Eastlight People Director headlines accessibility discussion at Anthropy UK

Tracy Wright, our People Director at Eastlight Community Homes, was a key speaker at the UK’s largest business conference, Anthropy, last week.

Tracy took to the stage inside the core of The Eden Project in Cornwall to speak on ‘How accessibility delivers business value and social good’.

Over the three-day event, leading executives, politicians and influencers across the public and private sectors came together to tackle the country’s biggest economic and social challenges, particularly around people, place and planet.

An impressive speaker line-up included Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London; Rita Clifton CBE, Deputy Chair of John Lewis Partnership; Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce; and Rachel Reeves MP, Shadow Chancellor of The Exchequer.

During her one-hour session, Tracy shared Eastlight’s journey in becoming more accessible and inclusive, how we’ve built a culture where difference is celebrated & valued, and the range of benefits for both our people, customers and business in doing so.

Tracy was joined by panellists Mike Adams OBE, Purple CEO; Jonathan Freeman MBE FRSA, Group Sustainability Director of CareTech Holdings; Kevin Cooper, Managing Director of EnableAll; and Sol Anitua, Executive Director of Strategy Research & Innovation for The Crown Estate.

Backed by her fellow speakers, Tracy advised businesses to reimagine how they engage with their people and communities to truly embed accessibility into the culture of the organisation. She called for urgency: senior leaders need to take stock and make active efforts to improve disability inclusion within their sectors.

“We have more work to do to wake the nation up to the social good that accessibility and inclusion brings to business and society,” Tracy said.

“Organisations need to amplify their voice if it’s ever to become the norm in business culture. But it also needs to be championed by their leadership teams, before it can be embraced and embedded into the business’ core values.

“I’m proud that Eastlight is leading in this space and continues to work hard to ensure that all our people, customers and communities feel empowered and respected. We will continue working in partnership with other organisations, such as Purple, to improve accessibility and inclusion at Eastlight and the wider business landscape in which we operate.”

Click here for more information about our equality, diversity & inclusion initiatives.

You can also read about our second-year partnership with Purple here.