Hannah Awonuga

Hannah Awonuga is a highly recognised diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategist, founder of the Inclusive Foundations Programme, and one of the UK's most credible voices on organisational culture transformation. With 17 years as Global DEI Director at Barclays, 80,000+ LinkedIn connections, and recognition as a 2025 Top 20 DEI Expert (UK), 2023 LinkedIn Top Voice in Gender Equality, and HR Magazine Top 25 DEI professional, Hannah brings proven capability to embed inclusion throughout organisational systems. Her expertise addresses comprehensive DEI strategy, building effective allyship, advancing gender and racial equity, and creating genuinely inclusive cultures. About Hannah Awonuga Hannah brings exceptional corporate DEI expertise combined with entrepreneurial leadership and recognised thought leadership credentials. Her corporate career spans two decades, with 17 years at Barclays as Global DEI Director—a substantial tenure requiring strategic oversight of diversity and inclusion initiatives across one of the world's largest financial institutions. This extended role position demonstrates deep expertise in embedding DEI throughout organisational systems, culture, transformation initiatives, and business performance metrics. A Global DEI Director at Barclays managed diversity and inclusion strategy across multiple geographies, business units, and operating models. This position required understanding how diversity and inclusion play out differently across markets, managing complex stakeholder relationships, translating board-level DEI commitment into operational change, and measuring DEI impact on organisational outcomes. Her subsequent role as Group Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Knight Frank, a leading global real estate services firm, demonstrates her continued relevance and impact across sectors. Her ability to drive meaningful DEI outcomes in both financial services and professional services contexts showcases her strategic adaptability and capability to translate DEI principles across different industry cultures, business models, and talent markets. Her entrepreneurial leadership as founder and CEO of the Inclusive Foundations Programme demonstrates commitment to DEI beyond corporate boundaries. Her own organisation focuses explicitly on embedding inclusion into organisational practice, reflecting her genuine passion for inclusion beyond corporate roles. Hannah's thought leadership extends significantly into public intellectual presence. With 80,000+ LinkedIn connections, she maintains substantial digital influence and reach within professional networks. Her contributions to DEI discourse appear regularly through speaking, writing, and commentary on contemporary inclusion challenges and opportunities. Her industry recognition as a 2025 Top 20 DEI Expert (UK), 2023 LinkedIn Top Voice in Gender Equality, and HR Magazine Top 25 DEI professional reflects peer recognition of her contributions to diversity and inclusion discourse. These accolades—awarded by industry bodies and peer networks—validate her status as a leading DEI authority recognised by the professional community. Key Achievements & Awards 17 years Global DEI Director at Barclays managing inclusion across major financial institution Group Head DEI at Knight Frank, leading global professional services firm Founder and CEO, Inclusive Foundations Programme 80,000+ LinkedIn connections with significant digital influence 2025 Top 20 DEI Expert (UK) recognition 2023 LinkedIn Top Voice in Gender Equality HR Magazine Top 25 DEI professionals 20+ years corporate experience embedding diversity and inclusion Expertise in DEI strategy, implementation, and sustainability across sectors Keynote Speaking Topics Developing Comprehensive DEI Strategies Comprehensive DEI strategy addresses diversity (representation across protected characteristics and beyond), equity (fair access, opportunity, and treatment), and inclusion (belonging, psychological safety, and cultural integration). Hannah's framework enables organisations to assess current state, identify strategic priorities, set measurable objectives, and design initiatives addressing system-level change rather than surface-level awareness. Creating Inclusive Organisational Cultures Inclusive cultures require shifting from diversity representation to genuine belonging. Hannah addresses how organisations can audit current culture against inclusion criteria, identify where exclusion occurs, redesign policies and practices to foster inclusion, build inclusive leadership, and measure cultural shift. Her approach emphasises culture change rather than diversity metrics alone. Embedding Inclusion in Business Systems Inclusion must be embedded throughout recruitment, onboarding, performance management, promotion, compensation, work flexibility, psychological safety, and talent development systems. Hannah explores how organisations can audit business systems for inclusion impact, design inclusive practices, and ensure inclusion is embedded throughout rather than marginalised as HR programme. Building Effective Allyship Across Organisations Allyship—where members of non-marginalised groups actively support inclusion—accelerates cultural change. Hannah addresses how to develop allyship capability, engage non-marginalised employees in inclusion work, build accountability for inclusion outcomes, and create cultural shifts where inclusion is everyone's responsibility rather than marginalised group responsibility. Gender Equality: Strategy and Implementation Gender equality remains a persistent challenge in most organisations, affecting representation, pay, career progression, and psychological safety. Hannah's framework addresses where gender inequality occurs, how to measure it, what interventions drive change, how to sustain progress, and how gender equality contributes to organisational performance and employee wellbeing. Racial Equity and Representation in Leadership Racial equity encompasses representation at all levels, career progression equity, psychological safety for racialised employees, and addressing racial bias in organisational systems. Hannah explores how organisations can advance racial equity, build inclusive leadership across racial lines, address systemic racism, and create organisations where racialised employees can bring full selves to work. Managing Multigenerational Workforces: Diversity and Inclusion Contemporary workforces span generations with different values, communication styles, and career expectations. Hannah addresses how organisations can build inclusive cultures respecting generational differences, leverage generational diversity as competitive advantage, address intergenerational tensions, and create workplaces where employees across generations feel included and valued. DEI Sustainability: Moving Beyond Annual Initiatives Many organisations implement DEI initiatives that fail to sustain or create system-level change. Hannah addresses how organisations can move beyond annual awareness campaigns to sustained cultural change, build accountability mechanisms ensuring ongoing progress, measure DEI outcomes authentically, and create institutional commitment to inclusion. Looking for a DEI or culture transformation speaker? Hannah Awonuga is available for corporate leadership events, board presentations, and organisational transformation initiatives. Contact Speaker Agency UK to check availability and discuss your event requirements.