Who we are
RIDI is chaired by Kate Headley, Government Disability Access Ambassador for the Recruitment sector and Director of the Clear Company.
About RIDI
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) is a national, voluntary group with one purpose: to break down the barriers faced by the millions of disabled people who are entering or progressing through the job market.
We work in partnership with businesses to provide practical, proactive advice so they can build disability confidence into recruitment and employment strategies.
Find out more about how you can progress your Disability Confident journey with RIDI Pioneers.
Central to making this happen are the RIDI Executive team and sponsors, an invaluable team of industry leaders and recruitment experts sharing disability confident best practice and thought leadership.
Find out more about our Executive Team, or how to become a sponsor.
The RIDI story
Our joint initiative started in 2011 when we realised that things had to change to improve the poor job prospects for disabled people. At the time, eighty-five per cent of disabled people felt that their condition was holding them back from getting a job. And eighty per cent of recruiters agreed with them and thought their companies needed to do more to attract disabled jobseekers.
So we sat out to transform recruitment and improve job prospects for disabled people. The aim was to work with the industry, not against it, and to give recruiters and employers the information and tools they need to change things.
In 2014 we came together for the first time to celebrate progress on disability in recruitment at a spectacular RIDI Awards ceremony. The RIDI Awards have celebrated the best of Disability Confident Recruitment with leading recruiters and employers ever since.
In 2021 the RIDI Pioneers voluntary membership community was created. A supportive community led by disability inclusion experts from RIDI provides networking and knowledge sharing opportunities through access to exclusive events and tools.
Our executive team
Our executive team are the driving force and inspiration behind RIDI and the RIDI Awards. They are leaders and experts in their fields and give their time and expertise voluntarily.
Evan Knutson
Sr. Program Manager – Disability Inclusion, Amazon
Gavin Lawrie
Employer Services Director, Shaw Trust
Tamsin McCarthy
Diversity and Inclusion Manager, DWF Law LLP
Mark Lomas
Head of Culture, Lloyd’s of London
Pauline Miller
Chief Equity Officer EMEA, dentsu
Kate Shoesmith
Deputy CEO, REC
Paul Deemer
Head of D&I, NHS Employers
Samantha Hurley
Operations Director, APSCo
Jane Hatton
Director, Evenbreak
Natalie Penrose
Head of Legacy, HS2
Karina Townley
Managing Director - Client Services EMEA, Guidant Global
Our Partners
RIDI and the RIDI Awards are not possible without the ongoing commitment and generosity of our partners and sponsors.
If your organisation would like to become a partner please contact us to talk about the details.
Gold Partners
Silver Partners
Get in touch
Get in touch with us now to help your organisation become disability confident.
If you want to discuss anything about our events, campaigns or awards, or you have any other queries please contact us. We are here to help you.
*We, Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) will hold your name and email address in order to send you our newsletter. We may share your information with other RIDI partners and sponsors in order to provide you with relevant information keeping you up to date with the latest industry news. We would like to contact you by email to let you know about events and initiatives that may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to hear about these, please advise us on info@ridi.org.uk. You also have the right to require us to correct any inaccuracies in your information.
