with authority. Audiences value her ability to make complex equity issues accessible, practical and motivating, while maintaining a clear focus on outcomes.
Laïla’s early career developed through education, training and community-based work, where she gained direct insight into how inequity is experienced in classrooms, workplaces and public services. These experiences shaped her decision to establish Pride in Education, addressing gaps in inclusive practice across schools, universities and professional learning environments. She later founded LelmEducation to expand this work into corporate and public sector consultancy. During this period, she was also instrumental in creating UK Queer Arabs, later evolving into broader SWANA-focused initiatives, and co-founding the Embassy Model Summits Series, which provides structured platforms for marginalised voices to engage with policy and leadership.
Her achievements reflect both scale and depth of impact. Laïla has delivered equity education, training and advisory support to hundreds of local and global organisations, embedding intersectional approaches to inclusive leadership, psychological safety and staff wellbeing. She founded and chairs Proud London Councils, connecting LGBTQ plus employee networks across local authorities to share best practice and influence institutional change. Her community impact includes securing more than £87,000 for charities through successful bid writing, providing ongoing pro bono support to LGBTIQA plus non-profit organisations and playing a leading role in queering the ESOL curriculum in the UK. Her work has been recognised through honours including the Love Queer Top 100 Trailblazer list, the Diva Power List, Top 20 Lesbian Trailblazers, repeated inclusion in the National Diversity Power List Top 50 and being named Stonewall Lesbian Role Model of the Year.
Laïla is hired as a motivational speaker because she combines credibility, clarity and compassion with a proven track record of results. She motivates audiences by showing what is possible when equity is treated as a leadership skill rather than a compliance exercise. Fluent in ten languages and confident across topics including race equity, neurodiversity, mental health and LGBTIQA plus inclusion, she delivers sessions that energise people, build confidence and translate values into action. Organisations book Laïla to inspire commitment, strengthen inclusive cultures and equip leaders with tools that create lasting, real-world change.
