In this episode, Ashanti Bentil-Dhue talks to Katy Penman, a DEI professional based in Scotland whose experience in DEI has been in txhe regulatory sector of health care, social care and the charity sector. Katy Penman discusses how hearing the stories that people have to tell about their experiences with their health primarily, and uncovering a lot of stuff about health inequalities really spoke to her. Thus spurring her to pursue and get involved in lots of different working groups and increasing her knowledge and awareness resulting in applying for DEI roles.

“You have to start with your own self awareness, you have to start with your limitations, you know that over-promising and under delivering is so easy because you want positive experiences for everyone. And you really have to pull back and say, That's great. And I would love to do that for you. But these are our corporate priorities, this is where it sits in our strategy.  ” 

Episode Highlights:

• What has surprised me about working in the DEI field?

• Specific skills and competencies you need to develop to be a good practitioner

• The importance of Building influence within an organisation

About Katy Penman:

Katy Penman

Freelance consultant and trainer in public engagement, DEI and volunteer practice.

Katy Penman works with organisations who engage with the public and who consider volunteers as part of their service delivery teams – from statutory bodies to social enterprises to social media-based patient support groups.  

With 20 years’ experience in quality assurance via health and social care regulation and experience of engaging with communities from grassroots involvement to international research, Katy is passionate about engaging with people as part of the continuous improvement cycle and to ensure quality of service or product that speaks to all consumers in a language that is meaningful to them and aligns with the values of the organisation.    

Areas of expertise:

Creating inclusive organisational culture, engaging with historically excluded stakeholders and individuals, understanding and meeting your legal duties around DEI, mentoring and development for volunteer practitioners and leaders, reverse culture shock for workplace returners, supporting people with non-disclosed protected characteristics.

Connect with Katy Penman:

Email: katypenman.iiv@gmail.com">katypenman.iiv@gmail.com

Mobile: 07740 422 691

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-p-b3372b22/

Twitter: @katypenman

Book an exploratory call to discuss whether the DEI Prof Academy is right for you. You can ask any questions you may have. These spaces are very limited so if you’d like to have a chat with me directly about DEI competence and practice, then book a call here.

If you'd like to discuss how we can provide support for you or your organisation, please email 

operations@goodsoilleaders.com

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LinkedIn: Ashanti Bentil-Dhue