“I want work to be a place where everyone can feel they belong, they are safe and they have value. Too many workplaces are not like this for some, or even all of their employees. One of my fundamental personal values is fairness. When I first started in the world of work I believed fairness meant treating everyone the same. I came to understand fairness actually means treating people as individuals and making sure they get the same opportunities. This often means treating them differently from each other.

Everyone who becomes involved in Diversity and Inclusion work has a reason, which may relate to their own identity or that of a friend, colleague or family member. In my case I mostly didn’t notice (or ignored) agism and sexism directed at me in my early career; and I’m white and (until recently) able-bodied. My real epiphany came through the experiences of my children, then teenagers and now in their twenties. I realised I wanted to make work a place where my children, and in fact anyone, would be accepted for who they are, where they would feel safe and feel valued.

I use the skills from 30+ years in a corporate manufacturing environment and my personal strengths of empathy, listening and some straight talk to help organisations of any size to see where their people feel excluded and identify ways to shift the culture towards inclusion.”