MRS Equality Summit 2025

08.45

Registration & coffee

09.15

Welcome from Jane Frost, CEO, MRS

09.20

Opening address from the Chair

• Highlighting the EDI business case

Josephine Hansom, Chair, MRS EDI Council

09.35

Panel: Why EDI is more important than ever 

The start of 2025 saw big global brands, such as Facebook and McDonalds, rowing back on EDI commitments. This change in rhetoric leads to big question marks over what this means for inclusivity and equity efforts in the UK. 
This panel session will address why EDI research continues to be so essential for brands looking for sustained growth and how the current environment may affect efforts.

• Championing best practice examples of how research has helped brands reach and understand different communities 
• Maximising the impact research on intersectional issues has on tailoring product and service delivery 
• Understanding how agencies can better support brands with research to drive their journey toward greater EDI
• Discussing the impact of global companies scaling back on their EDI commitments:
• how can brands and marginalised communities in the UK push forward in this climate?

Chair:
Priya Minhas, Equity Partner, Associate Director & Joint head of DE&I, Opinium
Panel:
Dr Elizabeth Webb, Head of Research, Age UK
Michael Brown, Managing Partner & Head of Insight& Research UK & EMEA, UM Worldwide
Additional panellists to be announced

10.05

Session introduced by: Daniel Singham, Commercial Director, Yonder Data Solutions & Lead, CORe - Colour of Research Group

Exploring the Stories of Black Hair and Skin

The SEEN Centre at Barnardo’s new Crowning Glory report highlights the impact of hair and skin discrimination on young Black children in the UK. Rooted in colonialism and slavery, this bias persists in schools, care systems, and workplaces, where Eurocentric beauty standards marginalise natural Black hair and skin. Examine the research journey and how key findings have informed recommendations for better inclusion and cultural awareness. 

Jerryanne Hagan-Tetteh, Senior Research Executive, ClearView Research
In conversation with
Ghino Parker, Director – SEEN, Barnardo's

10.40

Session introduced by: Annabelle Phillips, Founder AP Research & Lead, MRS Social Equity Group

Beyond compliance: a barrier-first approach to inclusive research
NatWest and Nile have been working together to challenge traditional approaches to diversity and inclusion in financial services. Rather than trying to "design for everyone," the partners have taken a barrier-first approach to understanding customer inclusion needs. When financial services work for those who are often underrepresented, they are improved for all customers.
In this session you’ll discover:

• How NatWest is embedding inclusion into research governance, reflection and decision-making
• Practical frameworks NatWest teams are using to design inclusively, in different times of project and team
• Why exclusion can be ethical when done thoughtfully
• The realities of making systemic change in financial services

Katherine Snow, Senior Service Designer, Nile
Grant Broome, Accessibility Director, Dig Inclusion
Leah Lockhart, Independent Consultant
Natasha Barnett-Hall, Head of Human-Centred Design, NatWest

11.15

Morning refreshments

11.45

Session introduced and chaired by: Christine Hemphill, Lead, MRS Unlimited 

Inclusive AI: the key to a future that works for everyone
AI will impact us all. If AI is designed without inclusivity, it risks reinforcing biases, deepening inequalities, and excluding marginalised communities from technological benefits. It is more important than ever that as an industry we have equitable and inclusive approach to AI and that we fully understand the role of research in that process.
This session showcases two research projects that are supporting inclusive AI research and innovation.

Disability+AI
Hear the latest findings from a research collaboration between Open Inclusion, the Institute of People-Centred AI - University of Surrey, and Royal Holloway, University of London, which collected insights from 500 individuals as well as 17 global experts in disability and AI working in policy, innovation, and disability advocacy. The research explores attitudes toward AI, its current usage, and three key applications: biometrics, voice user interfaces, and adaptive digital media.
Christine Hemphill, CEO, Open Inclusion

A collaborative approach to understanding how AI-powered digital assistive technology can assist disabled people
This session will present the rational, methodology and findings from a horizon scanning study that uncovered disabled people’s perceptions of the potential and risks of AI-powered digital assistive technologies (DigAT).
RiDC and the Royal Society, we will discuss how the research methodology was developed to fully engage with disabled people from diverse backgrounds. Discover how this collaborative approach, that put disabled people at the centre of every aspect of the research, enabled the Royal Society to achieve their goals and cemented the importance of deploying EDI practices in future AI-development and research.
Catherine Cashman, Associate Director of Research, Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC)
In conversation with
Charise Johnson, Policy Advisor, The Royal Society

12.30

Session introduced and chaired by: Sinead Hasson, Founder, Hasson Associates, & member of MRS EDI Council

