About my work
I work with an organisation’s most important and valuable resource – its people – to challenge racism and to develop personal power through personal development programmes.
I design, develop and facilitate courses and programmes for individuals and organisations in all sectors to help them better understand the systematic nature of racism (and to draw parallels with other power inequities) and its impact so that they can then make choices that are more likely to enable them to fulfil their potential and to create and maintain inclusive environments where others can do the same.
I work with a few associates who share my values and approach.
For more information, please get in touch.
My background and experience
As a Black woman, my interest in racism and its impact was triggered because I wanted to better understand myself and my own experience. I was born in London and, from just weeks old, was raised by white carers in working-class areas – always very much in the minority and often reminded of that.
After leaving school, I worked in retail. The majority of staff were female but despite their skills, abilities and commitment, women were underrepresented at senior levels.
I knew it wasn’t fair, but it took a few years before I understood the ways power inequities shaped those dynamics.
And a few more before I acknowledged their influence on my feelings about myself and the impact on my own behaviour and relationships.
That understanding motivated me to a successful career in staff management and then to setting up this consultancy.
The focus of my work
That’s why the focus of my work at Neish Training is power. I want everyone to understand that there is only one race, the Human Race and there are as many differences in any group as in any other group, including your own group, however you choose to define your group.
But the socially constructed notion, not only of different ‘races’ but also that some of those ‘races’ are better than others, continues to shape our social order and to have a powerful influence on the ways we see ourselves and others.
Because of that, racism exists. And it kills, sometimes literally. It certainly kills motivation and inspiration and lowers aspirations. And, in these challenging times, we need everyone’s skills and creativity.
My personal development journey
My own personal development journey has included an Open University honours degree, an MSc in Managing Diversity, a PG Diploma in Transactional Analysis (TA) Counselling and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Levels 1 & 2.
I continue to study TA and to work, part-time, as a TA counsellor. TA theory, originally developed by Eric Berne, provides an explanation of personality that has proved highly successful in developing self-awareness and, through a clearer understanding of how we communicate, improving relationships. I find it also extremely useful in explaining the perpetuation of oppression, and it gives a theoretical explanation to underpin my ongoing work on challenging power inequities.
Collaborations
For many years, I worked with Jane Elliott, the international diversity educator, who developed the eye colour discrimination exercise made famous in the training films ‘The Eye of the Storm’, ‘A Class Divided’ and ‘Eye Opener’. I conduct the ‘brown-eyed, blue-eyed’ exercise here in the UK, providing an experiential opportunity for participants to understand the impact of power inequities.
For more information, a conversation, or to work one-to-one with me, get in touch.
