Award-winning inclusivity expert to speak at USW conference

USW is delighted to welcome Sal Naseem, Policing and Inclusive Culture Expert, to the inaugural Culture in Public Service conference on 20 June.

Sal is Senior Associate Fellow at The Police Foundation, an independent panel member at the National Fire Chiefs Council, and a Trustee at the Centre for Justice Innovation. Suffice to say, he brings a wealth of expertise to address the conference at ICC Wales.

He said: “I will be talking about the importance of inclusive culture and about addressing elephants in the room. I might be considered controversial but everything I say is based on real-life experience of leading culture work in some really difficult environments.”

Sal was the first South Asian and Muslim to hold the post of Regional Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, where he spent the best part of a decade working in the police accountability framework in England and Wales.

“I don't think anybody that goes on stage should be saying that I can change people's minds. I don't proclaim to have that power. But what I try to do is leave people with reflections based on storytelling,” he added.

Sal recognises that these conversations are not new but that does not make them less important. He said: “Culture in public service is topical, as are the consequences when culture is not curated properly by leaders. It is always being spoken about but if change was so easy why are there been so many books written about culture? Why are there so many people speaking about culture? It's not an easy thing to do but it’s vital for those at the sharp end - the victims.”

One of Linked In’s Top Voices, Sal is passionate about discussing the importance of inclusive cultures and the damage caused by toxic cultures. When asked if the UK has progressed in terms of racism and misogyny, he said: “Progress has been made, but not enough. There's an organisational acceptance around the growing body of work around equality, diversity and inclusion. Alongside this, society’s expectations have changed. For instance, my children have an entirely different and legitimate expectation of what the workplace should be for them and how they belong in it, which means the bar has been raised. But does discrimination and bias still exist? Of course it does.

“However, the work in changing culture doesn't need to be so hard but it can be done with brave leadership. All we are talking about is fairness.”