I Can Represent

Ruth Badru is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol. Her research focuses on macroeconomic policy, structural inequality, gender and care, and the political economy of knowledge. Working across both theoretical and empirical traditions, she draws on culturally grounded economic perspectives to examine how models and policies respond to equity, distributional, and develop...

Zakiyah is a globally experienced professional makeup artist with nearly a decade in the industry. Her work has taken her around the world, collaborating with well-known names and respected publications. Through following her passion and consistently honing her craft, Zakiyah has not only built a successful career but also found purpose and personal growth along the way. She’s passionate about ins...

Ayesha Gilesjoined Avon and Somerset Police in December 2004 at the age of 21 after finishing her degree in psychology, she was promoted to detective sergeant in 2014, detective inspector in 2017 and detective chief inspector in 2019. Ayesha has worked in CID main office, Intelligence, strategic change and was the head of counter corruption unit, she is now the lead for tackling disproportionality...

Ngaio has many different strings to her bow. A lover of new people, collaborations and minds, her works is embedded in  building community out of individuality.  Her colourful portfolio career is based on  values of authenticity, identity, compassion  and  honesty. Ngaio, the versatile artist renowned for her vocals, songwriting, and DJing prowess, seamlessly blends these talents to craft  electri...

Keri Andriana chief executive & founder of Amschela Originating from Bristol, Keri is a multi-award winning self-taught handbag designer, entrepreneur and founding CEO of Amschela, a global vegan handbag company headquartered in England. Prior to founding the brand, she was a lawyer for 15 years,specialising in Prison Law & Reform. The brand also operates a social mobility programme provid...

Muneera is an international Poet, Cultural Producer, Writer, Community Researcher, Broadcaster,  TEDx Speaker  and WOW Festival Speaker. She conducts workshops, shares art, guest lectures, hosts, and finds alternative ways to educate and exchange ideas while focusing on methodologies of empowerment for non-centred people. At heart, Muneera is a storyteller, concerned with telling stories to disrup...

This week’s episode will focus on Black women working in the Arts sector, working as a writer for TV, stage and film with Jenny Davis.  Jenny writes for TV, stage and film. Jenny’s theatre credits include THE FRONT ROOM (Oval House); WEDDING CHORUS; FIFTEEN MINUTES OF WONDER (Bristol Old Vic); LOOKING FOR MR DARCY. Jenny was also founder-producer of MISSING PIECES a script in hand showcase of Blac...

This week's episode we will be focusing on women who work in the marketing and AT sector with Joyann Boyce. Joyann is the Founder and CEO of InClued.ai, a new platform that helps marketing teams to reduce bias, protect brand reputation and reach wider audiences. Her mission is to establish Inclusive Marketing as an industry standard. She is an award-winning entrepreneur with over six years of...

This week’s episode will focus on Black women working in the Education sector, with Aisha Thomas. To build a more inclusive education system, the teaching workforce must be representative of the communities they seek to serve– and yet people of colour are considerably underrepresented in the teaching workforce, especially among school leaders. Aisha's career began in law but took a transformat...

This week’s episode will focus on Black women working in the Legal sector. I am very excited to introduce my guest today, Marti Burgess a Partner with Knights Since 1999, Marti have practised as a lawyer. She is a partner at Knights, a national law firm with over 23 offices throughout the UK. She is an experienced corporate lawyer. In 1994 before Marti became a lawyer along with her brother, they...

Background to the sector Despite the evidence that shows diverse teams increase innovation, productivity and revenue, there are clearly still vast imbalances in the UK STEM workforce. In technology in particular, the lack of women from black and brown communities is worrying when the use of technology in our everyday lives.  When we look at the engineering sector, a 2018 Engineering UK report foun...

Georgia Ramsay is a Change & Configuration Management Analyst for the Council. She has an active union background – became chair of Unison Bristol Black members group. Also became an activist within Unison Southwest Region and was Unison Southwest Regional Black Members chair for a number of years. In 2001 she joined Operation Black Vote (OBV).  Its aim was to increase the number of people fro...

In this episode, you have Sandra Gordon in conversation with Sandra Meadows MBE a former Chief Executive Officer based in Bristol, Sandra is a Director for the Centre for Mentoring and Coaching, with considerable experience as an advocate, senior manager and non-Executive Director. Sandra works to achieve positive transformation and improvement within individuals and organisations, encouraging cre...

Radio Broadcaster and podcaster Sandra Green interviews the founder of I Can Represent podcast Sandra Gordon. Biography Sandra’s working career started as an admin assistant, and she worked her way up to running her own Call Centres across 3 sites for some trusted brands. She utilised the opportunity of a career break to undertake voluntary work in Africa, job coaching the homeless, and to become ...

Black women are still underrepresented - not visible in so many sectors and in key positions that can influence and make the changes that are necessary to create a more equitable playing field.  ICR, is a platform showcasing some of those women. In their own words you hear about their journey, understand their motivation/ inspiration and how they have overcome any obstacles.  It is a demonstration...