The title of the 2025 Conference was "The Future of Equality Law" and it was held on Friday 6th March 2025 - it was an online event only.
Attendees were able to :
- Explore the new changes to the employers' duty to protect staff from sexual harassment at work;
- Learn how the most vulnerable are being supported in our legal system during an access to justice crisis;
- Consider discrimination in welfare benefits and assess ways to prevent discrimination in housing and disability accessibility situations, without the need of legislation, and
- be advised, and ask questions on, the latest developments on the increasing use of AI and its potential to discriminate.
In an ever-changing world, the 2025 DLA conference looked into the future of equality and asked: is the challenge of discrimination today increasingly more important than we've seen in the past?
You can view the speakers' slides and supporting materials in the attachments below.
Separate videos are available for each session - please contact the DLA Administrator for further details: [email protected].
Conference Programme
09:50 Welcome and introductions
10:00 Sexual harassment at work: where are we now?
Clare Armstrong (Principal (solicitor), Equality and Human Rights Commission)
slides
11:00 Discrimination in Welfare Benefits
Jagna Olejniczak (Policy Researcher , Citizens Advice)
slides
12:00 Break (tea/coffee)
12:15 Creating a Level Playing Field: the work of the court-appointed intermediary in facilitating communication between the justice system and people with communication
difficulties or differences.
Nicola Lewis (The Intermediary Cooperative)Discussion
slides
13:10 Lunch
14:00 Discussion Session - group discussion on current discrimination problems to find practical solutions without the need for legislation focussing on the following main issues:
- housing discrimination
- disability/accessibility
16:00 Break (tea/coffee)
16:10 Panel session: the future of discrimination law and the challenges of AI, with:
Robin Allen KC (Cloisters Chambers)
slides
paper
Yara Ali-Adib (Principal Lawyer - Equality & Human Rights Commission)
slides
Colin Davidson (Senior Associate, Cole Khan)
17.10 Close
Lastly, we’d love to hear from you about what you liked and didn’t like about the Conference - you can find the feedback form here