For over 20 years, Anj Handa has worked at the intersection of equality, leadership, and structural change: as a professional lobbyist, governance specialist, consultant, community builder, and speaker. The world is not yet fair or safe for women. That is not a background statistic. It is the reason Anj Handa does everything she does. Her work is grounded in a single, unfashionable conviction: that women's inequality is not a pipeline problem or a cultural inconvenience. It is a structural failure, reproduced through the design of organisations, boards, and institutions that were not built with women in mind, and have not been adequately redesigned since.
Anj is the Founder of Inspiring Women Changemakers (IWC), a community and consultancy working toward a world that is safer and fairer for women and other marginalised people. Her consultancy work supports boards, leadership teams, and funders in making decisions differently: examining who holds authority, whose experience informs strategy, and whether the people most affected by decisions have genuine influence over them. Her authority is grounded in practice. In 2014, she led a high-profile legal and media campaign on behalf of a woman and her two daughters facing deportation and the risk of Female Genital Mutilation. She assembled a top legal team, coordinated a petition that gathered 126,500 signatures, and engaged global media and parliamentarians. The campaign succeeded. It also taught her exactly how power moves through institutions, and what it takes to redirect it.
Anj is one of fewer than 1% of Black and brown women in the UK holding governance roles at senior level, having served as Chair of arts organisation Freedom Studios and as Independent Governor and Committee Chair at Leeds Arts University. She brings both the fluency of someone who has worked inside those rooms and the clarity of someone committed to changing them. She is multilingual, with German as her second language, and has worked with global teams and on diplomatic assignments. Her talks are known for connecting lived experience to structural analysis in a way that moves mixed audiences from insight to action, without ever losing warmth, rigour or hope. Anj's previous clients include Sky Business, GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, the NHS, CIMA, the Chartered Management Institute, Innovate UK, Leeds Beckett University and EGN, as well as charities, funders and civil society organisations across the UK.
A committed and determined advocate for women’s rights, Anj’s campaigning for equality in the workplace and society has been undeniably influential. Currently volunteering on the board of several organisations with similar missions, Anj continues to inspire lasting change in individuals and businesses. Named by Forbes as one of their 10 Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazers You Need to Get Familiar With, 2019, Anj is ideally suited to speak to corporate audiences on enhancing inclusion for future-proofed workplaces. A truly exceptional speaker, Anj is paving the way for women leaders, with incredible results.
Anj's official speaking topics are listed below:
Who's Missing, and What It Costs
When women, and particularly women whose identities compound that exclusion, are consistently absent from leadership, it is not only a fairness failure. It is a design failure. This keynote makes the structural case for women's representation from the impact outward: what happens to decision-making quality, risk assessment, organisational culture and long-term resilience when the people closest to the issues are furthest from the decisions. Honest about the barriers. Clear about what better looks like. Designed to leave audiences with a compelling picture of what becomes possible, not just what is currently missing.
Suitable for: corporate leadership events, board development, professional networks, funder convenings
The Labyrinth, Not the Ceiling
The glass ceiling is the wrong metaphor, and it has been pointing organisations in the wrong direction for decades. The barriers women navigate are not one dramatic obstacle at the top. They are a complex, intersecting set of structural and cultural conditions that operate at every level, and they affect different women differently depending on race, disability, age and other factors. This keynote names those conditions clearly, examines what organisations are inadvertently building in, and shows what a better-designed route looks like. Grounded in Anj's own experience of navigating institutions as a British Indian woman in governance, and in two decades of practice helping organisations see what they have designed without noticing.
Suitable for: women's leadership conferences, L&D programmes, corporate and civil society audiences
Collective Power: How Changemakers Move the World
Rooted in the founding story of IWC and two decades of watching what happens when people bring their skills, networks and courage together in service of a shared purpose. This talk is about the practical and political power of collective action: how to build coalitions across difference, how to use narrative to shift power, and why the most important thing any changemaker can do is stop working alone. Story-rich, energising and designed to leave people with a clearer sense of their own capacity to contribute, and of the community of people doing this work alongside them.
Suitable for: civil society conferences, women's networks, staff development, changemaker and advocacy audiences
Leading Through Backlash: Staying Brave, Strategic and Well
For leaders and changemakers, navigating a political and cultural moment in which progressive values are being actively contested. Draws on Anj's own experience of leading high-profile campaigns under pressure, and on two decades of observing what sustains movements and what burns them out. Practical, honest and grounded in what people are actually facing right now. This is not a talk about resilience as self-management. It is a talk about strategy, community and the long game. The tone is not defiant. It is steady, clear and full of hope for what sustained collective effort can achieve.
