CLOSED FOR SIGN UPS: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Day 2025
As our workplaces and communities continue to grow and shift, the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion remain vital to building strong, resilient organizations. But the DEI landscape is evolving – and fast.
Where is DEI headed? Will it continue as a standalone discipline, or become more integrated into areas like leadership development, talent strategy, and organizational culture?
There's no single answer – but these are the questions we need to ask if we want to ensure DEI remains impactful and future-ready.
This conference provides a dedicated space to reflect, learn, and grow – together. Join fellow professionals and change-makers as we explore how DEI continues to shape workplaces and communities for the better.
This isn't about following trends – it's about taking ownership of lasting, meaningful change.
Conference Highlights Include:
- Where is DEI headed?!
- How Weird Works: Exploring individuality and creativity as drivers of inclusion
- Masculinity and Mental Health: Creating safer, supportive spaces for all genders at work
- Broadening Inclusion: Embracing seniors, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups
- Harnessing Individuality: The power of authentic voices in driving innovation
- Systemic Leadership Mandate: Equipping leaders with clear tools and accountability to embed DEI in everyday decisions – beyond HR, owned by the entire leadership team
- Interactive Workshops: Engage with your DEI peers, share experiences, and strengthen collaboration
- …and much more to come
Why wait?
- Gain practical insights and tools to integrate DEI into your daily work
- Connect with peers and experts to build a supportive DEI network
- Explore innovative approaches to foster truly inclusive environments
- Empower leaders with strategies to own DEI beyond HR and embed it across all levels of your organization
Who Should Attend?
- DEI practitioners and leaders seeking actionable strategies
- HR professionals aiming to strengthen inclusive cultures
- Executives and managers committed to leading systemic change
- Anyone passionate about creating workplaces where everyone belongs
Together, let's build a future where diversity thrives and inclusion is a shared responsibility. We look forward to welcoming you.
Please note that there is a sign-up limit of max. 5 people per organization at this event.
Presentations
Weird Works
Marie Kingston & Aske Stræde
In a world of increasing complexity, leadership demands new approaches. This session explores how leaders can unlock the full potential of their teams by creating the conditions for authentic contribution and fully leveraging neurodiversity. Drawing on key strengths of neurodiversity and the potential barriers at work, the authors of Weird Works offer fresh perspectives on how to turn diversity of thought into a true organizational advantage. Expect clear insights, practical leadership angles, and a compelling case for leading differently.
What Are You Afraid Of?
Keynote & Workshop with Poornima Luthra
As DEI efforts face both momentum and resistance, award-winning educator and author Dr. Poornima Luthra invites us to ask: What are we really afraid of? Drawing from her latest book Can I Say That?, she explores the fears that often underlie pushback and how we can move past them to create truly inclusive workplaces.
With clarity and compassion, she offers practical tools for building psychological safety, enabling courageous conversations, and driving meaningful change beyond the performative.
Following the keynote, Poornima will lead interactive workshop where participants reflect on the fears showing up in their own work lives – and identify actions to overcome them. A space for honesty, insight, and real movement forward.
Is DEI dead – or just transforming?
Heidi R. Andersen
Heidi R. Andersen from Living Institute argues that DEI is at a tipping point: still too often siloed in HR, disconnected from core leadership. In this session, she explores how DEIB must evolve from a marginal function to a strategic leadership discipline. Drawing on concrete initiatives and cross-sector experience, she shares how DEIB can move from theory to practice – with HR, leadership, and legal functions working together to drive real change.
DEI That Works – Making Inclusion Part of Everyday Life
Sara Lynge Skovhede
How do you keep DEI meaningful when everything else is changing? In this session, Sara Lynge Skovhede, Global DEI Lead at Novonesis, shares a grounded and practical approach to working with diversity, equity and inclusion – even during times of major transformation. Instead of launching more initiatives, we'll look at how to integrate DEI into what's already happening: using small nudges, addressing everyday structures, and opening space for allyship. The focus goes beyond gender to celebrate cultural, body, and mind diversity – recognizing people in their full humanity at work. It's about keeping DEI real, doable, and part of the way we work.
