Dr Paul Stephenson, a key figure in the British civil rights movement and leader of the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, has died at age 87. Stephenson, who fought for racial equality and against workplace discrimination, passed away on Saturday after battling Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Leading the Bristol Bus Boycott Dr Stephenson’s work gained national attention when he led the Bristol Bus Boycott in 1963. The boycott was sparked when the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to hire Black and Asian drivers. This 60-day protest led to the company lifting its
The Black Founders Programme, by Digital Catapult and Sony Music UK, is back for its second year, supporting Black British entrepreneurs in creative technology. Ten new startups have joined the 2024 cohort, applying immersive technologies like virtual, augmented and mixed reality to creative industries. Supporting Black Deep Tech Innovation The initiative focuses on improving investment readiness through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and partnerships. Last year, over 80% of participants saw growth in investment readiness, securing key corporate partnerships and investor interest. This year’s cohort explores immersive technology in storytelling, music production,
The UK government has announced plans to introduce legislation requiring companies with 250 or more employees to disclose their ethnicity and disability pay gaps. This move, part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s agenda for the upcoming year, was unveiled by King Charles III and signals a significant shift towards greater workplace equality. Extending Equal Pay Rights The proposed race and disability equality bill will, for the first time, mandate British businesses to report on the pay disparities affecting ethnic minority and disabled workers. Previously, companies were only required to report
Social media influencers with darker skin tones and curlier hair textures earn substantially less than their counterparts, according to research from SevenSix Agency, a UK-based talent-management firm. Influencer Pay Gap: The Impact Of Skin Tone And Hair Type The report, published on June 4, surveyed 300 influencers of varying ethnic backgrounds, including Arab, Black, East Asian, Latinx, South Asian, and Southeast Asian, alongside their white counterparts. The findings show that influencers with a “deep dark” skin tone earn 44.63% less than those with a “light skin” tone. This pay gap
Black British anti-knife crime activist Shaun Thompson, 38, has launched a legal challenge against the Metropolitan Police. The police detained the 38-year-old after live facial recognition technology wrongly identified him as a suspect. ‘Stop and search on steroids’ Thompson, who volunteers with the Street Fathers youth outreach group, described the system as ‘stop and search on steroids’ following his 20-minute detention at London Bridge station earlier this year. Returning from a volunteer shift in south London, Thompson was wrongly flagged as a suspect on the Met’s facial recognition database, leading
Brand new Techish! Hosts Abadesi and Michael dive into: Starbucks and Apple are in their flop era Women on Bumble no longer have to make the first move Bank of America employees to strike following death from overwork The decline of the UK Listen on Spotify or Apple podcast also. Watch On YouTube
British legal tech company Definely has raised a $7 million (£5.6 million) Series A investment round to advance its GenAI proposition that helps draft, edit, and understand legal documents. Last year, the Microsoft- and Google-backed company released Vault. This tool leverages AI and OCR technology to analyze and extract key information and clauses from an organization’s internal contract repository. Vault then makes this information readily available to users directly within their documents, exactly when and where it’s needed. One Of The 50 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies In The UK Founded by two former
Wray & Nephew, the renowned Jamaican rum brand, has partnered with Foundervine to launch the third iteration of their ‘Wray Forward’ program. Research by Wray & Nephew found that 68% of Black entrepreneurs in the UK experience a lack of business tools and resources. Additionally, 76% think that having early access to the right tools could have accelerated their success. A fifth of Black entrepreneuers also needed help with fundraising. These findings underlined the need for support in the Black entrepreneurial community. The ‘Wray Forward’ Initiative The ‘Wray Forward’ initiative connects Black entrepreneurs
Belong, a London-based fintech startup has recently launched out of stealth, following a €3.4 million ($3.6 million) pre-seed funding. This achievement marks the largest pre-seed round ever raised by female founders in Europe. Helping millenials build wealth Millennials are the first generation in history to be worse off than their parents financially. Belong was established in 2023 by former investment banker Avion Gray and behavioral economist Samantha Rosenberg to change this. Nick Hungerford, a pioneer in European fintech, brought together co-founders Gray and Rosenberg. Hungerford’s legacy continues to influence the company, even after passing in July 2023. “We
Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) firms in the UK now prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), a new report claims, with AI tools playing a significant role in this transformation. The findings come from a recent Workday survey, Global Blueprint for Belonging and Diversity, with views from CEOs and leaders in HR, IT, and finance. Can AI Support DEI Programs? The report found that overall, having the right technology stack is essential and can be critical in enabling DEI. In particular, it was found that there is a significant correlation between AI adoption and effective