Official Feedback From In-Person & Virtual Events:
“Anj was amazing when she spoke for one our Youth for Europe series, a large scale KA3 European youth project funded by the Erasmus plus programme and the European Commission. The project has brought together over 200 young people together from 6 different countries with European policy makers and inspiring people to create European policies to present to the EU on 3 main topics; education, media and the environment… Anj was very open to the project and really wanted to connect with and inspire the young participants. We kept in communication before the talk and she was professional, organised and nothing was too much for her. When it came to the talk Anj was great, she prepared an interesting topic that fit with the aims of the project that generated lots of discussion… From an organisational viewpoint it was great to have a speaker who really knew how to engage with the young people and from all the feedback everyone really enjoyed it and took lots of new ideas and inspiring thoughts away with them. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Anj again in the future and we would recommend her work to everyone." - Ben Holland, Youth Development Manager at Momentum
“We invited Anj to speak with a group of young people who participated in Youth Exchanges to produce their own policy proposal. Throughout Anj was easily reachable, responsive and very adaptable to the fast-paced programme planning. Anj used her own personal experiences of Erasmus and studying in Germany and described how her experience motivated her to become environmentally conscious. Anj went above and beyond to make the speech accessible to anyone, accounting for making big changes even if you have very little resources. The young people were inspired by the tips & tricks Anj had to offer and the livestream of Anj's speech has reached over 750 people! I am continually amazed by Anj's ability to bring her insight and colourful imagination into informative and educational speeches.” - Emily Keal, Youth Worker at Europeer
“We were delighted to have Anj speak and her presentation went down a storm! She was articulate, funny, emotive and thought-provoking - not easy to do in the time we gave her! I would highly recommend Anj to speak at your event. I have nothing but praise for her approach and her style.” - Gary Hibberd, Consultants Like Us
“We are very thankful to Anj for being a guest speaker at Wrigleys Solicitors' Employment Law Conference for Charities. She is a highly professional and engaging speaker, and it was a pleasure to work with her. Anj knew her subject inside out, presenting on it with great passion and adapting her content to chime with the theme of our day and our delegates' sector and circumstances. The delegate feedback on her session was extremely positive, with one delegate writing "Anj's presentation was very powerful and thought provoking". We were also grateful that she gave her time after the session to network with delegates, having some profound conversations which we are sure will lead to positive change. Her unique perspective on EDI was refreshing and provided invaluable insights to the many delegates in attendance, including seasoned HR professionals. We would highly recommend Anj to others and look forward to working with her again. We would like to thank you again for your incredible contribution, Anj. You helped make this event truly special.” - Alocoque Martin, Wrigleys Solicitors
"Anj was an absolute superstar, with a VERY short turnaround time Anj delivered a fantastic and tailored keynote at our International Women’s Day event. I’d highly recommend Anj and her approach to the glass ceiling. It was thought-provoking and really did fit the theme this year. Thanks for all your hard work and collaboration.” - Olivia Ogbomo, Senior Project Manager at Innovate UK
“Anj offers valuable thoughts and input based on her own experience. For example, Anj has good knowledge of how to create spaces inclusive for people with disabilities, seen and unseen, which can be helpful in considering access issues. Anj did her own prior research on the themes and issues of the event to familiarise herself further with the contributors and their work. Anj showed passion for the themes from her own personal experience and used that in her chairing to create a starting point for broader audience dialogue.” - Dr Shona Hunter, WhiteSpaces Initiative
"We were delighted to have Anj speak and her presentation went down a storm! She was articulate, funny, emotive and thought-provoking - not easy to do in the time we gave her! I would highly recommend Anj to speak at your event. I have nothing but praise for her approach and her style." - Garry Hibberd, Cyberfort
"We invited Anj to speak with a group of young people who participated in Youth Exchanges to produce their own policy proposal. Throughout Anj was easily reachable, responsive and very adaptable to the fast-paced programme planning. Anj used her own personal experiences of Erasmus and studying in Germany and described how her experience motivated her to become environmentally conscious. Anj went above and beyond to make the speech accessible to anyone, accounting for making big changes even if you have very little resources. The young people were inspired by the tips & tricks Anj had to offer and the livestream of Anj's speech has reached over 750 people! I am continually amazed by Anj's ability to bring her insight and colourful imagination into informative and educational speeches." - Emily Keal, Youth Worker at Europeers
“Anj was the keynote speaker at an important event for the organisation and I could not have been happier with her contribution, advice and support. She was a true professional, radiating calmness and putting others at ease. Anj has a lovely, relaxed approach whilst simultaneously taking the subject matter very seriously. She ran our panel of speakers and turned what could have been quite a stiff, formal process into a natural conversation, even a 'fireside chat'. Most importantly, I spoke to attendees after the event who were equally inspired by Anj's words including one who said the event has 'opened his eyes to the need for change'. Can't ask for more than that!” - Catherine Seymour, Association for Charitable Foundations
"Anj joined our Global Directors meeting to share her story around self care and how it is an essential - not just a ‘nice to have.’ Anj inspired our colleagues from around the world and her tone and pitch were spot on. There were so many useful takeaways for all of us. Thanks so much Anj -you are a true inspiration and we are really excited to connect with you in the future!" - Christina Lewis, Head of People at Restless Development
- 2019 – Named by Forbes as one of their 10 Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazers You Need to Get Familiar With
- 2017 – Winner of the AFSA Positive Action Award
- 2016 - Founded Inspiring Women Changemakers
- 2016 – Created the Igniting Inspiration Awards
How to hire Anj Handa
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Anj Handa for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
