OUR HISTORY
Since 2016 the Foundation focusses on education, career development and networking opportunities to uncover diverse talent with the potential for leadership success in the workplace.
It all began in 2016 when our Founder and CEO Dr Miranda Brawn acted upon her idea. At the time Miranda had a successful platform as a multi-award winning barrister, banker and diversity leader working with various organisations and charities. She was also mentoring the next generation and using her voice to speak out and stand up for others to help increase diversity. She had been actively working to close the diversity gap for over 20 years and thus wanted to use her platform and knowledge to make a difference in a more personal way for one person.
Receiving hundreds of email requests for her help (i.e. mostly for mentoring and work experience). Miranda decided to launch something with a particular focus on ethnic diversity having identifies a lack of interest in this area at the time.
She wanted to push through the ethnic diversity conversation to action hence she proceeded to launch one diversity scholarship focused on education, which was due to be personally funded by her to help mentor and locate work experience for one young person. She had the idea of launching scholarships for many years, and it was during November 2015 that Miranda decided to proceed with this idea in the following year.
After discussing her idea with her alma materl, The University of Law, it was agreed that she could launch a diversity lecture event to educate and empower our next generation on what was happening in this area. This was also where the scholarship would be awarded.
As Miranda was an active alumna helping to inspire future lawyers already via talks and interviews, her law school immediately backed her idea and have been hosting the lecture events.
In fact, our first Diversity Leadership Lecture made UK history in October 2016 for being the first of its kind with a focus on young people from a black, Asian and ethnic minority background.
Miranda had also spoken to a few of her friends across different industries who wanted to support her idea by financially contributing, so that more scholarships could be awarded.
As a result, she decided to launch a foundation, to separate the funds and its work from her existing diversity and charity work. However, over time the two have complemented each other on various occasions hence our motto is: "Together we can change the world".
In 2018, we increased the number of education scholarships for a wider number of industries and to include all diversity strands and ethnicities. Hence intersectionality, which is a key factor of our work and our uniqueness as we bring everyone together regardless of their colour, class, religion, faith, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability and so forth.
In November 2019, the Foundation became the UK registered charity where we continue to help more future talent. Miranda became dedicated to improving the success levels of future talent from diverse backgrounds to help with the end goal which is to close the diversity gap in the workplace. She founded her Charity to deliver on that commitment.
Dr Miranda Brawn: "What struck me, was that everyone was focused on the different diversity strands in the workplace, with networks and events for those already in the system. However, there was not a lot of work being done to help with the diversity pipeline issue for those who are at school and University.
Hence the Foundation's work has had a great success rate in raising the aspirations and confidence levels of our next generation from diverse backgrounds. They are equipped to enter the workplace within professional services and be part of the much needed diversity change.
I also had the will to do something more enduring, so that it could be part of a legacy. It takes just one person and one action to help someone else, and this is literally the foundation on which our Charity has been built upon. It is really about all of us coming together to help change the world for the better."