Social Equity Centre was founded in July 2023 by co-founders Teo Benea and Adina Maglan, together with our Director, Teresa Norman, with a shared vision of creating a more inclusive and equitable public sector.

Why do we exist?

While working in local government—Teo as a local councillor and Adina as a local government officer, both also being first-generation migrants in the UK - they witnessed first-hand the underrepresentation of first-generation migrants, both in elected office and across the public sector workforce. Teresa, an experienced Diversity Consultant with a particular interest in migration who previously worked as a civil servant, shared these concerns. Together, they recognised that, too often, the people making decisions and delivering public services did not reflect the diverse communities they served. This had implications in decision making and service design that excluded groups and experiences of people whose identities were not represented.

The three Directors – through their lived experience combined with their professional background and expertise in equality, diversity and inclusion - understand the barriers many people face when pursuing careers in the public sector or seeking opportunities to influence decision-making. This inspired the creation of Social Equity Centre.

Today, we work to break down those barriers by supporting first-generation migrants to access public sector careers, develop their leadership potential, and have a stronger voice in shaping the services and institutions that affect their communities, strengthening UK’s democracy.

Fundamentally, we work towards a more equitable world for migrants.  

To find out more about our expertise visit Our Team page.

In October 2023 we celebrated the launch of Social Equity Centre at Toynbee Hall in London which was a wonderful opportunity to share our vision with our supporters and partners. To find out more about our launch event visit our News page.

The core Social Equity Centre team is also supported by an informal Equity Advisory Board which was set up in September 2025 - to find out more about our board members visit our Equity Advisory Board page and read our article about the launch of the board on the News page.