Keynote Speeches
Why Diversity Matters
Why Diversity Matters
Why Diversity Matters
‘Why diversity matters’ is a 15-30 minute keynote speech that I deliver to organisations.
Using a deeply personal, authentic and warm communication style, I share my personal leadership journey, highlighting key aspects of diversity and why diversity matters.
I touch on core themes including race, ethnicity, gender and social mobility.
I also use an impactful, data-driven approach to build the business case for diversity within organisations, clearly explaining why it is important to move from diversity to inclusion, belonging and equity.
The keynote speech is followed by an interactive Q&A session with the organisation's audience.
By the end of this 1-hour session, you will have a firm grasp of the road map from diversity to equity and be prepared to build upon this knowledge with further diversity programmes, training and a sustainable action plan.
Climbing Mountains
Why Diversity Matters
Why Diversity Matters
‘Climbing Mountains’ is a 30-minute keynote speech that I deliver to student populations.
Using a deeply personal, authentic and warm communication style, I share my personal leadership journey, highlighting the numerous barriers that I have faced as a Black woman progressing her career within the corporate world.
I cover key themes surrounding identity, diversity, equity and inclusion including race, ethnicity, gender and social mobility.
I share my 5 top tips for successfully overcoming challenges in a practical and relatable way whilst also explaining why it is that we should all aim to lead with an inclusive leadership style that is anchored by resilience. Importantly, I also share a list of useful resources for students.
The keynote speech is followed by a 30-minute, interactive Q&A session with the student audience.
By the end of this 1-hour session, students will feel more empowered to maximise their potential.
Testimonials
'Why Diversity Matters' testimonials
“It was a pleasure to meet you and to listen to you speak so knowledgeably and with such passion about these issues. We have had the most amazing feedback already and we are very grateful! Thank you very much again.”
- Partner, top tier, Legal 500 UK law firm
“That was fab – thank you so much! The attendance was high and remained high throughout and the feedback has been really positive!”
- Senior Associate, top 30 UK law firm
“Thank you for facilitating our two workshops – the content and delivery were excellent, and we were really happy to see the level of engagement and thought-provoking questions being asked (in the first session we peaked at 100 participants, 85 yesterday ). The feedback from our staff has been overwhelmingly positive and set us up very well to carry on our momentum with Black History Month and our longer-term initiatives.”
- Senior Leader, global banking group
“Absolutely fantastic! Thank you for bringing your whole self into this. And what a clear exposition of case [for diversity and inclusion]. I thought your 4-level model [diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity] was fantastic. I am going to be using that within my [senior leadership] team”.
-Local Authority Chief Executive Officer
“Thank you so very much for your time on today as the Keynote Speaker supporting [our] Pan-African Employee Network. Such an awesome and educational presentation. Many blessings to you.”
- Senior Leader, global insurance group
"She is a truly inspiring individual, an extremely powerful public speaker and an excellent advocate. She spends the time to get to know your business and what it is trying to achieve and caters her offering to ensure those needs are met with the right balance."
- Senior Leader, Education Technology company
"Funke is an inspirational speaker who relates to her audience brilliantly, providing practical advice and support."
- HR Director, National Housing Group
"Prof Abimbola is a natural at what she does and I will definitely recommend her for speaking engagements at any level."
- Senior Communications Leadership, Healthcare sector
'Climbing Mountains' testimonials
All of these testimonials were provided by either senior leadership team members or students within a mixture of both school and University settings.
“Talking in a way that engaged everyone and challenged them - being an all-male school, having Funke speak in a way that some would have found surprising was excellent.”
“Several students stayed behind to personally thank her for her talk and the inspiration it instilled in them.”
“We could have gone on much longer as there were more questions to come. About 15 students waited behind to ask individual questions.”
“The key message was about diversity and advice as to how to overcome challenges - there were lots of other sub messages. In an all-boys’ school, with a large minority of non-white students it was especially important to hear from a black woman about what challenges she has faced.”
“Funke’s work to expand diversity is amazing and I hope to be a trailblazer one day as well.”
“Funke’s story really resonated with me and I admire her ambition, personal journey, and commitment to diversity.”
“As someone who is potentially interested in going into corporate law but can't imagine compromising my passion for socio-cultural issues, Funke’s story gave me hope and reassurance that I can do and be both a corporate lawyer and a champion for diversity and inclusion.”
“Funke was amazing and I loved how motivational her talk was.”
"Amazing talk really made me think about what I need to do in order to do well."
"Thanks for the links to work experience on Speakers for Schools."
'"I now want to be a lawyer!"