Belinda Parmar uses a science-based approach to transform culture and experiences across a variety of sectors. As founding CEO of The Empathy Business, she works with organisations to create a workplace that will make employees happier and healthier. She also campaigns to increase the number of women in tech through the critically acclaimed Little Miss Geek. Her work in increasing inclusivity in the field saw her awarded an OBE in 2015. Whether she is talking to businesses about how they can transform their culture to create a happier working environment or about diversity and inclusion in technology, Belinda creates an engaging and informative environment that will impact everyone in attendance.
Belinda studied French and Spanish at the University of Manchester before working in various roles for OgilvyOne, Syracuse University and Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2010 she became the founding CEO of The Empathy Business, an organisation that works with international businesses to transform internal cultures and customer experiences by using empathy and making it part of processes across the company in areas such as customer interactions, communication, diversity and inclusion. Through her work with the company, Belinda created the World’s first Empathy Hub in Europe's largest bank.
Believing empathy leads to an increase in corporate performance, she created the Global Empathy Index, the first index to measure empathy and inclusion at scale, now published in the Harvard Business Review. She has also worked as Empathy-In-Residence at Barclays, Lloyds and Centrica, educating business leaders on nudge theory and behavioural science to help them implement techniques and practices that embed empathy at the heart of what they do, making for a happier, healthier, and more resilient workforce.
In 2012 she published Little Miss Geek, inspiring young women to pursue careers in technology. Belinda's women in STEM initiatives have been a great success, increasing the number of girls taking GCSE Computer Science by 52% in inner-city London. She also writes for the Guardian on this area and wider topics, calling for an increase in diversity in all workplaces. Her work in this area has seen her awarded an OBE, and in 2020 she was named as one of the top 20 Global Public Figures in Diversity. 2021 saw her voted a top 20 Diversity Champion. In 2023, Belinda was appointed as a Non-Executive Director at the Ministry of Defence.
Available to hire as a speaker, she has vast experience, including speaking at Davos as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum - something that makes Champions Speakers honoured to be an official speaker agent for Belinda Parmar. Drawing on over 20 years of experience Belinda Parmar educates and inspires her audiences, encouraging empathy, diversity and positive well-being.
Most recently, in honour of not only her commitment to empathy in the workplace but her passion for diversity and inclusion, Belinda Parmar was named as one of the Top 17 Speakers for National Inclusion Week Events - hire her today!
Social Media
Books
Little Miss Geek: Bridging The Gap Between Girls And Technology
The Empathy Era: Women, Business and the New Pathway to Profit
Reviews
Belinda Parmar received a 5 star rating across 5 events in 2023
Agent Recommendation
"Belinda Parmar is an exceptional keynote speaker, adept in science-based cultural transformation. As CEO of The Empathy Business, she combines empathy and inclusivity, notably enhancing workplace happiness and tech sector diversity, evidenced by her OBE and global recognition. Her engaging, insightful talks profoundly impact audiences, promoting empathy and wellbeing."
How to hire Belinda Parmar OBE
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Belinda Parmar OBE 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.
Belinda Parmar's official speaking topics are listed below:
- AI & the Role of the Human
- Transforming the Corporate World with Empathy & Diversity
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"A great choice. Belinda was professional, relevant, engaging and a role model for a room full of female grads" - Accenture
“Belinda gave an inspiring presentation on girls and STEM at our event at the United Nations in New York. Everyone in the room, whatever part of the world they came from, found it very original and extremely useful.” - Helene, United Nations
"Belinda’s keynote was a wild success. I overheard many people say that this was their favorite session. I would be honored to do any work with Belinda again—she is professional, engaging, interesting, and so very thought-provoking." - Sarah, Zendesk
“Every organisation and leader would benefit from the challenging business insight Belinda delivered. It made me realise how desensitised I'd become to the 'norms of communication.' It also took behavioural economics to a new level.” - Sue, Barclays UK
“Belinda is a charismatic and engaging speaker who had the entire audience captivated throughout. Through the whole process, Belinda made sure we had everything we needed to make our event a success and it worked. We are already planning our next project together." - Tracey, OpenMarket Ltd
"Just wanted to give you some feedback on Belinda, who spoke at our IWD event today as we really couldn't have asked for a better speaker. She took the time to prep with us (more than once), she really listened to our goals for the event and tailored her content with examples to match our audience expectations. Her delivery on the day was incredible; personable, funny, authentic and solicited really strong feedback from our attendees. We would absolutely recommend her to other businesses looking for someone to speak in her area of expertise and please don't hesitate to contact me if anyone needs a reference." - Laura, Marketing Director EMEA, Bullhorn
“Just wanted to feedback what a great session we had with Belinda yesterday. She was a really engaging presenter and got the audience really interested in a subject that is quite unusual for scientists. The site manager (whose budget I used to pay for this) said “I walked around the Technology of ice after lunch yesterday and colleagues were talking about the session and how insightful it was.” - Helen, Head of Communications, Infineum
"It was an empowering session and I personally found Belinda’s way of influencing and storytelling very inspiring. I will be applying the lessons learned in my professional and personal life." - Matt, NHS
"Empathy session was fascinating- some really thought provoking ideas." -Liz, Education Improvement Adviser, Education Improvement Service
- 2023 - Non-Executive Director at the Ministry of Defence
- 2022 - Shortlisted for Woman of the Year at the Women in IT Awards
- 2021 - Named as one of the Top 20 Diversity Champions
- 2020 - Named in the Top 20 Global Diversity Figures in Public Life
- 2020 - Awarded a Champion of Change Commendation by Management Today
- 2020 - Listed as One of the UK’s Most Influential Women in Tech
- 2015 - Received an OBE for Services to Women in Technology
- 2010 - Founded The Empathy Business / Lady Geek
- Author of: The Empathy Era & Little Miss Geek
- Author of the Global Empathy Index Published in the Harvard Business Review
- Selected as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum
