Shani Dhanda
Shani Dhanda | |
|---|---|
| Born | Birmingham, England |
| Employer | Virgin Media |
| Height | 3 ft 10 in (117 cm) |
| Awards | Shaw Trust Power List, BBC's 100 Women (In 2020), Future Face of Greater Birmingham |
Shani Dhanda (c. 1988) is a British disability activist. She was named to the BBC's 100 Women in 2020 and has been named to the Shaw Trust Power 100 on several occasions, earning the title of the UK's most influential disabled person in 2023.[1][2][3][4] Dhanda founded the Asian Disability Network and helped organise the first-ever Asian Woman Festival in the UK.[5][6][7]
Early life and education[edit]
Dhanda's mother was a second generation immigrant and her father was a first generation immigrant in the UK, both from Punjab, Northern India.[8] She was born in Birmingham, UK. When she was two years-old Dhanda was diagnosed with Brittle Bone Disease (Osteogenesis Imperfecta), causing her bones to frequently break.[8][9] Dhanda broke her legs 14 times by the age of sixteen.[8]
As a child, Dhanda and her family attended a local Gurdwara.[8]
Dhanda worked for three years while studying to achieve her degree in events management.[8] Dhanda was named the Future Face of Greater Birmingham at the sixth Future Faces Chamber of Commerce annual awards in 2020, receiving a fully funded place at Aston University to achieve her Master of Business.[10][11]
Career[edit]
As a 16-year-old, Dhanda applied to over 100 roles and was rejected from every one. She claims this was due to her disability.[9]
Dhanda founded an events management company and worked on events for Tyson Fury, Floyd Mayweather and Anthony Joshua.[8] She has also worked for Virgin Media as a disability program manager.[8] She founded the Asian Disability Network and the first Asian Woman Festival in Birmingham.[8][7][5]
Dhanda has also developed and launched Diversability Card, a discount card for people with disabilities.[5][12]
For her work, Dhanda was recognised as one of the UK's most influential disabled people by the annual The Shaw Trust Power List, and as one of BBC's 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020.[13][8][14]
In 2020, Dhanda was featured in an interview with BritishVogue about activism and her part within that movement.[15]
In 2021, she featured in LinkedIn's largest UK advertising campaign, Dhanda's first television advert gained her the title of LinkedIn Changemaker.[16]
In December 2021 and March 2022, she appeared as a guest panellist on ITV's Loose Women.
In February 2022, Dhanda delivered a TED (conference) talk in London, sharing how to make inclusion everyone's responsibility and discussing Diversity and Equity as a personal responsibility.[17]
Disability advocacy[edit]
Dhanda is a former trustee of Leonard Cheshire Disability.[18]
On 7 March 2022, to mark International Women's Day, Scope announced Dhanda as an ambassador for the charity.[19]
References[edit]
- ^ "Disability Power 100". Shaw Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2023
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC. 23 November 2020.
- ^ "The Power 100: Shani Dhanda". Shaw Trust.
- ^ "Disabled Asian women sidelined by care services, report finds | Saba Salman". the Guardian. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Randone, Amanda (7 August 2020). ""I'm Only Disabled When I Experience Barriers Or Bias": Shani Dhanda Is Here To Challenge Your Perceptions". Vogue.
- ^ Sarkar, Monica (20 May 2019). "Shani Dhanda gives strength to the disabled in the UK". CNN.
- ^ a b Yee, Hannah-Rose (2019). "Meet the woman fighting for more disability representation in the UK". Stylist.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sarkar, Monica (21 May 2019). "Disability advocate: If I didn't have my condition, I wouldn't be as driven". CNN. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Conor (10 May 2018). "How to remove barriers that confront disabled jobhunters". www.ft.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Disability rights activist crowned Chamber awards winner | GBCC". www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Jones, Tamlyn (28 August 2020). "Disability rights campaigner crowned Greater Birmingham Chambers' Future Face of 2020". Business Live. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Diversability Card | Exclusive discounts for people with disabilities". diversabilitycard. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Shani Dhanda". Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 List. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ Vogue. "I'm Only Disabled When I Experience Barriers Or Bias". August 2020. Amanda Randone[permanent dead link]
- ^ Shani Dhanda
- ^ Ten Things You'll Learn at This Year's TEDx London Women talks. Tess Lowery
- ^ Leonard Cheshire trustees
- ^ Shani Dhanda, Scope Ambassador
External links[edit]
- Shani Dhanda at IMDb