Laïla El-Métoui

Equity & Belonging Consultant, Proud London Councils Chair & Founder of Educating OUT Racism

  • Founder of Pride in Education & National Diversity Power List 2023/24 
  • Founder of UK Queer Arabs and the Embassy Model Summits Series 
  • Founder of Pride in Education & Educating Out Racism 
  • Founder of Proud London Councils  
  • Stonewall’s Lesbian Role Model of the Year 2020 
  • Top 100 Pride Power List 2021 

When Laïla El-Métoui is booked for events, they are known to discuss the following speaking topics:

LGBTQ+ Language & Inclusion, Practical Tips of Allyship
Global Resilience: Navigating Stress in Corporate Settings
Supporting People through Menopause Intersectionally : Best Practices and Strategies
Fostering a Culture of Belonging in the Workplace: Unveiling Theoretical Frameworks and Practical Strategies
Intersectional Allyship: Building Bridges for Inclusive Workplaces
Microaggressions in Corporate Environments: Recognising and Addressing Unconscious Bias
Assertiveness: Empowering Effective Communication in Corporate Environments
Intersectionality for Senior Leaders: Enhancing Leadership Through Inclusive Practices
Intersectionality and Inclusive Language, Practical Tools for a More Compassionate Workplace
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Strategies for Professional Growth

Laïla El-Métoui stands out as an inspirational Equity and Wellbeing Consultant with a dedicated career spanning over three decades, focused on fostering acceptance and inclusivity in education, business, and society. As a disabled Arab lesbian, she brings a deeply personal perspective to her work, blending her experiences with expert strategies to cultivate inclusive environments. This distinctive blend of personal insight and professional acumen has made her a highly sought-after keynote speaker, particularly in the sphere of LGBTQIA+ advocacy, where she motivates and equips her audiences to drive substantial change.

Laïla’s unwavering commitment to LGBTIQA+ rights has defined her career. She is the visionary behind Pride in Education and Educating Out Racism, and she also serves as an Equity and Wellbeing Consultant at LelmEducation. These positions allow her to provide comprehensive equity education, training, and support to a wide array of corporate clients worldwide. Her work emphasizes inclusivity, and her conferences and training sessions are renowned for producing lasting positive impacts, establishing her as a leading figure in equity and inclusion initiatives.

Her dedication to philanthropy further distinguishes Laïla’s career. She founded Proud London Councils to support LGBTQ+ employee networks within local governments and has successfully raised over £50,000 for charitable causes through her bid writing expertise. Additionally, she offers pro bono support to LGBTIQA+ non-profit organizations and has played a significant role in integrating queer perspectives into the ESOL curriculum in the UK. Her robust educational background allows her to deliver engaging, interactive sessions that resonate deeply with diverse audiences.

Laïla’s contributions have been widely recognized through numerous accolades. In 2023, she was named to the National Diversity Power List Honours (Top 50) and was a finalist for Trans Ally of the Year by Trans in the City. She has received the Bank of London Rainbow Honours for her work with UK Queer Arabs and was listed in the 2021 Top 100 Pride Power List. Moreover, she was honored as Stonewall Lesbian Role Model of the Year in 2020. Laïla’s proficiency in ten languages and her deep expertise in diversity, inclusion, neurodiversity, mental health, and race equity make her an outstanding speaker. Her ability to deliver compelling talks and training sessions with confidence and comfort makes her a crucial advocate for driving actionable change and promoting inclusivity in any setting.

Official Testimonials

Laïla El-Métoui is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:

” We’ve had extremely positive comments from everyone at the company. Lots of eye-opening statistics and perspectives were shared and Laila lead the conversation brilliantly. Thanks again for connecting us and we’d love to have Laila back in the future for another session. “

Mia, Proxymity

“Thank you SO much for yesterday! It was brilliant, we’ve had such good feedback from everyone who was involved. It was really informative, engaging and fun – but also really eye opening, and has been a brilliant educational piece for us whilst we celebrate Pride. It was exactly what we hoped for, so thank you so much.”

Lucinda, Lucid Group

“Thank you so much for the session today! We are receiving wonderful feedback, especially from our Working Parents Group. We had 56 participants at the peak whole we expected 30-50 people, and most people stayed engaged throughout, which is difficult to sustain on Zoom… Again thank you for this discussion, I feel like we are leaving the world slightly better than it was this morning, one discussion at a time”

Nicolas, Qualtrics

“We just finished a really fantastic session with Laila. Just wanted to feedback that we’ve had extremely positive comments from everyone at the company. Lots of eye-opening statistics and perspectives were shared and Laila lead the conversation brilliantly. Thanks again for connecting us and we’d love to have Laila back in the future for another session.”

