IWD 2022: Get Set UK's Female Leaders - Shabana

Get Set UK is dedicating the entire week to its female leaders, with the goal of raising awareness about the problems women face in the workplace.

We invited some of Get Set UK's female leaders to answer the same three questions individually. Shabana Ghori, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Senior Manager, is the first to speak.

1. Tell me a little bit about your career, what inspired you to become a people leader/ manager?

It seems to me fate has always pushed me into leadership roles. I was literally born a leader, being the eldest of 5 children. Standing out from the crowd because of my gender, ethnicity, religion,  as well as being child of a working class, 1st generation immigrant parents, I have had to learn to ‘dance to the beat of my own drum’. 

My parents often spoke of their experiences and how they were limited by their circumstances, cultural barriers, and bigotry they faced.  They raised both me and my siblings to challenge the same barriers they faced, as they felt because of their sacrifices and because we were ‘British born’ we had more of a chance of breaking down the same barriers, giving us every  opportunity to reach our potential. Despite their challenges my father was a senior manager for large corporations for most of his career and both my parents in partnership, built and ran successful businesses. Their hard work was my inspiration to always aim high, carve my own path and break barriers for the next generation to go further.

2. What has been your biggest challenge(s), during the span of your career that you think is unique to women?

I always knew I had to work harder than my white and male counterparts, even dress and talk a certain way. When doors were opened to me, I was being told by both male and female leaders to fit into the cultural and society norms, by changing my personal qualities that made me, me and sometimes having to adopt a more androgynous persona. I have been told I am to ‘authoritative’ and ‘emotional’ in the same conversation.

3. If there was one perception you wanted to change in society related to women in leadership or work, what would that be?

Many of my personal beliefs are formed around the term ‘equity’. I feel female qualities have always been stigmatised to be ‘weak’ in the workplace, when in fact it has been proven time and time again through the various leaders across the world it is these same ‘nurturing’ and ‘emotional’ character traits that make us passionate, empathetic, and resilient leaders.