Be The Change, Make A Difference, an Asian Voice initiative in association with the Royal Air Force marked its first networking and panel discussion on 6 April 2022 at the House of Lords. The theme was ‘Diversity & Inclusion’. Welcoming the audience, Lord Raj Loomba CBE said, ''I have known Asian Voice and its Chairman CB Patel for over 20 years, and I am aware that this esteemed publication has been at the forefront of campaigning for several social causes. The topic for today's panel discussion, Diversity and Inclusivity, is a cause that is very close to my heart and one in which I am deeply involved worldwide through the Loomba Foundation. ''The Loomba Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary. During this time, we have educated over 10,000 children of poor widows in India and empowered over 20,000 impoverished widows in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi, Guatemala and Chile – irrespective of religion, gender, cast or creed. You will now understand why I said that diversity and inclusion is close to my heart. ''Prejudice and discrimination based on race, colour, gender identity and gender bias must be fought tooth and nail until they are completely eradicated from society. It is our collective responsibility to do so at every opportunity and I am delighted that we have Wing Commander Tracy Broome from the Royal Air Force and eminent speakers on our panel this evening to throw light on this important subject.'' Wg Cdr Tracy Broome in her presentation spoke about diversity and inclusion in the RAF. She said, “When I joined the Royal Air Force, the world was a different place. I was 19 years old, and now I'm a mother, with a daughter in the RAF. In the RAF we are constantly breaking barriers. My role is to attract people from diverse communities and make them think about a career in the Royal Air Force, because of the opportunities that the RAF has offered me.”The panellists for the evening were Anita Kaushal, co-founder of Mauli Rituals, a British brand of self-care products inspired by her Ayurvedic heritage, and Professor Jonathan AJ. Wilson, an Award-winning academic with two doctorates and over 200 pieces of published work.Both panelists shared their life experiences of navigating the challenges of belonging to ethnic minority communities and breaking barriers.Anita Kaushal said,“Perhaps I’ve subconsciously gone into a business which is part of my heritage because it feels a safer place to be? My parents owned corner shops because while it took great courage, it was an open door, when many others were shut. Growing up, I did face racism and I was stereotyped, but I did what my parents did, which was to work hard, lead with love and rise above fear and hatred. I believe we need to be aware and bring change and there are many ways to do this”Speaking about the challenges he faced as a black man in academia, Professor Jonathan A.J. Wilson said, "There are about a quarter of a million academics in the UK. Of those, there are about 23,000 at the top who are full-professors. However, out of the 23,000, only about 160 are black, and roughly 10 times as many are Asian compared with blacks - which is still too low, considering the high levels of ethnic representation across all staff and the student body." For these reasons, Prof Wilson said he feels so lucky. |
-
19th Dec 2025 | Updated at 08:51am 19th Dec 2025
Be The Change
Wednesday 13th April 2022 02:08 EDT
comments powered by Disqus