Redefining Inclusion: Shaping Meaningful Participation for People and Business Impact
Suzanne Dee Pedersen
What if inclusion focused on reshaping workplaces for meaningful participation? In 2024, Novo Nordisk conducted a bottom-up deep listening tour to understand DEIB needs and lay the groundwork for a new direction. With these insights serving as cornerstones, Suzanne Dee Pedersen will share how this approach has informed and redirected their DEIB initiatives. She emphasizes the urgent need to move from awareness to action and advocates for integrating DEIB into core business and people processes.
Speakers of DEI Day 2025
Marie Kingston, Psychologist, Keynote speaker, and Author of Weird Works
Marie is a licensed organizational psychologist and founder of Kingston Consulting. With over 25 years of experience in leadership development, executive coaching, and stress prevention, she works with both public and private organizations to strengthen leadership practices. Her approach combines psychological insight with pragmatic tools, always with a focus on creating sustainable, human-centered workplaces.
Ash Koppel Straede, Entrepreneur and co-Author of Weird Works
Aske Koppel Stræde is a strategist and advisor, operating at the intersection of business, technology, and creativity. With over a decade of leadership experience, he combines organizational insight with a strategic approach to complex challenges. Aske helps leaders and teams with diverse cognitive profiles discover and activate the strengths of different ways of thinking. As co-author of Weird Works, he bridges knowledge and nuance in ways that challenge conventional thinking about people and performance.
Dr. Poornima Luthra , Senior Faculty at Imperial Business School & External Professor at Copenhagen Business School
With over 15 years of experience in talent management and diversity, Poornima has dedicated her career to helping organizations embed inclusion into their core business strategies. Poornima is widely recognized for her practical approach to DEI, bridging research and application. She is the author of four books including "Can I Say That?", "Diversifying Diversity" and "Leading Through Bias", and her work has been featured in publications like Harvard Business Review, where her article "7 Ways to Practice Active Allyship" gained significant attention for its actionable insights on fostering inclusion.
She has previously held DEI and HR roles at IKEA Denmark, where she worked on inclusive leadership and employee wellbeing. Sara has experience designing and implementing a global DEI framework with a pragmatic approach, while remaining committed to building a workplace for everyone.
Heidi R. Andersen, Founding Partner and Chief Consultant, Living Institute
Heidi is an accomplished author, keynote speaker, and lecturer who has made significant contributions to the field of diversity intelligence. With a focus on enhancing gender balance, inclusivity, and diversity intelligence in organizations, Heidi is a sought-after expert in her field. Her book, "Diversity Intelligence How to Create a Culture of Inclusion for Your Business" (Wiley 2021), is a step-by-step guide that helps organizations worldwide foster a culture of inclusion and enhance diversity, equity, and belonging. In addition to her work as an author and consultant, Heidi regularly lectures on Diversity Intelligence and Cross-cultural Communication at Copenhagen Business School.
Suzanne Dee Pedersen, Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, Novo Nordisk
Suzanne Dee Pedersen is Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at Novo Nordisk, where she leads the company's global efforts to build a more inclusive workplace where people have access to contribute, opportunities to succeed, and a sense of belonging. With over 20 years of experience in organizational development, strategic transformation, and inclusive leadership, she brings both vision and execution to embedding DEIB across corporate culture, systems, and leadership practices. Suzanne holds a PhD in Business Administration and combines academic rigor with practical insight to drive meaningful, measurable change. She is passionate about shaping environments where diverse talent can thrive and where a strong sense of belonging enables individuals and teams to perform at their best.
*No show fee
By signing up for this event, you are accepting NOCA's conditions regarding no-show-fee.
To give as many members as possible access to this event and to ensure no food waste, we need to know if you are participating or not – otherwise, your spot can go to someone else.
Therefore, if you cancel your participation after the deadline on October 27th at 12:00 CET or do not show up on the day, you will be charged a no-show fee of DKK 500.
Should you be unable to attend, you can always send a colleague in your name and avoid paying the fee. Your colleague must pick up your name tag upon arrival and let the NOCA team know about this.