About

Currently, just two percent of tradespeople in the UK are female, a statistic that has barely changed in 40 years. The trades can offer a hugely fulfilling career to women, yet there remains a gap in the number of women joining the profession.

By drawing on insights from leaders who have championed diversity initiatives, we’ll explore how organisations can break down barriers and enhance opportunities for women in trade careers.

Yvonne Luu, Director at Purpose Union, brings expertise from her work with the Peabody Community Foundation, where she led strategic communications and collaborated with partners to attract more diverse candidates to trade roles, particularly in meeting Section 106 obligations. Currently advising clients across a range of sectors, she leads on equity, diversity and inclusion focused strategy and programme development to tackle some of the most challenging issues faced by organisations today.

Lewis Iwu, CEO and Co-Founder of Purpose Union, Lewis leads the EDI Practice and specialises in advising organisations on devising and executing impactful strategies on a range of equality issues. Over the past 15 years, he has worked with some of the world's most influential organisations and individuals on EDI including Mission 44, Unilever, Sky, the UN, Black Equity Organisation, BP, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Sanofi and others. He has written about EDI issues for The Economist, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The New Statesman and has made numerous TV and radio appearances. He has also given a TEDx talk about social mobility.

We hope you can join us for what promises to be an insightful and informative session.