Joanne Conway BSc MSc on LinkedIn: The voice of peace and unity will always be louder and stronger I have… (2024)

Are you being driven or are you the driver of your destiny, and does it matter?Someone whose opinion I really value once said to me that I was one of the most conscientious people they ever metGreat right? That's a positive, it shows how hard working I am..To some extend this is positive, I have always been extremely conscientious and prided myself on itBut to what cost..The reality is it's really difficult, if not impossible to keep delivering so much without a determinantal impact, whether that's physical or mental health, friendships, family or something elseOn reflection it made me really think about my "why" and my "what", why do I take on so much and what is it that drives me The truth is it's a combination, some really positive - I love learning, I love solving problems, I build trust and relationships quickly which means I gain responsibility and am trusted with stretch project, additional projects - all of which have made me a great leaderThe other side stems from my identity and my experiences growing up, some of which includes growing up in a lower socio economic environment, a dysfunctional childhood and there are many other factors. All of us are complex and how we have experienced the world will shape how we show up todayMy point is that by doing the reflection it gave me a better understanding of why I do what I do, which gives me better control over my destiny and let go of what no longer serves meHow do you make sure you are the driver and not the passenger in your life?#careeradvice #alwayslearning #classgap #passiton

29

1 Comment

There is something special about being nominated by your peers ✨ Earlier this year asked 446 international diversity, equity and inclusion professionals the question - ‘Which diversity and inclusion leader inspires you the most?’, as part of the d&i Leaders Global Benchmarking Survey 2024.The work I do goes way beyond the "day job", it is part of my core, my values and I make the most of the platform I have to advocate for equity and inclusion Which is why I appreciate this recognition, alongside some of my peers and friends who are real change advocates, including Hannah Awonuga | Devi Virdi | Jatin Patel | Jenn Barnett | Nina Goswami FRSA | Sal Naseem FRSACongratulations to all recognised Big shout out to all those not on the list but are doing the work. Just because it is not seen or on a list doesn't mean it is not getting done - I see you! 👐 💛 #change #inclusion #celebrate

86

26 Comments

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 / 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝖨𝗇 𝗅𝗂𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖲𝗁𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗅., 𝗆𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝖼𝗍𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁 𝗌𝗎𝗉𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖺𝖼𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 (𝖾.𝗀., 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗋, 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝗂𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝖼𝗂𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗂𝗇𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀) 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 (𝖾.𝗀., 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝖽𝗂𝖿𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖺𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌, 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖼𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗌)𝖠𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖾𝗏𝗈𝗅𝗏𝖾𝖽 𝗌𝗈 𝗍𝗈𝗈 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗉𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝖺𝗇 𝖾𝗇𝗏𝗂𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖾𝗆𝗉𝗅𝗈𝗒𝖾𝖾𝗌W𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝗈𝗅𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗅𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅 𝗂𝗇 𝖺𝗇 𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗌𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝖾𝗇𝗏𝗂𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 (𝖭𝗂𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗂 & 𝖫𝖾𝗋𝗈𝗒, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟤)𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝖻𝗒 (𝖲𝗁𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗅., 𝟤𝟢𝟣𝟪) 𝖽𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗂𝗍𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝗁𝖺𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗂𝗈𝗋 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗍𝗈 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗌𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝖥𝗋𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗐 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝖲𝗁𝗈𝗋𝖾, 𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗅, 𝟤𝟢𝟣𝟣. 𝖨𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖣𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖶𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝖦𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗉𝗌: 𝖠 𝖱𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖬𝗈𝖽𝖾𝗅 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖥𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖱𝖾𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁𝖭𝗈𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗈𝗑 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗂𝖽𝖽𝗅𝖾, 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝖨 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗋𝗎𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗆𝗌 𝗈𝖿, 𝗂𝗍'𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗱𝗼 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗂𝗍'𝗌 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗌𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗏𝗂𝖽𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍𝖥𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝖾, 𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗉𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖻𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽, 𝗈𝗎𝗍𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖽𝖣𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗍𝖾? 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝖽𝖽?#inclusion #inclusiveleadership #belonging #doctoralstudent

32

14 Comments

Why belonging? The power of belonging is backed by a great amount of research, and its impact is beginning to be more widely noticed and measured. One of the most compelling research pieces shows that we are genetically motivated towards connection and belonging - it’s how we survive and thrive. According to Greg Walton, a psychologist at Stanford University, actions taken to mitigate threats to a sense of belonging help significantly reduce stress levels, consequently improving physical health, emotional wellbeing, and performance.He also found that the sense of not belonging is widespread, yet few people openly express that feeling. People often think they are the only ones who feel that they don’t fit in but, in reality, it’s a very common feeling. Therefore, creating a wide sense of belonging can become a competitive advantage for any company What can you do?Make time tocheck inwith your colleagues, even a simple "are you okay?" has proven to significantly increase a sense of belongingTake afair and transparentapproach. Share news or knowledge with all members of your team and provide everyone with equal access to career development opportunitiesBe curious- for example, joining a Network is a meaningful way to build relationships with people who may not otherwise be in your network and can be a great way to broaden perspectivesIt takes all of us to create a sense of belonging. Even the smallest action can go a long way towards making someone feel connected, valued and understood. What else would you add?#belonging #inclusion #action

