OUR JOURNEY

It was the evening before the opening day of Rewired, the biggest digital health conference in England.

A digital health community WhatsApp group started pinging with indignation as members shared a troubling Guardian article. It reported the owner of one of the biggest digital health companies in England, making vile comments about Diane Abbot, the first black woman elected to parliament and the longest-serving black MP.

It was the next morning, the day of the conference, when Ayesha and Victoria began to hatch a plan.

Ayesha was getting ready to start her day as a busy psychiatrist in the NHS, and Victoria was on her way to the conference on an early train. Messaging back and forth, they developed an idea to write an open letter that anyone working in digital health could sign up to. The letter would provide an opportunity for people to take a stand against racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination.

The next day of the conference saw Ayesha and Victoria huddled together in a corner of the Rewired speaker’s lounge, putting together a form of words.

It was at this point that Hassan joined the conversation, suggesting that we might bring people together to create an Equity charter. This would not only be a set of principles, but also a set of levers we can use to hold ourselves and others to account. By the end of the day, we had an open letter and a live survey for people to submit their signature. Rewired, CEO Jon, read out the statement at the final session and reported it in his ebulletin. That’s when things began to take off.

With 1000+ signatures and counting, Ayesha, Victoria and Hassan are committed to taking a stand and making this moment count.

We have a webinar on 2 July to share our journey so far and the Equity charter summit will take place on 23 July. We are moving forward to and build momentum for an equitable, inclusive and fair sector that challenges discrimination and creates a welcoming space for everyone. We’d love you to join us!