Championing fair work: A path to excellence

Author – Rebecca Adams | Rumpus PR

REG Connect 2025

On July 2nd, pro-manchester hosted the inaugural Racial Equity Group (REG) Connect at Bridgewater Hall – a powerful and energising half-day event dedicated to advancing racial equity in business. Themed “Championing fair work: a path to excellence”, the event brought together professionals, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders to examine what true equity in business looks like beyond boardroom diversity, through to organisational culture, leadership accountability, and tangible systemic change.

Setting the tone

Opening the day, Sam Booth – Chief Executive of pro-manchester, and Nicola McCormick – Chief Operating Officer of pro-manchester, set the tone by introducing REG Connect as more than conversation and instead a space to listen, learn and lead with purpose. With racial equity often positioned as a reactive or aspirational topic, REG Connect pushed forward a more proactive stance. The 2025 theme called on all sectors to take ownership of the systems they influence, with an emphasis on three pillars: representation, education, and accountability. McCormick highlighted, “discomfort is where the growth happens,” and the event embraced this ethos wholeheartedly.

Emile Heskey on resilience and representation

One of the day’s most anticipated sessions came in the form of an intimate conversation between football legend Emile Heskey and wellbeing consultant and REG Connect Chair, Ngozi Weller. Titled ‘Breaking through the system: race, resilience and leading in the spotlight’, their discussion peeled back the layers of Heskey’s lived experience – from the highs of playing for Liverpool and England, to the lows of public scrutiny and enduring racism both on and off the pitch.

Heskey reflected on the need for resilience, particularly as a black man in sport, recalling how his upbringing and father’s discipline instilled the mindset of ‘working twice as hard’ to be seen and respected. He spoke candidly about facing racial abuse during international matches and the emotional labour involved in constantly needing to prove himself. Representation was a strong thread, as he highlighted the lack of black leadership in football despite the number of black players in the game. The solution, he argued, must involve systemic intervention, including the introduction of quotas to force progress. “We’ve tried waiting,” he said. “If you want real change, you have to build it in.”

Challenges and opportunities in business

The panel that followed brought together five powerful voices to explore ‘The future of racial equity in business – challenges and opportunities’. Facilitated by Reshma Sheikh of MSDUK, the panel featured Zahoor Ahmad – Head of social mobility, inclusion and belonging at the Co-op, Professor Monder Ram Director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) for Aston University and entrepreneurs Wayne Bennett and Leslie Owusu of Gazelle, each offering distinct but overlapping perspectives on navigating business as a person of colour in the UK.

For Ahmad, the challenge was structural. Having worked in diversity and inclusion across sectors, he underscored how persistent inequality is often disguised as a lack of pipeline, when in fact it’s a gatekeeping problem. The emotional toll of pushing against these systems, often from the inside, was palpable. Professor Ram brought an academic lens, speaking about how ethnic minority entrepreneurship is often overrepresented in numbers but underrepresented in influence. The problem, he said, is a lack of systemic support which he referred to as a trust deficit that can only be overcome through sustained relationship-building between business and community.

Both Bennett and Owusu offered entrepreneurial counterpoints, speaking from personal experience about the blocks they faced in corporate spaces and the determination it took to build businesses outside those systems. Owusu spoke of moving from feeling excluded to realising the power of visibility: “A year ago, I never imagined I’d be on a stage like this. That’s why I’m here – to show others it’s possible.” Meanwhile, Sheikh challenged the audience to move beyond tokenism: “Less than 1% of corporate contracts go to minority-owned businesses. That’s not an oversight – it’s a systemic failure.”

Collaboration, advice, and action

The afternoon’s breakout sessions were a standout feature of the event, offering an extremely collaborative and engaging space where attendees could speak directly with expert facilitators and peers. Rather than passive panels, these roundtables created space for participants to bring forward their own business challenges, questions, and experiences, receiving practical advice and guidance specific to their needs.

Discussions explored the systemic barriers that hinder equitable career progression, the challenges minority-owned businesses face in accessing corporate supply chains and finance, and the urgent need to build workplace cultures where belonging is not just a slogan but a lived reality.

Themes ranged from reimagining leadership pipelines and procurement processes to addressing regional inequalities and improving access to capital. What united all these conversations was a focus on practical, actionable solutions and a shared commitment to turning talk into transformative change.

Building an infrastructure for equity

As the afternoon drew to a close, Ngozi Weller and Wayne Bennett, co-chairs of REG, shared a compelling vision for the future. REG, they said, is not about running events, it’s about building an infrastructure for equity. They announced the launch of the REG Database, a directory of racially diverse professionals and businesses designed to help procurement teams and collaborators find diverse talent without excuses. The vision is bold: scale REG Connect into the black and ethnic minority business show of the North, creating deeper access to opportunity, and stopping the deflection of diversity in conversations in inserting platitudes about pipelines.

“Manchester has a gatekeeping problem,” Weller declared. “We see colour in the room, but not in decision-making. That’s not equity – that’s deflection.”

Final reflections and the power of relationships

Bringing the day to a close was keynote speaker Tash Pennant – advisor to the Department for Business and Trade. Her inspiring talk, ‘The Power of Networking’, reminded attendees that change doesn’t just happen through policy or programmes, but through people. She urged the audience to nurture their networks with integrity, generosity, and intention, not just focusing on what they can get, but on what they can give.

Reflecting on a powerful day, Sam Booth wrapped up the event with thanks to sponsors Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Salford, acknowledging the momentum REG Connect had created and the shared responsibility to carry it forward.

REG Connect closed as it began – not just as a conversation, but as a call to listen, learn, and lead with purpose, embracing the discomfort that drives real and lasting change.