Advance Inclusion in your workplace
Lead the way to create inclusive workplaces with expert support, tailored resources, and a vibrant member community. Inclusive Employers membership gives you the tools and insights to advance inclusion and make a lasting impact.
1) Can you tell us how you came to be in your role
I have worked in lots of different sectors, from Higher Education, Charities and Technology, one thing that I have put at the heart of every role I do has been inclusion (even when it wasn’t immediately obvious how it links in with my role like Partnerships or Donor support).
I moved into Talent Acquisition (fancy title for internal recruitment) quite early in my career and loved how I had an actual say in making the workplace a more diverse and inclusive place for that diverse talent.
I loved seeing how changing small things in the candidate experience like adding pronouns to our applications process or providing a video of the physical workplace for new staff to know what to expect and where to go, made all the difference in terms of attraction and people feeling that sense of belonging at work before they had even started.
In each industry I have founded or chaired an Inclusion network for colleagues or students from the Global Majority and these spaces have filled me with such joy, being able to empower others to tell their stories but also make real change to customer campaigns or policies in organisations.
It is so important to have a community of people in the workplace that understand how your identity effects your everyday and so I will always hold a special place in my heart for staff networks and what they can do!
I really came here because I knew I could “see into the matrix” of organisational inclusion and I can support and empower organisations to make changes in practice and to employee experiences.
2) Can you share an ‘inclusion moment’ with us – a time when you have felt included either at work or in your personal life?
I think my first ‘proper job’ of being a Student Union Officer, it was maybe the inclusion moment that mapped what I wanted to do in my career. NUS Black students conference 2014 was the first time I felt truly included, empowered and listened too in a space that wasn’t one I created in my personal life. There were different spaces to develop your skills and harness all the different elements of my identity and utilise them to thrive as a student officer. I saw that you could not only bring yourself to work but you can incorporate your identity to improve the structure of your workplace and students’ lives. This was an empowering space for me, especially as my first exposure to a workplace.
“Many Inclusion leaders in organisations, also identify as part of one or many marginalised groups and sometimes, being in this space can feel lonely or can burn out people. It’s important to be able to provide this space for my members in order for them to feel validated.”
Join Inclusive Employers3) What do you love most about your role?
That I can be that trusted person for so many EDI professionals and organisations to speak honestly about their experiences, the good the bad and the enlightening! Many Inclusion leaders in organisations, also identify as part of one or many marginalised groups and sometimes, being in this space can feel lonely or can burn out people. It’s important to be able to provide this space for my members in order for them to feel validated.
So, it’s nice to connect just to check in on them as people especially when there might be external factors affecting them personally but also be able to provide valuable advice and encouragement.
4) What is a typical day like for you?
Normally, its planning out the week for the delivery I will be doing for our members free half day, e.g. LGBTQIA+ inclusion training to a member or creating some materials to help organisations plan out their staff network activity for the coming year.
It also involves researching new developments in legislation, like the change in paternal leave (I actually found this via TikTok!), and how this will affect my members or what they need to do to support this change in their organisations.
I also have around 5-10 member meetings a week just checking in and providing advice or being a trusted ear to listen.
I think what you can gather is no day is the same and that’s what keeps me excited!
5) What’s been you most memorable moment in your inclusion career?
My most memorable moment was when I had my first committee meeting for a race equality network I co-founded called Empower at a tech company. It truly felt like there was a huge change in how senior leaders valued our experiences and it was the first safe space to talk openly and honestly with the mandate to change the organisation also. It was incredible to see some of the committee members careers elevate from this.
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Advance Inclusion in your workplace
Lead the way to create inclusive workplaces with expert support, tailored resources, and a vibrant member community. Inclusive Employers membership gives you the tools and insights to advance inclusion and make a lasting impact.