When I joined Bupa just over 3 years ago, I realised that diversity, equity and inclusion felt different to what I was use to in my old place of work. While there were positive intentions, I felt there was an opportunity to do more . As someone from an ethnic minority background, I understand the importance of belonging and representation and I felt i had to speak up to help drive positive change which could be felt on the ground immediately.
I spoke with senior leaders about my experiences and what i thought we could do, this was on the back of a Peoples Call which was discussing representation of minorities in Bupa e.g. ethnicity and Gender pay gaps. Through these conversations, I was encouraged to join one of Bupa’s networks. Three years ago, I joined the Race and Ethnicity Network, without having any experience of network leadership or inclusion work, but the passion to make a difference. What started as a step outside my comfort zone became something I was deeply passionate about and got a great deal of satisfaction from.
When we first started with my co champion the Race and Ethnicity Network it had approximately 30 members. Through collaboration, engagement and a commitment to creating a safe and inclusive community, the network has grown to nearly 600 members today. Along the way, I the passion grew , helping people feel included, valued and able to bring their authentic selves to work.
The ongoing journey broadened my own understanding of inclusion. Whilst championing race and ethnicity, I learned from other community networks and minority groups, educating myself and others on different lived experiences and the barriers people face. This helped me become a stronger ally and advocate for all underrepresented communities, not just my own.
In February 2026, I wanted to extend that impact even further. Recognising the success of the Race and Ethnicity Network, I set out to help other community networks grow, sharing the knowledge, skills and lessons learned over the previous three years. This became increasingly important given the social and political climate affecting diversity and inclusion both within the UK and internationally.
I strongly believed that during uncertain times, organisations must work harder to create environments where everyone feels they belong. Our people are representative of our customers and the political shift, i needed to do more, to myth bust and rid some of this counter productive influence.
As a result, our community network structure has expanded significantly. Today, we have 14 amazing communities, supported by more than 30 passionate champions. We’ve also launched new communities, including our most recent Faith Community, ensuring more colleagues have a place where they can connect and be supported. Collectively, our networks now have more than 1,500 (maybe more).members across Bupa and continue to grow.
I am proud of the growth in membership, but even more proud of the impact behind the numbers. We have created communities where people feel safe, sharing their experiences, learning from each other and building understanding across differences. What began as a desire to improve inclusion has become one of the most rewarding parts of my career, enabling me to influence change, support others and help make Bupa a more inclusive place for everyone.
Changes introduced which was born from the voice of our colleagues attending these networks include the Rise Programme which is supporting colleagues from ethnic backgrounds to progress in their careers with the right mentorship and behaviours, introducing Halal food options across the whole of Bupa in the UK so they can sit, have lunch with colleagues and get to know each other more over a bite to eat, a passport of who i am which can be used to give to managers which details strengths and better understanding of a colleagues who may be neurodiverse, celebrating Pride with a healthy walk to get 1942 steps in remembering the relevance of that yea, Product and Policy teams engaging with networks to gather insight and support inclusive designs, there is so much stuff!
My achievement is not simply growing networks, it’s helping create a culture where people feel they belong, it’s allowed others to grow, be open and confident to voice their opinions without fear or consequences and better themselves. It’s been a life changing journey, which doesn’t stop and everyday is a new learn, i have recently recruited a person who is sight impaired and learning so much, the barriers that were in place for him to do his work is my problem and these are being fixed as we learn, he’s an absolute superhero, and one of the best members of my team, my unconscious bias and of others are slowly changing for the better . These are the impacts I am most proud of. Its like we have began movement .
