After months of hard work, TapIn’s This is Black Gen Z Research Report was launched in an event in Manchester on the 13th of July 2022.
The report was industry-first research that looked into the gaps that exist between Black Gen Z in Britain and the world of employment. The aims were to discover why this group was so underrepresented in most industries, what motivates them to apply to roles and what keeps them with employers.
To collect this data, over 2,000 Black Gen Z were surveyed. And to understand the experiences that lay behind these statistics, in-depth interviews were also conducted with 50 of the interview participants.
In the spirit of the report, the launch event was focused on creating conversation and providing a space for the voices and opinions of Black Gen Z to be heard. The day was hosted by the extraordinary Kamiliah5Star, who kept the energy high and charmed the crowd along the way.
The morning session was kicked off with a keynote speech from Mike Omoniyi. An award-winning speaker and entrepreneur, Mike set aside time to talk about how mentorship can be a cornerstone of inclusion for diverse employees and looked at the value in holding the door open for those who come behind you through mentoring - no matter what stage you are at.
Following this, we dove straight into the research itself, with a presentation of the findings and interactive sessions for everyone at their table to discuss what they thought about it. Some of the findings that stood out where that only 31% of Black Gen Z felt that they could be their authentic self in the workplace as well as the fact that visible diversity and inclusion from an employer is very important to Black Gen Z when considering jobs to apply to - they even do their own research on websites and social media to determine authenticity.
It was around this point that Amai Bites laid out a delicious African-Caribbean lunch to boost everyone’s energy at the halfway point of the day. We’re attaching some photos below here so try not to drool over your keyboard!
After a satisfying meal as well as a fantastic dance performance from Shey Dance Group, we premiered a series of three documentaries made by Shifting Culture. Each one focused on a different individual and what their experience has been being black in the workplace.
The day continued with the Black Brilliance panel, which brought together young black individuals that are thriving in their fields. George Obolo and Oyinda Adeniyi, co-founders of The Black Excellence Network were involved along with Aaron Christopher, Tiana Holgate and Melody Stephen. They spoke about their perspective on the issue, as well as shared wisdom on how they felt employers can do better.
This was followed by a talk on personal branding with CEO and founder of OSSAI, Philip Ossai. And lastly, the day of conversation was closed with an employer panel, where representatives from the UN, Clifford Chance, West Midlands Police and Newton Europe Consulting came together to talk about what their company’s currently do for inclusion, and what they took from the day that would help them improve on those efforts.
We could not have asked for a more engaged audience, and we can’t wait to see the continued discussions that this research ignites. 🔥
This is just the beginning.
If you would like to take a look at the full report, click this link! And take a look at the event highlight video below, put together by the incredibly talented Shifting Culture agency!