Invited Keynote Speakers

 Thien Uyen DO graduated from the College of Europe, Department of European Legal Studies (L.LM), where she was also Teaching Assistant from 2005 to 2007. She is now Legal Policy Analyst on anti-discrimination at the Migration Policy Group (www.migpolgroup.com), an independent non-profit European organisation based in Brussels committed to contributing to lasting and positive change resulting in open and inclusive societies in which all members have equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities in developing the economic, social and civic life of Europe's diverse societies. Her main work focuses on the European Network of Legal Experts in the field of non-discrimination which she coordinates (www.non-discrimination.net). The Network provides independent information and advice on the implementation of the Article 19 TFEU (ex. Article 13 TEC) anti-discrimination Directives in all 27 Member States and candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). She is also the Managing Editor of the European Anti-discrimination Law Review. In 2010, she provided her input in the design of indicators on anti-discrimination for the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX III). The MIPEX is a unique tool which measures policies to integrate migrants in all EU Member States and Norway, Switzerland, Canada and the USA. 148 policy indicators have been developed to create a rich, multi-dimensional picture of migrants' opportunities to participate in society (www.mipex.eu).Since 2011, she is involved in the “Awareness-raising in the areas of non-discrimination and equality targeted at civil society organisations" project which aims to help strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations working on non-discrimination and equality by developing training materials and activities for 32 countries across Europe. She is also involved in the ‘Making the Most of EU funds for Roma’ initiative, carried out by the Open Society Institute Budapest and the Migration Policy Group. The main objective of the Project Promoting EU Non-discrimination and Equality standards in the programming and implementation of Structural Funds is to make proposals to the EU institutions for amendment of the regulatory framework with a view to reinforcing the implementation of the principle of non-discrimination and equality in the programming and implementation of Structural Funds, in particular towards Roma.

 Anne-marie Greene is currently Reader in Industrial Relations at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick. Her research area can be summarized as an equality and diversity perspective on industrial relations. One area of concern has been the position and role of joint regulation of equality and diversity issues at workplace level. Publications in this area present a critical position on the theory and practice of diversity management, the innovation of which derives from the voicing of often unheard stakeholders, namely trade unions and non-managerial employees, in particular women and minority ethnic employees. She is co-author (with Gill Kirton of The Dynamics of Managing Diversity (3^rd edition 2010, Elsevier) and Diversity Management in the UK (2009, Routledge). Another area concerns the nature and location of trade union activism. Research and publications here have looked at positive action initiatives within trade unions, and the implications of new ICTs for internal democratic processes and the participation of under-represented groups. Finally her research has explored the interaction of family, community, life and work. This has included the study of the impact of the industrial craft community on work gender relations and trade union activism (Voices from the Shopfloor: Dramas of the Employment Relationship, 2001, Ashgate). Her most recent research explores the industrial relations context of clergy women in the UK. Anne-marie is a Research Scholar of the  Advanced Institute of Management (AIM), an executive member of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA) and co-convenor of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) Gender and IR Study Group. She has held editorial board roles for Gender, Work and Organization, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Industrial Relations Journal. Anne-marie is a committed trade union activist and has held both local and national positions within the University and College Union (UCU).

Gill Kirton is Professor of Employment Relations and HRM at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London. She is a widely published British researcher in the field of employment relations/organizational equality and diversity. One strand of her research has investigated stakeholder perspectives, particularly those of unions, on the development and implementation of diversity management in UK organizations. She is co-author (with Anne-marie Greene of The Dynamics of Managing Diversity (3^rd edition 2010, Elsevier) and Diversity Management in the UK (2009, Routledge). Another strand of her research has explored unions’ gender and race equality strategies in the context of union decline and the revitalization project. Her most recent project is a comparative investigation of women’s leadership in American and British unions working with colleagues at Cornell and Rutgers universities. Gill Kirton has published numerous refereed journal articles and book chapters and five books. She sits on the editorial boards of two major journals in her field: Gender, Work and Organization and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. She convenes (with Anne-marie Greene) the Gender and Industrial Relations Study Group of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association – the group works to increase the visibility of women in industrial relations research. Prior to entering academic work, Gill worked as a trade union tutor and employment policy adviser to public and voluntary sector organizations.