Dr Shani Dhanda moves through the world with power, precision, and purpose. Born and raised in Birmingham, Dr Shani Dhanda has become one of the UK’s most influential disability inclusion specialists — not through noise but through impact. Her work has reached over 1.5 million employees across the globe, transforming how businesses, institutions, and individuals understand accessibility.
Across more than 250 conferences on five continents, Dr Shani Dhanda has spoken alongside leaders like Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. But she speaks most directly to those still pushing against closed doors —the people told they don’t quite fit. Through her consultancy, media work, and eight executive roles, Dr Shani Dhanda has made one thing clear: inclusion is not an act of charity—it is an act of justice.
Dr Shani Dhanda has a rare genetic condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, commonly known as Brittle Bone Disease. But she is clear: her disability is not what holds her back. What disables her, as she often says, are the barriers society builds—through bias, inaccessibility, and assumptions. That belief drives everything she does.
Navigating life as a South Asian woman with lived experience of disability, Dr Shani Dhanda brings an
intersectional perspective to every boardroom, broadcast, and keynote she enters. That perspective isn’t a
footnote to her work—it is its foundation. It fuels her conviction that inclusion cannot be optional and that identity should never be a reason to be underestimated.
Dr Shani Dhanda is the founder of multiple ground-breaking platforms, including Diversability, the Asian
Woman Festival and the Asian Disability Network—each created to challenge erasure, celebrate difference, and build community. These aren’t side-projects. They are structural interventions designed to shift culture as much as policy.
Recognition has followed. Dr Shani Dhanda has received over 30 honours and awards, including being named a BBC 100 Women Laureate and recognised as one of the UK’s most influential disabled people. Her voice carries into every corner of culture—from global summits to television screens, from government panels to grassroots movements.
Yet Dr Shani Dhanda’s work is not just about representation—it is about redesign. About asking what needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, and who gets to do the building. It is about challenging assumptions and then helping institutions do better.
From Birmingham to the world, Dr Shani Dhanda continues to reframe possibility—not through inspiration, but through insistence.
