Earlier this week, I was delighted to see an email from Sara Weller, CBE, drop into my inbox, with information about her upcoming disability inclusion conference, ActionAble. I interviewed Sara four years ago, as she was beginning her advocacy journey, and was thrilled at the opportunity to speak with her again to hear about the work she has been doing since 2021. A fascinating, formidable and accomplished woman in the world of business, Sara has had, and continues to have, a successful career as a Chair and NED, currently sitting on the board at BT and holding the position of Chair for the Money and Pensions Service.
However, on top of her impressive credentials as a businesswoman, she has spent the four years since our last interview as a leading voice campaigning for people with disabilities in the workplace. This is because, in 2009, Sara’s life was irrevocably changed when she was diagnosed with progressive Multiple Sclerosis. She was Managing Director of Argos at the time, a role she would eventually step back from in 2011 as her condition continued to evolve.
“I decided: someone has to take the step, because followers won’t follow where leaders won’t go.”
Sara shares with me that she didn’t openly talk about her disability until joining BT in 2020, finding the change of role as an opportunity. She explains: “We talk about authentic leadership and bringing your whole self to work but I knew that if I didn’t take the opportunity to introduce myself to a whole new set of people as disabled, then I would be living a lie.
“I decided: someone has to take the step, because followers won’t follow where leaders won’t go.”
Since then, she has been, “getting to know the landscape” by understanding how many people in senior leadership positions have declared disabilities. However, her search was less fruitful than she expected. “I looked,” she tells me, “but I couldn’t find anyone else on a FTSE100 board. It was this discovery that encouraged me to use my platform in the first instance.” Initially, progress was slow. “I often came across people in senior positions who said they were already prioritising gender and race and couldn’t start a disability journey because they didn’t have enough disclosure. I found there was a lot of goodwill in individual conversations, but there wasn’t much walking to back up the talk.”
“This landscape will force us to be crystal clear about why we think EDI is a good thing.”
Rather than feeling anger or responding aggressively, Sara’s ethos when it comes to campaigning is as determined and considered as she is – for her, the goal is to solve problems, not fight battles. And this in part, is where the idea for ActionAble 2025 came into being. Once she realised how many people were doing assessments of workplaces, or leadership coaching, she thought, to solve the problem of those outside the space not knowing they were there, there needed to be an accessible way to bring these educators and business leaders together to share advice and best practice. She says: “I like to use the analogy of a swimming pool.
“When you are sitting on the side of the swimming pool it looks like it’s going to be difficult and cold when you get in, but actually, when you get stuck in and swim – especially with support – it’s not as difficult as you think.”
The conference, which is being hosted virtually this Wednesday 26 February, will bring together around 1,100 people from 600 organisations, with speakers including Rain Newton-Smith, Caroline Casey and keynote speaker, Charlie Mayfield.
“It’s a bit like painting lines on a football pitch. You say this is the space where I want you to play and then people are just waiting to help.”
As our conversation continued, the topic of the global state of diversity and inclusion came up. Against the backdrop of many companies scaling back their initiatives, especially in the United States, I was interested to hear Sara’s perspective. Her response is refreshingly optimistic. She tells me: “I think the fact that 1,100 or more people have signed up to the ActionAble conference about disability inclusion proves not everyone is sitting on the bench, thinking they don’t want to play this game anymore.
“This landscape will force us to be crystal clear about why we think EDI is a good thing. One in four customers has a disability or a long-term health condition, two in five of those can’t find the products and services they need because our businesses are led by people who don’t share those concerns, or they don’t feel able to talk about them.”
Sara explains that 24% of people in the UK are assessed as having a disability or long-term health condition, but that number isn’t necessarily the target she would put in place for businesses due to the nature and variety of disabilities. “BT had a goal of 17% that we put in place when I started, and Channel 4 are at about 20%. But not every disabled person will be in work; so we talk of fair, if not equal, representation.”
“Not everyone is sitting on the bench, thinking they don’t want to play this game anymore.”
But it is clear that there is still real stigma around disability. “Through the conversations I’ve had with people, I’ve found that they think they are likely to be treated as if they are a lesser person if they declare their disability. I personally found that my own experience changed because people were worried about saying the wrong thing or using the wrong word. But once I shared that, actually, I need you to open the door because I’ve got two sticks, or you can carry my coffee across the room, I found people relaxed.
“It’s a bit like painting lines on a football pitch. You say this is the space where I want you to play and then people are just waiting to help.”
Reflecting over the past four years and seeing the work Sara has done, I am honoured to have been a part of her journey. “I was just beginning to tell my story when we last did this, and you were the first public conversation I had,” she tells me. “To talk to somebody else and see your story written down gives you another set of words.” The impact that Sara has had through her campaigning has been extraordinary, and the ActionAble conference on Thursday is simply the next step in Sara’s mission to problem solve. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Quickfire questions
Who is your biggest inspiration? I sat on the board of Lloyd’s Charitable Foundation and Baroness Rennie Fritchie was the Chair. She walked with a stick like me, but she didn’t let her disability get in her way nor did she disguise it. It was a part of her, but it wasn’t the thing you remembered about her – you remembered her graciousness. I wanted to be like her.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve seen or read recently? ‘Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking’ by Matthew Syed.
We asked you this question in 2021, but four years later, what would you now like your legacy to be? Last time I said I wanted to help raise the second half of the £100 million needed to stop MS progression. Now they’ve reached £90 million. What I would love my legacy to be now is for every FTSE100 business to have a goal for disability inclusion, a programme of activity and a report on progress in its annual report.