Inclusive research: from intention to action
This interactive and practical discussion is designed to develop confidence and skills in delivering inclusive research. We’ll discuss the barriers researchers, project managers and clients face in making research practices more inclusive. And then provide some thinking and tools that could help to overcome those barriers.  
The session will be focused on the key questions that researchers and clients have about EDI when defining, structuring, sourcing & recruiting samples & when developing screeners and research approaches. Importantly, it will address certain questions people may feel uncomfortable raising.
Discover new ideas from Firefish’s Inclusive Research & Insights Playbook and resources, and gain practical guidance and tools to take away and apply immediately.  
Sophie Mason, Senior Project Manager, Firefish
Daniel Rose, Managing Director, Firefish
Susan Grandsoult, Co-founder, Equitas Insight

13.05

Lunch

14.05

Latest findings from the MRS Who do you think we are survey

Sam Curtis, Head of Digital Analytics, Kantar & member of MRS EDI Council

14.15

Balancing representation and self-identification: experiences of stigma in global majority communities

Cultural identity defies simple categorisation—it's a fluid, multifaceted concept shaped by ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and personal experience. Also, identity is not static. As people move through different environments and life stages, their cultural identity can evolve.
Using a recent Diabetes UK research project, Coco and Andy will explore how researchers can effectively capture the nuances of cultural identity in sampling while respecting the deeply personal nature of self-identification.

Coco Ravan, Senior Research Executive, Magenta
In conversation with
Andy Broomhead, Head of Communications and Volunteering, Diabetes UK

14.45

Panel: Addressing concerns over representation bias in synthetic data

Generative AI is rapidly transforming market research. But how can researchers be confident that the representation bias challenges posed by synthetic data are being adequately considered and managed? Join panellists to discuss:

• Challenges, risks and opportunities of AI tools and models for inclusive research

• Synthetic personas: how can we deliver rich, nuanced insights from synthetic data? What have trials shown so far?
• Managing representation bias in training data and in AI algorithms
• Developing best practice guides around AI and inclusive research practices

Chair:
Graham Idehen, General Manager – EMEA, Dscout & Lead, MRS Representation In Research Group
Panel:
Maya Ilic, Vice President of Communities Innovation, Ipsos
Hasdeep Sethi, Data Science Director, STRAT7 Bonamy Finch
Sabrina Trinquetel, MRS Advanced Insights and Analytics Council

15.15

Afternoon refreshments

15.40

Session introduced by: Sabrina Trinquetel, Co-Chair, MRSpride

Building a diverse workforce: breaking down entrenched barriers in football coaching
To support The FA’s commitment to build a more diverse workforce, England Football Learning (EFL) is focused on getting women from under-represented ethnic groups into active coaching.
This case study will show how a behavioural science led approach to driving systemic change in football coaching is overcoming generations of entrenched perceptions and cultural context to bring together ‘casual’ football with ‘serious’ FA structured coaching.
Anzie Huynh, Insight Director, Bryter
Shruti Saujani, Senior ED&I Lead, FA Learning
Kate Parker, Strategic Insight Lead, FA Learning

16.15

Session Led by Dr. Mark Thorpe, Board Director, Truth Consulting & Group Head of Thought Leadership and Senior Advisor, Instinctif Partners 

1. Participation matters: EDI initiatives that go ‘beyond buzzwords’  Scepticism about the authenticity of EDI initiatives risks unravelling recent progress towards more inclusive workplaces. This interactive workshop will commence with headline findings from The Young Foundation’s Beyond Buzzwords report which draws on insights from more than 7,000 UK professionals and urges a fresh approach to EDI in these professions, intended to drive systemic change.  Discover what these findings mean for approaches to delivering EDI initiatives within organisations.
Isabella Pereira, Head of The Institute of Community Studies, The Young Foundation 

2. Delivering impactful EDI initiatives
Part two of the workshop is an interactive session that will showcase initiatives from four organisations and encourage delegates to share experiences from their in-house initiatives. Discover and share new ideas on developing impactful EDI programmes.

• Understanding the critical building blocks of an impactful EDI initiative
• Demonstrating and embedding understanding of why EDI is so critical to organisations’ growth and commercial opportunities
• Building better workplace cultures: developing EDI programmes to build empathy with each other and customers
• Using data and insights to drive more impactful EDI initiatives

Bea Jones, Senior Insight Manager & Co-lead Gender Equity Employee Resource Group, Deliveroo
Katherine Billingham-Mohamed, Leadership and Engagement Director, Ipsos
Robyn Drysdale, Research Director, Ninth Seat
Clare Woodward, Insight Manager, BT, and Suzanne Martin, Insight Manager, BT

17.30

Closing remarks from the Chair followed by networking drinks reception