The Official Top 10 Speakers on Unconscious Bias to Hire in 2024
Diversity, equity, and inclusivity have never been more important in today’s dynamic business world. Leaders are beginning to realise the substantial cost of unconscious bias on their organisations as a result of employees feeling excluded in the workplace and the occurrence of poor customer service due to perpetuated stereotypes that employees may have. To address these issues, billions are being spent on unconscious bias training all over the world, with over $8bn being spent annually in the US alone!
What is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious bias can be described as a mental shortcut that leads to snap judgements, often based on gender and race but can also include people’s names, age, talent, and character. Some of the benefits of unconscious bias training include promoting fairer work environments, improving interactions among colleagues, and creating unbiased customer service.
Imperial College London describes unconscious bias as:
"Unconscious (or implicit) bias is a term that describes the associations we hold, outside our conscious awareness and control. Unconscious bias affects everyone. Unconscious bias is triggered by our brain automatically making quick judgments and assessments. They are influenced by our background, personal experiences, societal stereotypes and cultural context."
What are the Pros and Cons of Unconscious Bias Training in the Workplace?
However, when viewed as a tick-box exercise, unconscious bias training efforts tend to fail and may even backfire as they create the impression that bias is involuntary and widespread, therefore unavoidable. More alarmingly only 10% of training programmes provide attendees with actual strategies to reduce bias, making them ineffective in most cases. In contrast, when unconscious bias training is conducted in a committed and structured manner over the long term, it can raise awareness and develop empathy to combat bias.
At the Motivational Speakers Agency, we have eminent unconscious bias experts who can help organisations effectively tackle unconscious bias.
Who are the Top 10 Unconscious Bias Experts to Hire?
- Laila El Metoui
- Gina Battye
- Pragya Agarwal
- Binna Kandola
- Asif Sadiq
- Pauline Miller
- June Sarpong
- Perrine Farque
- Bernadette Thompson OBE
- Yassmin Abdel – Magied
1. Laila El Metoui
Laila El Metoui has dedicated her life to promoting greater acceptance in education, business, and society for the LGBT+ community. With over 25 years of experience as an Equity and Belonging Consultant, she is a highly knowledgeable unconscious bias expert who also draws on her personal experiences as an Arab lesbian to educate her audience.
Using industry-leading strategies, Laila helps to eradicate discrimination in the workplace, creating more inclusive teams and environments. As a highly influential figure in the LGBT+ community, she was recently named on the Guardian Pride Power List in 2021 for her inclusivity work. When booked as a speaker she articulately delves into the topics of diversity, inclusion, and race equity.
Testimonial:
"Thank you SO much for yesterday! It was brilliant, we’ve had such good feedback from everyone who was involved. It was really informative, engaging and fun – but also really eye-opening, and has been a brilliant educational piece for us whilst we celebrate Pride. It was exactly what we hoped for, so thank you so much" - Lucinda, Lucid Group
2. Gina Battye
Gina Battye is a world-renowned, award-winning Psychological Safety and LGBTQ+ Inclusion Consultant and Trainer. She is on a mission to lobby UK Government to introduce psychological safety into workplace legislation and is passionate about creating work environments where people thrive - safer, more inclusive workplaces. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community, Gina knows first-hand the unique pressures and challenges that being LGBTQ+ in the workplace can bring. She has almost 25 years of experience working with multinational corporations; including; AstraZeneca, Ministry of Defence, NHS, Barclays, Experian, Vodafone, and HBOS Plc, to name a few.
Gina’s blueprint for Psychological Safety (The 5 Pillars of Psychological Safety) and Diagnostic Tool (Lux) are being implemented worldwide to create fully inclusive workplaces. Gina is also a prolific writer, award-winning speaker and best-selling author, raising awareness of psychological safety, authenticity and LGBTQ+ issues. Gina’s work has been widely featured in the media including; Sky News, BBC Radio and Forbes. Gina is creating breakthroughs in workplaces globally, combining world-class training with a heavy dose of hindsight. Gina changes lives!
