To kickstart our month-long Champion Women campaign, our first interview profile is with Sarah Garrett MBE, the CEO and Founder of Investing In Ethnicity. In this interview, Sarah shares her insights on her career journey and reflects on what experiences she had that led her to where she is today. Throughout her interview, Sarah emphasised the importance of challenging the status quo if it does not fit with who you are. She references the intersections that make up her identity, namely her Chinese-Malaysian heritage, her neurodiversity, and being a part of the LGBT+ community. Sarah champions the significance of being your authentic self and how that is crucial in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Sarah Garret MBE: My Journey
Throughout my life, I’ve always questioned the norm and challenged the status quo. I’m Chinese Malaysian on my mum’s side. I got to visit Malaysia a lot when mum could afford it as a single parent. Having that ability to experience different cultures and environments really opened my mind to different cultures. It was very grounding experiencing different cultures and ways of life outside of what I saw in the UK.
In my early 20s, while at university, I came out as being part of LGBT+ community. This, for me was an example of how I questioned ‘the norm’ and status quo. It created a skillset which led me to see that just because something is presented to you, doesn’t mean it’s right, or right for you. 10 years ago I received an ADHD diagnosis. Receiving this diagnosis really helped me understand more about myself and being neurodivergent. I wouldn’t call it a ‘superpower’ but recognising my ADHD has helped with challenging myself and how I find something isn’t working for me.
I’ve always been entrepreneurial and always liked to challenge myself, teach myself new things, and work on projects. I studied Maths at university and didn’t think it was going to give me the transferable skills I needed for my career. I considered a career in teaching, but I realised that also wasn’t for me. What really propelled me forward was the grant I was awarded from The Prince’s Trust, which I used to set up my first business – a magazine. It was a challenging and pivotal time, but it taught me how to put myself forward and pitch ideas, and so on… Most businesses fail within the first two years, and it was challenging trying to make the business work. After those two years I sold the business to a local publisher in Kent. It was devastating but I knew that experience would help me.
I moved to London to follow my ambitions and worked for a LGBT publication. London is where I began doing a lot of my work in DEI. Generally, it’s been humbling to witness shifts in society, policy changes, and public opinion around identity and being able to be your authentic self – whatever that looks like. There is blatant discrimination and racism within society, and acknowledging that is what’s necessary to get rid of it. With Investing In Ethnicity and our efforts with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Governance and Inclusive Leadership, our aim is to create racially and ethnically inclusive workplaces and support organisations in getting there. The APPG is chaired by Dawn Butler MP, who also recognises the need for inclusion.
Throughout my work in DEI, from initiatives, to celebrating success and advocates, and supporting businesses through consulting and benchmarking, I’ve always championed authenticity too. I’ve learnt that your experiences and identity make up who you are. Part of my career journey has been dictated by the feeling of not belonging, my identity, and the intersections that are in them like gender, being LGBT+, my heritage, and my neurodiversity. They’ve helped me figure out where I fit in, and where I don’t.
Not belonging is definitely a double-edged sword. Though it’s a negative feeling, it can teach you to find your tribe, and gives you the strength to reject the norm if it doesn’t fit with who you are. My words of advice to young women navigating their careers is: when you think you’ve failed, you actually haven’t. Other than that…I have four tips to share.
- Ask for help. You can learn from others, and they can learn from you.
- Figure out your goal, because that’s what you’re going to work towards and what is going to keep you grounded.
- Build your confidence, and believe in yourself. This can be putting yourself out there and trying new things.
- Keep going.
This interview was conducted by Michelle Aboagye and Priya Kondola.
