OVERVIEW
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) suggests that about half of the global workforce will have their lives affected for good as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly true for vulnerable groups, and includes particular impacts in women, the youth, the elderly, and minorities for different reasons.
With the world’s population expected to increase by 2 billion persons in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050, how can government institutions and socially responsible organisations play a role in reducing social inequality when the problem is expected to grow for billions of people at this rate?
Social inequality was a known problem before the pandemic, as evidenced in four of the 17 Sustainable Goals: 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 5 (Gender Equality) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities). These problems have been fueled by a capitalist system that has distributed wealth unevenly among people and countries.
But social inequality is not only a socio-economic problem. The tendency of humans to associate themselves with similar groups to themselves is part of human nature. ‘Unconscious bias’ courses in the HR departments of organisations mainly attempt to rationalise human nature, but they often fail at demonstrating a change in behaviour because these associations are precisely unconscious.
At ‘Insight for Social Inclusion’, we will offer a multidisciplinary perspective to tackle social equality drawing from the social and behavioural sciences (social psychology, anthropology, behavioural economics) to help organisations understand current challenges and learn about the opportunities for social innovation if we lived in more inclusive societies.
Takeaways
During this event, we will show:
- Why it is important to understand the lessons from the social sciences to understand social inequality
- Why social inclusion is important in today’s world and why it can lead to a much needed social innovation
- How social and behavioural sciences should lead innovation using insight-driven approaches
- How the social and behavioural sciences should tackle social inclusion using insight-driven approaches
- Why these disciplines offer real insights, not just statistics, and opportunities to change behaviour
- What solutions can the world of insight offer to such an important social challenge
SPEAKERS
Wilma Smythe
CEO & Founder, Insight for Good (Host)
Geoff Mulgan
Professor of Collective Intelligence, UCL
Stephanie Mensah
Co-lead for Diversity & Inclusion Research, Ipsos MORI
Dr. Bindu Garapaty
VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Talent Development at Impossible Foods
Ben Carpenter
CEO, Social Value International
Hannah Kilshaw
Research Director, ICM Unlimited
Siri Chilazi
Research Fellow, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Leonie Nicks
Senior Advisor, The Behavioural Insights Team
AGENDA
Welcome and opening
Wilma Smythe, CEO & Founder, Insight for Good
The case for social inclusion in the midst of a paradigm shift
- Social inequality: why the current economic capitalistic system does not work to meet this century’s challenges
- Why social inclusion is key to drive social change
- Lessons from the social and behavioural sciences: driving action and innovation through social inclusion to empower future generations
Siri Chilazi, Research Fellow, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Social inclusion: a foundation for social innovation
- Why social innovation is important to tackle today’s social & environmental challenges
- Celebrating social inclusion: the power of diversity and contradiction . – What we need to draw from the social sciences to understand and promote social inclusion and innovation
Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London
Break
How the behavioural sciences are helping close the gender gap
- Evidence-based and effective actions that are helping close the gender gap in organisations
- Behaviourally-informed promising actions that have potential to close the gap
- Using behavioural insights to normalise flexible working and help close the gender gap
Leonie Nicks, Senior Advisor, The Behavioural Insights Team
The behavioural insights that will help understand and challenge racial inequality
- How the social and behavioural sciences explain racial inequality
- The behavioural tools that will help to reduce racial inequality
- Understanding the drivers behind the success of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement
- What can brands do to become more inclusive?
Stephanie Mensah, Co-lead for Diversity & Inclusion Research, Ipsos MORI
Lunch
The reality of talent management in employment settings
- Defining inequality in employment and its consequences to the workplace
- Behind the science: the reality of talent management and diversity in employment settings
- Why ‘Unconscious Bias’ training does not work and what to do about it
- Behaviourally informed solutions to drive social inclusion
Dr. Bindu Garapaty, VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Talent Development at Impossible Foods
Bridging the gap between insight and the social inclusion problem. Panel debate.
- Why should governments, corporations, social enterprises, charities, NGOs, think tanks, research organisations and associations collaborate to drive social inclusion
- What sciences and disciplines are fit for purpose to understand social inclusion
- What are the main gaps relevant to the use of evidence and insight in the space of social inclusion
- Using insight and social innovation to advance in the social inclusion space
Panel Members:
- Dr. Bindu Garapaty, VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Talent Development at Impossible Foods
- Ben Carpenter, CEO, Social Value International
- Hannah Kilshaw, Research Director, ICM Unlimited
- Stephanie Mensah, Co-lead for Diversity & Inclusion Research, Ipsos MORI
- Siri Chilazi, Research Fellow, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Remarks, next steps, and close.
SPONSORS
BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
- Learn from the comfort of your own chair from inspired speakers working in the space of sustainability, including programme professionals, academics and researchers.
- Platform powered by AI to help matchmaking.
- Connect with like-minded individuals and interact during and after the summit.
- Sessions can be recorded and also viewed after the conference.
