Expert Voices - "I Treat Everyone the Same": Whiteness and the Assumptions We Bring to Care - Guest Speaker Matt Jacobs

Join us with for a special edition of 'Black Maternity Matters: Expert Voices' with guest speaker Dr Matt Jacobs.

'Expert Voices' is a webinar series hosted by Black Maternity Matters brining expert perspectives to improving Black perinatal Care. A safe, inclusive space to reflect, share and act together with the opportunity to listen and learn from experts within Perinatal, Neonatal and Maternity care.

Guest Speaker: Dr Matt Jacobs 

Session Topic: "I Treat Everyone the Same": Whiteness and the Assumptions We Bring to Care

All of you came into maternity care to give everyone the best care you can. And yet MBRRACE-UK's latest figures, covering 2022–24, show that women racialised as Black were nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, or within six weeks of the end of pregnancy, than women racialised as White. Good intentions are clearly not the whole story.

In this talk, Dr Matt Jacobs – a sociologist of identity, and himself racialised as White – looks at what else is in the room. He explores how all of us absorb ideas about race long before we are old enough to question them, how ideas about Whiteness have been constructed over several centuries, and how they still shape what we notice, who we listen to, and how we respond.

This is not a session about blame. It is about seeing what we were never asked to look at. It closes with a practical approach to critical self-reflection you can use to check your own assumptions – starting with your next shift.

About Dr Matt Jacobs:

Matt is a leadership coach, facilitator, and speaker with 30 years’ working in inclusion. His experience ranges from working directly with those experiencing marginalisation to leading multi-million-pound programmes delivering impact at a city level. He has a PhD in the Sociology of Identity from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Ethnicity and Multiculturalism, and he is an ICF accredited coach. He now works with organisations and leaders who aspire to be inclusive for everyone. Previous and current clients include – Forvis Mazars, Ericsson, Sonova, the Women’s Forum for Economy & Society, Public Health Wales, Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Barnardo’s, Blood Cancer UK Representation Matters, the University of Bristol, and a variety of private coaching clients.

Outside of work, he is also a single father of two beautiful, now fully grown and flown daughters. He loves a fine red wine, good music, and cooking an ‘interesting’ version of something he’s seen on Great British Menu, often all at the same time. He is drawn to visit places he knows little about and immersing himself in their coffee-shop culture. Matt is a committed urbanite and loves cities. If he can get there on his motorbike, all the better.

Agenda:

• 1:00pm - 1:05pm - Welcome and introductions
• 1:05pm - 1:50pm - Presentation from Matt Jacobs
• 1:50pm - 2:00pm - Q&A with Matt Jacobs
• 2:00pm - session close

Please join on Teams 3-4 minutes before the start time of 1:00pm to check your connection and a prompt start.

Who should attend:

If you have been or are currently on a Black Maternity Matters Training Programme or course, these sessions are specifically designed for you to access. 

This session is available for perinatal professionals, perinatal mental health professionals, senior leaders, community midwives & health visitors.

It is also open to colleagues, peers and healthcare professionals from within the perinatal, neonatal, maternity and early years field who may not have yet joined a Black Maternity Matters training programme. However, please note that those who have attended training through our programmes and courses have priority places on this session.