Mia, Proxymity

“Thank you very much for recommending Laila, she was frankly excellent. The session was interactive, reflective and very informative and people felt comfortable to join in.”

Ruth, IICSA

“We have just wrapped up our talk with Laila- which was brilliant! Very informative and engaging. Some feedback from the end of the talk:

Thank you so much Laila, this was very enlightening! Brilliant talk.

Really thought-provoking and fun too. Thank you so much, Laila.

Thank you Laila and to those who organised this session! Very useful and informative.

Please do pass on our thanks to Laila for such a fun, engaging and insightful quiz and talk.”

Jessica, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Dogs Trust

“Thank you for your responsiveness and adaptability in organising this speaker event. I have already received really positive feedback from the attendees, who have all learnt a lot throughout the session. Laila was clearly an expert in the field, and could answer any questions that were asked. The presentation she delivered was really dynamic and interactive, the attendees particularly appreciated the use of the Kahoot quiz. Laila’s positive energy and passion for the topic made the whole session captivating, and she succeeded in engaging the audience from start to finish. We look forward to having her in the office again in the future. We will be in touch for future bookings!”

Bianca, Recruitment Coordinator, AlphaSights

“Thank you for connecting us with Laila. She was an absolute gem, and we had a very interactive session.”

Zahra, EMEA Office Manager, Highspot

“We are so grateful to Laila for coming to the session… we have received lots of positive praise from people who found Laila really engaging and the quiz and videos were particularly thought-provoking and entertaining”

Lucy, Admin Apprentice, MJ Hudson

“I just wanted to thank you for your presentation at Mention Me this week. I had to rush off to another meeting so didn’t get to thank you at the end, but I absolutely loved it. It felt like it was a fabulous education in some of the foundation blocks of diversity and privilege. I personally learned a lot. And you delivered it in such an engaging way. Absolutely brilliant. I’ve suggested we get all of our new joiners to watch the video of it as part of their onboarding”

Andy, CEO, Mention Me

“I could not finish my day without sending a note of thanks to you for your wonderful session today! As I said on the call, you learn most when the topic is enjoyable and today’s one-hour with you was both hugely enjoyable and hugely enjoyable! You made the content accessible and relevant, and your positive personality flowed throughout the session and allowed us to feel fully engaged on this important topic. I’ve taken loads of notes to think about again, but I have two favourite moments from today. The first was around privilege and the ‘Wheel of Power/ Privilege’ – I have never seen this (sensitive) topic dealt with so deftly, and in such a non-confrontational way – that was very powerful. The second was around your very final remark – ‘we are not looking for agreement, we are looking for acceptance’ – that too, was a wonderfully strong statement, which will allow those with strong anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments to move beyond ‘agreement’. Thank you again for the generosity of your time and support for our Xpression 3rd birthday event.”

Brendan, Kainos

“Laila was wonderful. The format of the session and the way she delivered it have been engaging and eye-opening. We had around 30 people joining the session, and everyone gave good feedback, in particular about her objectiveness when sharing her life journey, and the quiz format to deliver key information about LGBTQ+ history. I will definitely recommend her as a speaker.”

Paolo, USTWO

“I want to thank you and Laila for the AMAZING lecture yesterday, it was super interesting! I already want to hear more materials from Laila”

Bar, Office & Wellbeing Manager, Optibus

“Some takeaways and feedback from the session include: ‘This has been so eye-opening, thank you, Laila!’, ‘Fantastic session – so insightful – thank you!’, ‘This has been a great session, I’ve learned a lot from it, thank you so much Laila’, ‘Thank you for a very interesting, insightful and thought-provoking session. At times it may have been a little painful… or at least it reminded me of some painful personal experiences’, ‘It was a great event – the What is Privilege video is really powerful’ and ‘It was an insightful and good session. It opened my mind in a number of areas’. We would love to work with you again for a future session as it was a great success”

Laura, Customer Care Team Leader, Spirax Sarco UK

“Just want to echo Jess and say that Leila’s presentation was really well received, people were saying such positive things as they left the board room we were joining from, please pass on our gratitude to her.”

Shannon, HR Graduate, DS Smith

To enquire about Laïla El-Métoui for your event or corporate function, simply contact us via agent@lgbt-speakers.com or call a booking agent on 0203 9816 295.