Hi, I'm Chane.

As a child, I grew up in a small area of Birmingham. I lived in a single parent household with my mum – she was and still is the person I look up to the most. She worked hard to give me the opportunities she didn’t have growing up. I also spent lots of time with my grandparents. My grandad was part of the Windrush generation, arriving from St Kitts and Nevis in the late 1940’s. My nan was part Irish, and they met working in a local factory. Throughout their relationship they faced a lot of discrimination, which helped to shape my own views on the importance of inclusion and equality. I remember my nan telling me stories about the discrimination she faced for being with my grandad. They went through a lot, but I’m proud of my heritage and where I come from.

When I got a bit older, my mum and I moved to Lichfield in Staffordshire, which was much greener, but less diverse. However, the education and opportunities were much better. I was one of only a handful of Black people in my local area and I found the transition into a new school, with new surroundings, quite challenging. Other children would ask to touch my hair because it was quite clearly different, and I sometimes felt singled out. I didn't enjoy my early years of school that much because I felt like an outsider who was trying to fit in – secondary school was a bit better as I started to find myself and explore who I really was.

Despite the challenges, I was really good at English and creative writing. I got support from my school, where I attended Sixth Form, to apply to university to study English Language and Creative Writing and I became the first woman from my family to go.

After graduating, I did some work placements at magazine houses and publishers before getting into digital marketing and storytelling. I was adamant that I was going to pursue a career in journalism or teaching, but I fell into a career which was destined for me. I applied to Deloitte but never thought I’d get in, because nobody in my family has ever worked in a corporate firm before. But as soon as I had the interview, I got a really good feeling about the people.

I am now an Assistant Manager in the firm’s Brand Execution team, part of Clients & Markets. We’re responsible for telling the firm’s stories, especially around our core market themes and other key issues impacting businesses.

One of the great pieces of work we’re responsible for is The Green Room podcast where we explore the topics that matter most in business with senior leaders and changemakers, both from within Deloitte and outside.

I get to work on other exciting content too, which you might have seen promoted via our social media channels and newsletters. I love that my role allows me to have lots of creative freedom, and I'm able to work across all the firm’s wide-ranging areas. It’s also really rewarding to work with various people from across the business and learn more about their stories.

I love being part of the Black Network at Deloitte, which is a space for people to talk about any issues impacting them and learn about the experiences of others. We also do a lot of work to support our Black colleagues in the business. For example, I previously ran a session last year helping people build their personal brand with some fantastic internal and external speakers empowering people to navigate new opportunities and build their networks. We also work closely with the Talent team and other diversity networks from an internal mobility point of view and regularly run events or work on projects together.