Sharing lived experience to drive meaningful action this Race Equality Week | Leeds Mindful Employer Network

Ahead of Race Equality Week 2026, the Leeds Mindful Employer Network explores this year’s theme, #ChangeNeedsAllOfUs; a powerful call for employers to move beyond statements of intent and take meaningful responsibility for creating inclusive, supportive workplaces.

Equity, inclusion, and lived experience in leadership

I’m Ayesha, the Director of Operations at Leeds Mind. My role is to oversee the quality, performance and continuous improvement of the range of mental health and wellbeing services we deliver here at the charity.

When workplaces reinforce stereotypes instead of safety

I have also had the displeasure of working in environments where I felt pressured to live up to a stereotype. I have had colleagues mimic an Americanised version of the ‘sassy black girl’ at me, had Jamaican accents thrown my way (my family are from Grenada), been offered fist bumps by my manager when everyone else had a handshake. I’ve also been outright called racial slurs at work, left with little support from management in these circumstances not due to a lack of care, but a lack of understanding. I found it unsustainable to continue in these workplaces, not only for the above, but for the general lack of understanding or advocacy to anyone who didn’t fit the mould. Resentment breeds discontentment, they say.

Why inclusion is essential for people and organisations

That’s why, in the workplace, this stuff matters. When people feel included and supported, they bring their best selves to work, which not only benefits the individual but also strengthens the organisation’s culture and performance. Diverse perspectives drive innovation, better decision-making, and stronger collaboration. Equality and inclusion aren’t just moral imperatives; they’re essential for building confident, empowered teams who stay with you. Not only from a racial perspective, but with respect to class, religion, disability, gender, whatever it is that makes staff who they are.

The mental health impact of discrimination

It is important for employers to know that discrimination can and does have a profound impact on a person’s mental health. From personal experience, I can say that the racism I experienced, mostly as a child, led to profound impact on my sense of identity. Low self-esteem, sadness, raging anger, resentment. Often, we accept the things that hurt us for the sake of fitting in and not making a fuss. And the more often it occurs, the more compounding an effect it has.

Supporting staff at risk of discrimination: Leeds Mind’s guidance

In December 2025, we put out our Guidance Document to all staff for ‘Supporting Staff At-Risk of Discrimination’. The document has guidance for line managers, staff at-risk, and for staff acting as allies, and there are certainly staff that fall under all of those categories depending on the nature of discrimination. We produced this guidance off the back of rising instances of hate crime in the UK, staff’s personal experiences and feedback on what would be helpful.

Keeping the work alive, visible, and evolving

My hope for this guidance is firstly that people feel assured we’re aware of what they may experience and that we will, in all cases, respond. Whether that’s through emotional support, practical action, policy change or anything they need in that instance. I hope that our staff acting as allies will feel empowered to step up their understanding and advocacy for colleagues experiencing discrimination, and that managers will take further meaningful steps in putting systems and structures in place to understand their staff’s experiences and respond.

Race Equality Week: why talking about it matters

This year marks Leeds Mind’s fourth year supporting Race Equality Week, a campaign focusing on driving equality in the workplace. This year’s theme is Change Needs All of Us, which for us feels incredibly timely given our focus not only supporting staff from culturally or ethnically diverse backgrounds, but also on how we can be allies to one another.

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