From Lived Experience to Organisational Accountability and Why DE&I Demands Action
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 20
Dr Amo Raju OBE DL has an extensive amount of experience in creating and managing disability services and EDI issues. His personal battles with depression, whilst rising to the top of his profession, have given him a unique perception of leadership. Amo is the author of the best-selling book 'Walk Like A Man', which is available on Amazon.
I’ve spent a lifetime navigating spaces never designed for someone like me. As a disabled Asian man in the UK, I grew up without seeing myself reflected in positions of power. I know the exhaustion of being the only one in the room and the transformative power of refusing to accept it.
The discourse around diversity and inclusion has evolved but familiarity has dulled its urgency. DE&I is either relegated to box-ticking or celebrated as a milestone when it should be a starting point. We’re at a crossroads: complacency or courage. Progress demands more than recycled language, it requires uncomfortable truths, systemic action and unfortunately for CEO’s - accountability.
My story isn’t unique. Disabled individuals, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, minority and marginalised communities carry the weight of exclusion, often silently because speaking up risks retaliation or ridicule. Like so many, I’ve fought to prove my worth in systems built to overlook me. But these experiences have crystallised my understanding of real inclusion which should not be about granting seats at the table but dismantling the structures that decide who gets a chair in the first place.
Too often, companies mistake visibility for equity. They showcase diverse teams while ignoring whether those individuals hold influence. They tout inclusive values yet tolerate microaggressions in hallways and boardrooms. I cannot overstate that last point enough. Let’s be clear, diversity without inclusion is just aesthetics. It’s a façade that changes nothing for those living the gaps between rhetoric and reality.
The path forward: From performative to proven
1. Embed, don’t append
DE&I cannot be a siloed initiative. It must thread through every function, hiring, procurement, product design, customer engagement because exclusion is systemic, so solutions must be too.
2. Measure what matters
Tie leadership KPIs to inclusion metrics. Who is mentored? Who is promoted? Who is heard? If it isn’t tracked, it isn’t prioritised.
3. Listen beyond the loudest voices
Exclusion thrives in subtleties: the overlooked wheelchair space, the interrupted speaker, the "cultural fit" bias. Leaders must actively seek marginalised perspectives, not as tokens but as truth-tellers.
4. Trade good intentions for accountability
Mistakes will happen. Progress lies in transparency: accept any mission-drift, audit failures, correct your course and ensure impacted voices are central to and within the solution.
The next generation sees through hollow allyship. They demand workplaces where belonging isn’t conditional, where success isn’t predicated on conforming to outdated norms. Any failure to continually address DEI will mean the best talent will simply apply else elsewhere.
This work is personal. I’ve witnessed the brilliance that flourishes in inclusive spaces, teams that innovate faster, lead with empathy and outperform because they harness all voices. But I’ve also seen the cost of exclusion - potential stifled, not by ability but by bias.
To every leader reading this: The era of incremental change is over. Challenge your comfort. Interrogate your power. Replace targets with tangible action because inclusion isn’t about optics. It’s about people. And if after all your efforts, the boardroom insists on continuing it’s discriminatory practises, then I’m afraid it is time for you to move on.
The choice is simple: Continue to decorate the status quo or dismantle it.
Read more from Dr. Amo Raju
Dr. Amo Raju OBE DL, Disability Influencer & Ambassador
Dr. Amo Raju OBE DL is a disabled person with an incredible back story captured in his best-selling book 'Walk Like A Man.' Having defied societal expectations, Amo became a bhangra singer with two recording contracts, CEO of a multi-million pound UK charity, a politician, and recipient of countless awards. Today he enjoys mentoring the next generation of disabled people in leadership positions as well as keynote speeches on international stages.