55

9 Comments

The UK Social Mobility Awards are about making the advancement of social mobility a key part of how organisations are run in this countryI have personally seen the commitment and genuine investment on the Social Mobility agenda from DLA Piper so am delighted to see this recognised in the 2024 UK Social Mobility AwardsThis commitment is leader led, including by our Social Mobility Network Partner Sponsors, Sandra M Wallace CBE, and Lorraine ReaderVincent Keaveny CBE, DLA Piper Partner is chair of Progress Together, who tackle the issue of socio-economic diversity at senior levels across UK financial servicesA great example of how we are contributing to this important agenda is our commitment to the Pathway to Law Programme with The Sutton TrustPathways to Law is completely free (including travel) and provides support in accessing higher education, training in soft skills, and understanding careers in Law with incredible work experience opportunities. Each year we host up to 50 students on the Pathways to Law programme in our offices around the UK for a weeklong work placement where they participate in a range of employability and soft skills workshops/activities. The Pathways to Law programme provides a range of support from employability and soft skills training, work placements, university taster sessions, mentoring ✨ Of course there is a massive amount of effort and drive across many teams that underpins this commitment including from Hannah Ecroyd Little Katie Garman Irene Adeyinka Sana Butt Claire Lindsay Clare M. Hannah Pastuszka and so many others 💜 #somos2024 #socialmobility #pathwaytolaw

74

5 Comments

What gets in the way, and why should we do it anyway?The power of combining academia and practical experience One of the reasons I decided to study for a DBA which is a doctorate that requires a contribution to academia and solving a complex business problem is my love for combining evidence based research with real practical and tangible solutions for the business. I like to have a deep understanding, the "why" and then be able to translate that to recommended measurable action for change, the "what" and the "how" This role of combining academia and practical experience has been coined as a pracademic 💡 Sharing a snippet from my research paper on this topic ✍ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆There are several factors to be considered when decided whether to adopt a collaboration between academia and practice.According to Rynes & Bartunek, (2001) these include:·potential research bias and integrity risk in favouring corporate interest ·boundaries and limitations set by the organisation will limit the research ·limited scope that are of interest in research management as opposed to broader social science issuesPractitioners who have not been exposed to the research process can be inexperienced with the culture and ways of working within academia which can lead to frustration regarding timelines and protocols (Powell et al., 2018).Despite the above cautions, there is still encouragement for greater collaboration across academia and practitioners. Some of the tensions referred to have been found to improve knowledge creation and there is an argument that increased contact with practitioners should improve the quality of academic research (Rynes, 2007).𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀Close collaboration between academia and industry have a multitude of benefits. It enables academia to stay on top of industry trends and consider how their research can maximise impact to business. There is a recognition that the data that organisations hold can be of great interest to researchers, but with heightened sensitives around data protection it can be difficult to access without building trusting relationships. It is clear accessing data and populations of interest is of upmost importance to researchers and by nature of their role and proximity to business leaders, practitioners can bridge that gap between academia and industry. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰Pracademics are described as adaptable, boundary-spanning brokers and cross-pressured actors who “serve the indispensable roles of translating, coordinating, and aligning perspectives across multiple constituencies” (Posner, 2009, p. 16)Image below of 2 circles, practitioner is in the first and academia is in the second. There is an arrow from the circles that points to the word pracademic#academic #practitioner #doctoratestudent #colloboration #pracademic

22

2 Comments

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 ? “You’re housing estate was the worst place to live in the county”This was said to me just last week when introduced to someone I’d never met…I took the comment how it was intended, with no malice, but it did stick with me and get me thinking .. So many times over the years I have been met with surprise, and sometimes genuine shock when I’ve shared where I grew upThere’s a perception that people “𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲” don’t come from estates “𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁”There are assumptions and stereotypes made about people from all postcodes, those defined as affluent and those defined as underserved and none of it is helpful 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀, yes it’s part of our identity and I’m proud of mine but we are so much more than one aspect of our lives ❤️Ironically, when I googled an image of a home to share with this post, not one image popped up that represented any of the homes I’ve ever lived in 🙄 they all looked like this 🏡So I googled one of the homes I lived in as a teenager, image below of Stonebridge Flats, Harlesden, London, UK - image is a number of grey high-rise tower block𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 ? #class #discuss #socialmobility #stereotyping

83

19 Comments

Watch me...So many times in my early career I heard not quite ready or not quite enough In those moments, even when I may have felt disillusioned, there was always a spark inside me that thought - watch me do it 🙌 Left school at 16 with no A-levels, so no access to traditional university ❌ Worked full time whilst doing a degree in Psychology with the The Open University ✔ Applied for a Masters at University, told my degree wasn't a first so have to do a grad cert in HR for a year (despite being in a leadership role) ❌ Completed the Grad Cert and went on to get a distinction in my Masters in HR at night school✔ 16 year old me who left school due to personal circ*mstances would never have believed that I would be now studying for a doctorate, the highest level of education 📚 I guess my point is, you don't have to take the traditional route AND it doesn't have to be timebound Resilience, determination and grit have played a massive part of my successes and while it may have took longer, I have learned so much!What keeps you motivated at times like this? #motivation #grit #alwayslearning #career Picture below of me and my daughter on my Masters graduation day in 2019 at The University of Salford- walking away from the camera ⬇

379

76 Comments

I met my sister for the first time when I was 17Not my half sister, just my sister ❤️ She had been adopted at 6 months old - times in the 70s were hard in Ireland for single parents like my mam who had no family to support financiallyWhen you look at us you may not immediately see the similarities but the minute we start to talk you can see how alike we are, in our mannerisms, in our interests and in our heartsShe has now been in my life longer than she hasn't and I am a better person because of itThis year at DLA Piper for Pride Month we focused on the theme ‘We Are Family’. To showcase what family means to different people, we asked our colleagues to submit a photo and tell us why family is important to them. Watch this video to read thoughts from our international colleagues#PrideMonth #Family

98

9 Comments