A South Tyneside entrepreneur who left her field of work after suffering workplace discrimination is to give a talk to the borough’s businesses around neuroinclusivity.
Rosie Brightly, founder of Divergent Consulting, will take centre stage at South Tyneside Council’s Recruit Well, Retain and Empower event on March 14th to help business leaders understand how they can ‘make the most of the brains in their business’.
A former teacher turned engineer, Rosie quit her job after feeling discriminated against for her neurotype, Rosie has been on a mission to prevent others from feeling excluded at work, by educating businesses about the many benefits of building a more neuroinclusive workplace.
Neuroinclusivity refers to creating environments, policies, and practices that accommodate and celebrate the diversity of neurological experiences and abilities. This allows individuals with neurological conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia to benefit from a more inclusive environment that respects and supports the needs of all individuals, regardless of their condition.
Since setting up her own consultancy in January 2022, she has advised dozens of businesses on how to ensure staff feel safe, free to be themselves and are maximising their potential and hopes the event will provide a platform to help others ‘understand more about the many benefits of being neuroinclusive.’
Rosie said:
“I’m delighted to be speaking at the Recruit Well, Retain and Empower event in South Shields on 14th March.
“Since launching Divergent Consulting in January 2022, I’ve helped numerous clients understand the huge array of benefits of becoming neuroinclusive, such as improving their workforce, creating a more inclusive company culture and increasing productivity and output, so it will be great to share this with an even wider audience.
“As a borough, we’re fortunate to have a really skilled workforce and fantastic businesses that are really at the forefront of their industries, but there are still so many people who feel alienated from the world of work, or from pursuing their dream careers, due to just having conditions such as ADHD or dyslexia.
“That is why embracing neuroinclusivity is so important and why we are so thrilled to be supporting this campaign. Even if we can inspire one business to re-think their processes and improve conditions for their existing or potential staff, we could make a huge difference not only to their business, but the lives of their employees.”
Rosie – who was one of the first business owners to sign the South Tyneside Pledge, a commitment for local businesses to provide more opportunities to one another – will also delve into the legal requirements of today’s businesses when it comes to providing for neurodiverse employees, particularly the legislation included within the 2010 Equality Act.
She added: “Becoming more neuroinclusive isn’t just about looking after your staff and improving your bottom line, it’s also about being legally compliant with the equality act which stipulated in 2010 that neurodivergent workers meet the legal definition of disability.
“This means businesses in the borough who fall foul of supporting their employees and not doing all they can to become more inclusive could potentially face significant fines or worse, so it really is a topic that should be at the top of their agenda for a multitude of reasons.”
The free Recruit Well, Retain and Empower event will take place on March 14 at One Trinity Green, South Shields between 9.30am – 12pm.
Aside from the keynote speech from Rosie, the event will also include a Business Talk and small exhibition providing an array of information about the Better Health at Work Award, the Disability Confident Scheme and South Tyneside Council’s support for carers.
Cllr Margaret Meling, lead member for economic growth and transport at South Tyneside Council, said:
“Nobody should have to go into work feeling as though they don’t belong, aren’t good enough or welcome, so we are delighted to have Rosie joining us to talk about such an important topic.
“By taking a more proactive approach towards recruitment and unlocking the potential of all members of our community, we can help create a more equitable, inclusive business community that works for everyone.
“I’d encourage any local businesses to attend and join us for what should be a great, hugely informative event.”
For more information on the Recruit Well, Retain and Empower event or to sign up, please visit: https://investsouthtyneside.com/event/recruit-well-retain-and-empower-business-talk/
Rosie will also be delivering a workshop as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week about the many benefits of embracing neurodiversity in the workplace. For more information or to sign up, please visit: https://investsouthtyneside.com/event/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace/
