Shani Dhanda

Biography

Shani Dhanda is a social entrepreneur, campaigner and disability specialist. She has been named as a LinkedIn Changemaker, featured on the BBC 100 Women List and CEO Magazine's most influential women in leadership list, and appeared in the top 10 of The Shaw Trust Power 100 List of the UK’s most influential disabled people for three years running.

Shani has founded three diversity and inclusion initiatives. The first project of its kind, Diversability is an inclusive platform that attempts to address some of the costs that accompany disability by bringing together discounts for a wide range of products and services. Another pioneering project, the Asian Woman Festival, is an event aimed at challenging stereotypes and celebrating South Asian women. Whilst the Asian Disability Network offers support to those who can often have to deal with an additional sense of stigma within their own cultural or ethnic community. In addition Shani is a trustee of the welfare charity Leonard Cheshire Disability, and an executive committee member of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce.

Shani has appeared on TV in programmes as diverse as BBC 2’s Nadiya’s Time to Eat, BBC One’s The Truth About Looking Good, and Channel 4’s Divided Britain: The Lockdown Debate. She also featured in LinkedIn’s biggest UK print and TV advertising campaign. As a commentator on disability and inclusion issues, Shani has been a contributor on Channel 4 News, ITV News, Sky News, and the BBC Asian Network. She has also been featured in British Vogue, Stylist and the Financial Times, regularly writes for LinkedIn and has written for The Huffington Post.