Testimonial:
"Myself and a colleague from Lloyd’s Banking Group approached Gina with a brief for a session and what we would like to cover. Gina was fantastic at accommodating this and recommending her 5 pillars of Psychological Safety. The session went extremely well and Gina spoke with such professionalism, personable and easy to understand. We received excellent feedback from attendees and would happily work with Gina again!" - Helen, Lloyds Banking Group
3. Pragya Agarwal
Pragya Agarwal is a highly accomplished data and behavioural scientist and one of the leading experts on unconscious bias, anti-racism, and inclusion. Using her ground-breaking work, she adopts a scientific approach to make the world a more equal, diverse, and inclusive place to live. Having completed a PhD in GIS and Spatial Cognition, she is at the forefront of innovation in the behavioural science field.
Playing a significant role in advancing women’s rights, as the founder of the 50 Percent Foundation, Pragya conducts pioneering work through her think-tank to make the world a safer and more inclusive place for women. Considered a thought leader on unconscious bias, Pragya backs her knowledge with the latest data in the industry and uses this expertise in her speaking engagements to deliver highly impactful presentations when booked as a speaker.
Testimonial:
"Her words illuminate the hidden patterns of bias and therefore injustice that impact us" - Layla Saad
4. Binna Kandola
One of the foremost experts on inclusion in the workplace, Binna Kandola is a distinguished business psychologist and specialist in the field of unconscious bias, racism, diversity, inclusion, and equality. In his book The Value of Difference: Eliminating Bias in Organisations, he highlights the negative implications of unconscious bias on organisations and provides robust solutions for managing diverse workforces.
Moreover, he is a highly respected academic in Occupational Psychology and uses his profound knowledge of human behaviour and the mind to effectively tackle unconscious bias. In his speaking engagements, he provides a framework for eliminating unconscious bias and offers his insight into managing a diverse workplace.
5. Asif Sadiq
Internationally renowned diversity and inclusion expert, Asif Sadiq has worked with the world’s leading organisations, including Adidas, Warner Media, and The Telegraph. As such, he has a remarkable ability to reshape corporate environments with his ground-breaking inclusivity strategies. Recognising the harmful effects of unconscious bias on the work environment, Asif provides tangible solutions to transform corporate cultures into fairer more diverse workplaces.
During his time as the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Adidas, he played an instrumental role in improving equality for employees, which saw the business recognised as a champion of diversity. Having established himself as a leading expert on unconscious bias, Asif has the knowledge to future-proof organisations in an increasingly diverse business world, making him a highly prized speaker.
Testimonial:
"Both speakers we've had this year have been fantastic. We just had the talk and Q&A with Asif Sadiq who was brilliant- his talk was insightful and powerful, whilst also funny and poignant. A great discussion and one we're honoured to have been able to host" - Jahnavi, Deliveroo
6. Pauline Miller
Pauline Miller is a renowned diversity and inclusion specialist and the Chief Equity Officer of EMEA at Dentsu. Having personally experienced unconscious bias during her time in the banking sector, Pauline deeply understands the implications of being excluded and marginalised in the work environment. Motivated by those tragic experiences, she has become one of the most outspoken advocates against discrimination in the workplace.
Acknowledging the difficulties and challenges often faced by minorities in the workplace, such as struggling to progress in their careers, Pauline is on a mission to educate organisations about the positive impacts of embracing diversity. Drawing on her personal experiences and combining them with her vast industry expertise, Pauline delivers insightful presentations on unconscious bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion when booked for speaking engagements.
Testimonial:
"Can you inform Pauline that we are really appreciative of the time that she gave to speak at our BHM event. I believe what she shared was open, honest and authentic and touched many in so many ways" - Lisett, Manager, Versus.
