Renegades

Renegades is a peer-to-peer online meeting, where people support each other around one vision:

We want people from marginalised groups to have radically better chances of being hired and succeeding in our own workplaces.

We are at varied levels and roles in a range of workplaces. We’re not experts in inclusion or human resources. But we know we can still influence or participate in hiring, inducting, managing and changing culture in our own workplaces, and we want to do it better.

Why come?

You can join us without a ‘relevant’ job title - or any job title - and without ‘relevant’ experience or qualifications.
We were started by two queer women of colour. We want to be a place that’s comfortable for people who are often underrepresented in decision-making roles, including D/deaf and disabled, black and brown, women, trans and non-binary, minority faith, non-graduate, LGB+, refugee and asylum seeking, ex-offender and out of work people.
To tell us what you need to feel welcome here, email taz@projectsbytaz.co.uk.
We value the opportunity to work on our ideas with people outside of our organisations.
This way, we can compare notes with other organisations, discuss our ideas in-depth and work on challenges without being limited by other issues, pressures or political dynamics in our workplaces.
Our group is simple and low commitment for everyone. We don’t work hierarchically and we rotate tasks between us.
You’ll get to know real people and form warm relationships that are encouraging and supportive. Sometimes, the extra confidence inspired by our conversations is what prompts people to try that next experiment at work.
We spend time here, not money. We discuss each other’s ideas, questions, experiments and challenges, generously and uncompetitively. That’s how we learn and prepare to make change in our organisations.
Alternative options can be costly (like coaches and conferences), one-way (like blogs and online courses), one-off (like staff training) or exclusive (like diversity manager networks). That doesn’t suit everyone and it doesn’t necessarily lead to change.
And as Renegades is free, you don’t need your organisation’s permission or funding to join!

How to come

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 30 April, 2-3.30pm, on Google Meet. New attendees are always expected and welcomed. Contact Taz with any questions, and sign up to come via Eventbrite.

What we do

We meet to talk

We have a meeting online every three months. The facilitators and note-takers rotate every meeting.
Members bring topics and questions they want to discuss e.g. “Would this interview task put off autistic people?”, “Here’s what I learned from a workshop on psychometric testing.”
Our next meeting is in on 30 April 2024, 2-3.30pm.
We swap resources

We share a Google Drive folder. Pooling our knowledge helps us all over time.
Members upload and access useful things that we come across e.g. documents from the things we try at work, guidance we find online, and lists of great websites, books and resources.
We keep in contact

Members sometimes email between meetings to highlight interesting events or get others’ thoughts on a specific issue.
Group members sometimes also work with each other between meetings e.g. to work more on a particular experiment or bring their organisations closer.

Meet some of the Renegades

Roxi Rustem (she/her)

There’s something really satisfying about meeting with people from other organisations, and sharing resources, ideas and feedback before taking it back to your team or managers.
Everyone is there to support each other and with the same goal in mind – to make workplaces more inclusive, progressive and enjoyable places to be.
Taz Rasul (she/her)

In small organisations you can’t necessarily take up colleagues’ time to imagine or enact changes in how we think of people.
That’s why I love Renegades. Everyone carves out time to think and to push each other, outside of our usual workplace rhythms.
Izzy Zimšek (she/her)

This group gives me the opportunity to learn from others and discuss ideas for positive change and inclusive practice in a welcoming, supportive and creative space.
I’d really encourage you to join if you are interested in shaking up how you approach hiring, interviewing, managing and more!
Michelle Bradley (she/her)

When I started my organisation, I always wondered “Why do people do things this way? Is it for legal reasons? Is there something I’m missing?”
Renegades came along at the right time. It gave me tools to challenge all the stuff I’d seen about how to work with people.
Isabel Rivera (she/her)

It’s been so helpful to have fresh views on questions or concerns that arise in our daily work and can seem daunting or challenging.
There’s a lot of value in talking about any of this in an informal, relaxed setting where people from completely different backgrounds and sectors offer a wide range of insights and perspectives.
Jess Webb (she/they)

The Renegades is a comfortable, welcoming space to connect with likeminded people.
In a fast-paced world it’s so difficult to stay focussed on what matters, and with more and more of us working remotely we can lose our connection to the people and world around us. Having a space to protect time and connect with other people is a blessing.