Belinda Parmar

Diversity campaigner and CEO of The Empathy Business, committed to transforming the world of work

Belinda Parmar is a diversity campaigner and the CEO of The Empathy Business.

Belinda uses the science of empathy to transform organisations focusing on leadership, communications and operations. She is the creator of the Global Empathy Index, which was published in the Harvard Business Review - the first index to measure empathy and inclusion at scale.

Belinda works with large companies to implement hundreds of ‘nudges’ and interventions that organically give rise to an empathy revolution, and give people simple practical ways with which they can create more inclusive cultures. Her focus is on belonging, diversity and creating more courageous cultures.

Belinda was Empathy-In-Residence at Barclays, Lloyds and Centrica, and she created the first ever Empathy Hub in Europe’s largest bank. Belinda was chosen in 2019 to speak at Davos as she is a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum.

Belinda was awarded an OBE in 2015 by the Queen for her services to women in technology. In 2020, she was chosen as one of the top 20 Global Public Figures in Diversity, and in 2021 she was voted a top 20 Diversity Champion.

Belinda has a law degree and a languages degree, and believes that the magic in companies happens when you combine rational and emotional thinking to drive change.

Belinda is the author of Little Miss Geek, which is used in schools to inspire young women to become tech pioneers, and is currently shortlisted for Woman of the Year 2022 in the Women in IT Awards.

In her #BreakingTheBias with Empathy speech, Belinda talks about the power of language in breaking down bias at work. Language is one of the most important tools we have in changing behaviour, yet the language we use at work is transactional, passive and lacks empathy. We use words such as “stakeholders” and “assets”, where we “cascade” information rather than bringing emotion and honesty into our conversations.

In this session, Belinda will cover:

- How biases are reflected in language, and how this is counter to an inclusive culture.
- The biases that affect women more than men at work, regarding likeability,
performance and confidence.
- What companies can do to measure and start to #BreaktheBias to create more
inclusive cultures.
- Her own experiences on #BreakingTheBias with Europe’s largest bank, and helping
the UK Government with its Covid communications.

[Belinda also offers a #BreaktheBias Masterclass - a 90-min session with her and a hostage
negotiator for leaders to practice how to use language to manage conflict in everyday
situations, such as giving negative feedback]

Other topics she speaks about:
-The Great Resignation
-Leading with Empathy
-Cultural Transformation, one nudge at a time

Some of her recent achievements:
-Woman of the Year, Shortlist, 2022,
https://www.bonhillevents.com/EN/WITAwardsUK2022/shortlist
-Women In Marketing 2021, nominee:
https://womeninmarketing.org.uk/awards/the-2021-wim-awards-shortlist/
-Top 20 Diversity Champions in 2021
https://www.globaldiversitylist.org/diversity-champions
-Campaigner of the Year; European Diversity Awards, Shortlist, Oct 2021
https://www.europeandiversityawards.com/shortlist-2021?lightbox=dataItem-ktrmspyn1
-Top 20 Global Diversity Figures in public life in 2020,
https://www.globaldiversitylist.org/public-life

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