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My work

I have written, edited and commissioned articles & papers on a variety of subjects for a range of clients.
Here is a sample of the articles I have produced. For specific examples, please contact me.

Changeboard magazine •

Making space for inclusion

Nominal diversity is not the same as genuine inclusion, argues Guilty Feminist Deborah Frances-White, urging women to be more verbal and visible.

The issue of gender equality has become hugely emotive in recent years, with sexual harassment scandals, reports of woeful gender pay gaps and unequal practices in business, society and politics. And when it comes to female representation in business, progress is stalling. The World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Report, published in late 2
Changeboard magazine •

Reviving Aviva: Exclusive interview with Mark Wilson

Being decisive, addressing culture and embracing digital were key to rebuilding Aviva after the 2008 financial crisis, explains CEO Mark Wilson.

It is some three years since I last visited Aviva’s headquarters in the heart of the City of London. Then, I was meeting outgoing chief HR officer, Christine Deputy, to hear about the FTSE100 insurance giant’s culture changing efforts and what this meant for its people strategy. The organisation had just been through a hefty reorganisation to steer it
Changeboard magazine •

Lenny Henry: It's time to practise real inclusion

Comedian, student, actor and campaigner Sir Lenny Henry’s career has been full of turning points and characterised by reinvention. He’s now calling on business leaders to help create a more accepting and inclusive society.

Comedian Lenny Henry hit the headlines in 2014 with his contemptuously amusing BAFTA television lecture, berating the film and TV industry for its “appalling” record on diversity – specifically, the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people.

He drew at
Changeboard magazine •

We need to get serious about race in business

Unemployment among black and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals is almost double those of white – indicative of the racial bias which still permeates society today. We must find a new dialogue to help truly change attitudes in the workplace and beyond, argues Mary Appleton.

It was certainly one of those ‘head in hands’ moments for the advertising execs when recently, beauty giant Dove released a Facebook advert which showed a black woman turning into a white woman, supposedly after using Dove b
Changeboard magazine •

The time for talking about diversity is over

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith knows all too well the challenges of being ‘other’ in the workplace. The former Mitie chief executive is calling for employers to take action to ensure that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are no longer held back in the workplace.

Ruby McGregor-Smith's appointment as chief executive of Mitie in 2007 made her something of a media spectacle – as the first Asian female CEO of a FTSE250 company, she trumped two ‘diversity’ barriers.



“I didn’t realise it was
Changeboard magazine •

Ruby Wax: on the power of laughter, mindfulness, and the scourge of stress

Whatever your opinion of writer and performer Ruby Wax, watching her 2005 interview with Donald Trump is likely to evoke empathy from the harshest of critics. The uncomfortable exchange sees Wax accompany the controversial Republican on his private jet as part of her BBC TV series Ruby’s American Pie. The pair do not gel.

Despite Trump’s dismissive responses to her questioning (at one point he refuses to continue the interview), Wax persists, following him to his Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic Ci
Changeboard magazine •

Dame Katherine Grainger: You never know how and when your dreams might come true

Dame Katherine Grainger, Great Britain's most-decorated female Olympian, talks about teamwork, trust building and the challenges of life after rowing.

It was on a grey August morning in 2012 that Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins crossed the finishing line on the water at Eton Dorney in 6 minutes and 55 seconds to secure the first women's gold medal in an Olympic Games for rowing.

“I couldn’t have imagined [that moment] to be as wonderful as it was,” Grainger recalls. “Standing next to your
Changeboard magazine •

Building inclusive recruitment at Mencap

We want to see a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included in society. People with a learning disability face inequalities in every area of life. We need to tackle these issues head-on by changing society’s attitudes, influencing people who shape policy and practice, and empowering and directly supporting more individuals to lead fulfilled lives.

Mencap has adopted a framework that encompasses all elements of the recruitment process, from attract
Changeboard magazine •

Arianna Huffington: Give sleep the respect it deserves

Launched in 2005 as an online news platform, The Huffington Post was initially known for blogging and real-time news aggregation, providing a liberal outlook on the political landscape. The site now has 200 million unique monthly visitors and 100,000 contributors from politicians to celebrities and policy experts. The Duchess of Cambridge even featured as a guest editor earlier this year.

A turning point for the site, and for online media, came in 2012 when HuffPost contributor, David Wood, was
Changeboard magazine •

Isabella Segal on transition: "I'm a role model for diversity within our firm"

After a long struggle, in 2011 I decided to take advice on my gender dysphoria. In August 2012, I told the partners at my firm, Nymon Libson Paul, of my intention to transition.

The partners were surprised but supportive of my decision and wanted to retain me within the firm. We worked to create a strategy to manage the process with clients, staff and outside contacts, to ensure there was a smooth transition.

I’d planned to transition in May 2013. Unfortunately, in April, someone was indiscree
Changeboard magazine •

"My biggest career barrier was my own reticence to be completely out at work

Once I decided to come out fully, speak openly about my wife and to bring all of myself and my life to work, I enjoyed work more and had a much more open relationship with everyone around me. That openness has made me a far better leader and my career blossomed from that moment.

I primarily use my role as a member of Aviva's Group Executive to normalise being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) by being a role model as a happy, openly gay woman. I am also the executive sponsor of Aviva
Changeboard magazine •

Lessons in empowerment, entrepreneurship and resilience

There is something rather incongruous about running your own successful small business while being told quite frequently, by strangers who pass you in the street, to “go and get a job”.

This is the exact situation faced by many of the 1,500 Big Issue magazine street vendors on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Selling The Big Issue magazine is, as Stephen Robertson puts it, “the ultimate lesson in empowerment, entrepreneurship, and resilience”.

As the CEO of the charity arm of the magazine, Rober
Changeboard •

Moving the dial on female leadership

On 26 March, 1973, women’s rights took a leap forward when the first female stockbroker entered the London Stock Exchange. Ten newly elected women members were admitted for the first time in the institution’s 300-year history, representing a significant victory for women’s rights campaigners.



Fast-forward 43 years, and while the dial is moving in the right direction, women remain starkly under-represented in the global workforce. Just 26 women were listed in the Fortune 500 in 2015, only si
Changeboard magazine •

Meeting the beauty needs of the world at L'Oreal

"I joined L’Oreal 19 years ago, and I’ve been here ever since because I love it,” enthuses Isabelle Minneci, HR director for the L’Oreal UK & Ireland business. “My first mission, aged 23, was to develop the diversity and inclusion strategy for France. I was given a blank sheet of paper and told to get on with it,” she laughs.



Minneci has changed roles nine times since being with L’Oreal – having started as a graduate in her native country of France. “Each time I’ve moved roles, it’s been th
Changeboard magazine •

Human centric innovation at Fujitsu - interview with Regina Moran, CEO UK & Ireland

"I've learned that the more senior you are, the greater the impact you have – whether you’re aware of it or not,” says Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu UK and Ireland.



It was while on a leadership programme that she was asked the two defining questions of her career.“They asked: ‘how do people experience you?’ and ‘how do people experience themselves in your presence?’” she recalls. “I keep them in mind every day.”



Key to leadership for Moran, who took up the role of CEO of Fujitsu’s UK &
Changeboard magazine •

Growing big and staying small

When a group of three friends from university started selling smoothies at a music festival in 1999, they put up a sign asking people if they thought they should give up their jobs to do it full-time. They placed a bin saying ‘Yes’ and a bin saying ‘No’ in front of the stall, and got people to vote with their empties. At the end of the weekend, the ‘Yes’ bin was full, so they resigned from their jobs the next day – and innocent was born.

In 2009, innocent sold a stake of the business to The Coc
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