Churchill Fellowship
"There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction."
— Winston Churchill
Building inclusive work cultures for disabled employees to drive innovation.
What is a Churchill fellowship?
The Churchill Fellowship is a UK charity that supports individual UK citizens to follow their passion for change, through learning from the world and bringing that knowledge back to the UK. Together the community of Churchill Fellows use their international learning to lead the change they wish to see across every area of UK life.
My Destinations
M-enabling conference, Washington DC
Cornell University, Ithaca
New York
Zero Project, Vienna Austria
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Paris, France.
FAQs
Why are you looking at innovation?
Innovation looks different in every industry, but the one thing that connects them all is that it relies on people. The best people, in the best environments, with the best support. Innovation comes from effective teams, who can explore and push the boundaries of their industry norms and expectations. Research shows us that innovation is already linked to diverse teams- but many people don’t realise that much of the software we use today was initially developed for use by the disabled community. Problem-solving, diverse thinking, and seeing the world in different ways are key to innovation, and these are all skills that the disabled community has.
What is a key learning coming out of my conversations?
Key topics that came up across industries and company sizes include the struggle with collecting data from the disabled community, the lack of trust built between companies and disabled people to allow for effective disclosure, and the struggle to connect with the disabled community authentically to drive communication of products, services or opportunities that are developed specifically with disabled people in mind. A major topic to come out of the research is how AI is being used at work, whether accessibility has been considered and the risk vs reward for disabled people in the workplace.
What has been my favourite moment so far?
Attending the M-enabling conference in Washington DC allowed me to connect with thought leaders within the accessible tech and innovation space, it was incredible to learn more particularly about AI and how technology is changing. You can read my summary of the conference and conversations about AI here. I also absolutely loved visiting Cornell University and felt immediately at home in this space. They have a school of disability employment there, as well as running a module in their HR undergrad course on autism in the workplace. I hope that these modules will become a standard in all HR/business degrees here in the UK as well.
How are you hoping to use the research?
Once my research is completed I will be producing a qualitative report including all of the key insights and outcomes, including three different ‘action plans’ with policy and government action suggestions, how businesses can engage with the findings, and how disabled-led organisations and advocates in the space of disability in the workplace can champion these findings to progress their work. The findings will influence the way I work and engage with my consulting clients, to ensure the work I’m doing is at the forefront of innovation within their industries, and accessibility best practices.
Why are you interested in disability and inclusive work culture?
I have multiple invisible disabilities that led me down a non-traditional education path and start to my career, and I’m not the only one. The untapped potential of disabled people in the workplace cannot be understated, and harnessing the skills of the disabled community is often just a case of ensuring that work cultures are driven from an inclusive and accessible perspective.
When will the research be available?
After launching the report in October 2023 with a roundtable of UK experts and accessibility thought leaders from across industries, at the Goole London Accessibility Discover Suite, the research is now published and freely available! You can download the report via this link here!
