Black Female Leaders
Being a Black Female Leader. Report by Joyce Thornton
An inspiring event offering important insights into what it takes to be a Black female leader was held in March at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone Campus in central London. This offered a brilliant opportunity to hear the routes taken to carve out inspiring and diverse career paths, from three women who are leading the way forward with their drive, determination, skills and individual passions.
Westminster’s Chancellor, Natalie Campbell MBE, headed the panel, alongside Westminster alumnae Professor Miranda Brawn and Dr La Toya Quamina, a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Westminster Business School who chaired the discussion and posed the questions.
La Toya Quamina’s recent work focuses on Higher Education and examines the role of AI and the lived experience of people of colour within this sector. Introducing the other speakers, she talked about the importance of community and conversation – and urged Black, Brown and minoritised people to offer support to each other whenever possible.
La Toya Quamina urges Black, Brown and minoritised people to offer support to each other whenever possible.
Natalie Campbell, in addition to her role as Chancellor, is an award-winning social entrepreneur and broadcaster. She co-founded the Belu water brand, and this pioneering company has now donated £6.1 million in funding to Water Aid. She also ran as an independent candidate for Mayor of London in May 2024. Natalie asserted that she knew at the tender age of just 15 that she wanted to be ‘the boss’, and, hugely encouraged by her family, her resolve was always clear. She said, “I see No as a question”.
Natalie Campbell co-founded the Belu water brand. This pioneering company has now donated £6.1 million in funding to Water Aid.
Professor Miranda Brawn reflected on her 30+ year career as an investment banker, hedge fund trader and lawyer. She now focuses on her work as a philanthropist, board director, advisor, social entrepreneur, creator and host of 'The D.A.R.E. Podcast' where global leaders and celebrities focus on successful mindsets.
Miranda, one of the first women of colour to work on the trading floor of the renowned investment bank, JP Morgan, agreed with Natalie in stressing the importance of self-belief, hard work and the inspiration of a role model. However, the panel agreed that although mentors and sponsors in the workplace can be a huge boost – they collectively emphasised “each individual is ultimately responsible for being the one to drive it”.
Miranda Brawn, was one of the first women of colour to work on the trading floor of the renowned investment bank, JP Morgan,
Common threads that bind the three women together emerged during the lively discussion. All the speakers revealed a hugely strong sense of personal and cultural identity – together with a solid self-confidence, gained from a stable, supportive and hard-working family base. This essential grounding always facilitated any emerging ambition in each of the women. Miranda Brawn, who has a mixed heritage background (Dominican & Kashmiri) acknowledged that being raised to believe that “no one is better than you” was a great start. She encouraged those in the audience who were just starting out to “write down your goals” but also to be prepared to be flexible as life moves on and circumstances change.
Summing up, Natalie also spoke perceptively and movingly on the importance of self-care - as life changes and other challenges continually present themselves in the natural female ageing process. The physical challenges of the menopause can present many obstacles to overcome – particularly for many Black women, and in all stages of the journey for women she noted you should “Honour the season of your life”.
Westminster’s Black History Year team hope that this is the just the first session in a series that will continue to deliver inspiration, insight and advice to all, but especially to minoritised people of colour.