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Two Years of Improving Workplace Cultures

Updated: Aug 6, 2023




The 15th July marked two years of Bakare Barley Ltd! We are pleased to share our story, and offer a huge, heartfelt thank you to all that have invited us to walk with them on their journey of change so far.


Our Story


Ayo set up the business in 2021 after almost two decades of working in equality, diversity and inclusion.


The idea came from an awakening in society of structural barriers facing minoritized groups, and the need to provide support for organisations to take trusted and sensitive approaches to improve the experiences and outcomes for their staff, service users and customers. Ayo has worked in race equality and gender equality organisations since the early 2000s when she started her career at Race Equality West Midlands (REWM) founded by Dr Frank Reeves. ​ She went on to working in a number of grass roots community organisations, and government funded initiatives supporting women in STEM careers, refugee, asylum seeker and migrant communities, and young people at risk of anti-social behaviour. ​ Alongside a successful career in Business Development within Higher Education, between 2011-2019 she also led the charity New Leaders Network, providing training and development for underserved community based organisations.


In 2021 Ayo was approached by members of her network to provide bespoke EDI interventions following the impacts of COVID19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.


She registered Bakare Barley Ltd as the go to person-centred consultancy service to provide positive, evidence-based and sustainable EDI business services.


A thank you to our clients

​We work with organisations who wish to improve the experiences of their staff, and are brave enough to look in the mirror, and see themselves through other people's eyes.


We have been privileged to work with a range of brilliant people, from ambitious organisations that wish to improve the outcomes of historically marginalised communities, by improving their workplace cultures.


They have invested in making improvements to their organisations understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion, and updating their policies and practices to be supportive of people of all backgrounds.


This work takes resources, vulnerability, commitment, and time, and we are pleased to have supported our clients with everything from inclusive recruitment, staff network development, diversity diagnostics and auditing, staff surveys, mentoring of EDI Leads, EDI related workshop facilitation, listening sessions, focus groups and Diversity Dialogue sessions.


All of our services are focused on honesty, education and action, and we take steps to support our clients to measure their impact, assess the difference they are making to their people, and to gain feedback along the way.


We would like to thank our clients that have walked together with Bakare Barley on a range of projects and initiatives:


  • Nugent

  • Bliss

  • University of Liverpool

  • Alder Hey Children's Charity

  • Citizen's Advice

  • The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

  • US & UK Summit on Race

  • Baltic Creative

  • Faith in Nature

  • Mindhamok

  • Bristol-Myers Squibb

  • Open Eye Gallery

  • University of York

  • INvolve


What our clients say about working with us


We want to be assured that our services are making a difference, therefore we build in evaluation and debriefs to our customer relationships to ensure that what we deliver meets the needs of each client.


Here are a few snippets of feedback. Every testimonial thrills us, and pushes us forward to provide new and dynamic services to foster inclusion.


"Ayo delivered a session for early career researchers at the University of York, focusing on inclusive leadership. It was an incredibly useful, interesting and engaging session, and our researchers responded really well to it. I would hugely recommend her to anyone interesting in learning more about EDI, and what actions we can begin to take in the workplace.
Ayo was also a delight to work with - she communicated clearly with me throughout, and she was really accepting of our feedback and ideas. Thanks so much!"


"Ayo is a true professional with an infectious passion for affecting change and educating people. She delicately guided us through a sensitive piece of work and gained trust in everyone she dealt with. Communicating clearly and working to budget and within a very tight deadline, she is a pleasure to work with and I would thoroughly recommend her."

Work with us


If you are interested in working with Ayo, email her on info@bakarebarley.com for a free consultation to assess your needs, and how we can support you on your journey.




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