7. June Sarpong
The first Director of Creative Diversity for the BBC, June Sarpong has played a significant role in improving diversity and inclusion in broadcasting. Outspoken about the need for change in the media industry, June vehemently calls for more representation of minorities in broadcasting and highlights the issue of unconscious bias, which is prevalent in the industry.
She has authored two books on diversity and inclusion and is the Co-founder of the WIE Network, which highlights topics such as empowerment, female excellence, gender, and equity. Now she is available to hire for speaking engagements where she speaks candidly about her personal experiences in broadcasting and highlights important topics such as unconscious bias, equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Testimonial:
"It was a great event, I really enjoyed June's take on unconscious bias and allyship in particular the practical things everyone can do to challenge themselves. It was awesome to learn more about Shirine. Thank you for bringing this to life for us" - Denise, Co-Op
8. Perrine Farque
Perrine Farque is the Founder of Inspired Human, which provides leading diversity and inclusion coaching for prominent organisations around the world. She is a highly knowledgeable specialist on unconscious bias and tackles the issue by creating empathy and providing tangible examples of how people can change their behaviour, leaving her clients with a valuable framework to work towards.
In recognition of her expertise in the field of diversity and inclusion, Perrine was selected to act as a judge at the prestigious Diversity in Tech Awards. Forging a reputation as an accomplished diversity and inclusion coach, Perrine is now a highly demanded speaker who regularly delivers inspirational speeches on unconscious bias, workforce engagement and retention.
Testimonial:
"Perrine is an inspiring advocate of diversity in tech. I enjoyed her presentation on 9 Secrets to Becoming a Female Leader in Tech at Women Tech Global Conference, as she delivered both passionate and practical talk that helped me to reflect on things that I can do now to become a better female leader. Thank you Perrine!"- Maria, Account Executive D2L
9. Bernadette Thompson OBE
Bernadette Thompson is a renowned expert on diversity and inclusion and The Associate Director of Inclusion for the Barts Health NHS Trust. Having held distinguished roles at leading institutions, including the NHS, the UK Home Office, and the Ministry of Justice, she has played a major role in shaping diversity and inclusion policies at those organisations, helping to increase the representation and inclusion of minorities.
She is an outspoken champion for the inclusion of minority women in senior positions and has highlighted the role of unconscious bias in preventing their career progression. For her tremendous effort and considerable campaign work, she was recently honoured with the Community Award from the Charity for Civil Servants in 2019. Bernadette is now available to hire for speaking engagements where she passionately speaks on women’s career progression and the elimination of unconscious bias.
Testimonial:
"I just wanted to say a massive thank you on behalf of the whole team for the session yesterday. You were so engaging and made the team really think about how we can continue to check ourselves and be a truly inclusive team." - Lindsay, Highly Specialist MSK Physiotherapist, Outpatient Therapies Mile End Hosp
10. Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a prominent Sudanese-Australian social advocate who has amassed over 2 million views on her TEDx Talk, What Does My Headscarf Mean to You. Her motivation for turning to activism came about due to the unconscious bias and stereotypes she experienced working in the oil and gas industry. This rapidly turned what should have been a joyous occasion, as a recent graduate joining the industry into a negative one.
Deciding to tackle the issue head-on, Yasmin left her career as a mechanical engineer to be a force for change. Using her creativity and distinguished storytelling ability, she authored multiple books and has published articles in prestigious journals such as the Harvard Business Review to raise awareness on the issue. She is also a very popular speaker who has delivered inspirational talks for leading companies, including Twitter, SAP, HSBC and Visa.
Testimonial:
"Yassmin is such a natural and gifted presenter - her fierce intelligence, her empathy and her humour made it one of the best stage presentations I’ve ever seen" - Women in Leadership Showcase
Book an Unconscious Bias Speaker Today!
If you are interested in hiring an unconscious bias speaker, simply get in touch via our online contact form or call us on 0207 0787 876 to receive your free quote and speak with one of our dedicated booking agents.
