Shani Dhanda

Shani Dhanda is a multi-award-winning disability specialist, broadcaster and social entrepreneur. She is listed as The Shaw Trust Power 100 List one of the UK's most influential disabled people and BBC's 100 Women 2020 List. As a keynote speaker and practitioner for inclusion across business, government, non-profit and wider society, Shani helps organisations break barriers and integrate inclusion into their business frameworks. As an influential woman in leadership, Shani has taken change into her own hands and founded numerous organisations to improve representation and challenge social inequality globally. The disruptive platforms are united by the common purpose of empowering underrepresented communities: 1. Diversability, the world's first inclusive platform for disabled people aimed at reducing the financial pressures from the unavoidable extra costs of living with a health condition or impairment. 2. Asian Woman Festival, the UK's first-of-its-kind annual festival and global community smashing stereotypes to empower and celebrate Asian women. Reached over 2 million people online across more than 38 countries. 3. Asian Disability Network, an educational platform and support network for people who experience multiple types of stigma due to their ethnic and cultural identities. Passionate about representation and portrayal of intersectionality, Shani was the face of LinkedIn's first-ever TV ad, which was featured across digital, print and radio channels with over 17 million views. She is a LinkedIn changemaker and sits within the top 0.09% of most influential members in the UK. Shani is a trustee of global disability charity Leonard Cheshire and Vice-President of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce. As a subject matter expert, Shani brings the voices of disabled people and their organisations to policy development for the Government's Disability Unit, the Cabinet Office. Shani is a member of ITV's Cultural Advisory Council and advisor on disability screen representation at the BFI. She is an ambassador at Valuable 500 and Parallel London. Shani's style and approach are described as 'a winning combination of authenticity and passion, helping to remove the awkwardness and fear of having confident conversations about disability within business and society.' Shani's client list includes Google, Bloomberg, Facebook, Mimecast, Viacom and LinkedIn. She has shared speaking stages with Michelle Obama and Hilary Clinton. Shani has been a contributor on Channel 4 News, ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, the BBC Asian Network and various BBC regional radio stations. She has also been featured in British Vogue, Stylist and the Financial Times. Shani has written for Metro and Huffington Post.