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 theBBC's 100 Women in 2020 and has been named to theShaw 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]
Dhanda's mother was asecond generation immigrant and her father was a first generation immigrant in the UK, both fromPunjab, Northern India.[8] She was born inBirmingham, UK. When she was two years-old Dhanda was diagnosed withBrittle 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 localGurdwara.[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 FacesChamber of Commerce annual awards in 2020, receiving a fully funded place atAston University to achieve herMaster of Business.[10][11]
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 forTyson Fury,Floyd Mayweather andAnthony Joshua.[8] She has also worked forVirgin Media as a disability program manager.[8] She founded theAsian 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 TheShaw Trust Power List, and as one ofBBC's 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020.[13][8][14]
In 2020, Dhanda was featured in an interview withBritishVogue about activism and her part within that movement.[15]
In 2021, she featured inLinkedIn'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'sLoose Women.
In February 2022, Dhanda delivered aTED (conference) talk in London, sharing how to make inclusion everyone's responsibility and discussing Diversity and Equity as a personal responsibility.[17]
Dhanda is a former trustee ofLeonard Cheshire Disability.[18]
On 7 March 2022, to mark International Women's Day,Scope announced Dhanda as an ambassador for the charity.[19]