About Anj Handa, Founder and Equity & Governance Specialist
Hi, I’m Anj Handa, Founder of Inspiring Women Changemakers and globally recognised DEI Keynote Speaker and inclusive leadership strategist with over two decades of experience driving equity, inclusion, and courageous leadership. My expertise spans inclusive governance, cultural transformation, and radical self-care.
Named by Forbes as one of the Top 10 D&I Trailblazers, I help organisations embed equity and inclusion into leadership and governance. I’m known for my ability to blend warm and compassionate storytelling, lived experience, and actionable strategy to create transformative change across sectors.
My consultancy work shapes inclusive governance structures at the highest levels, where I remain among less than 1% of Black and brown women in senior governance roles in the UK.
How I got into changemaking
When I started out on my changemaking journey, I had no idea that it would lead to my work being featured in national and international media, books and high-profile campaigns. In 2014, my life changed when I was introduced to Afusat Saliu and her two daughters. I led a high-profile campaign on their claim for asylum based on the risk of Female Genital Mutilation to her girls if returned to Nigeria, at the time when Boko Haram had hit the headlines.
I pulled together a top legal team and started a Change.org petition which gathered 126,500 signatures. The campaign attracted attention from the global media, MPs and even personalities such as Richard Branson. Unfortunately, the family was eventually deported but my fundraising campaign through a local charity secured their accommodation and schooling for a full year.
I learned that by gathering professional, motivated people together, it’s possible to make an impact on the lives of others on a massive scale. And that’s how Inspiring Women Changemakers came about.
Using story to teach and inspire others
I believe that the authority to speak on diversity, equity and inclusion within leadership must be reflected by my own example. I share the personal and professional lessons developed through my career and draw on my experience of leading a high-profile legal and media campaign. My talks cover little-explored themes such as cultural and psychological safety, emotional correctness and radical self-care. These experiences inspire others to make change in themselves, their workplaces and communities, and the wider world.
Trained as a speaker and in media relations, I’m multilingual (my second language is German) and bring inter-cultural expertise having worked with global teams and on diplomatic assignments. This experience qualifies me to advise organisations on how to attract and retain diverse talent and develop highly effective, globally savvy leaders.
Can I book Anj Handa as a speaker for our event?
Yes, let’s chat. Get in touch.
In Print
I’ve been featured in Generation Share by Benita Matofska and Sophie Sheinwald, a visual storybook featuring 200 global changemakers, and the largest ever collection of changemaker stories. My work on Female Genital Mutilation and asylum also been included in Eradicating FGM in the UK by Guardian writer Hillary Burrage, and Refugee Tales by Comma Press. I’m currently writing my memoir based on my family’s experiences of the British Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 through an intersectional, feminist lens.
