Hi, I'm Melanie.

I’m Black British Caribbean and I grew up near Birmingham in a multigenerational household. My grandparents came to the UK as part of Windrush and they went into professional careers, my grandmother as a nurse and my grandad as a carpenter. He was always building us toys and furniture and we spent a lot of time outdoors. There was a lot happening in the 80s and 90s for Black families, but I grew up in quite a sheltered environment.

It wasn’t until I started private school that I began to notice incidents of classism. I was made to do speech classes because of my Birmingham accent. As I became older, there were certain assumptions from some people about what I could attain, based on my class and race.

After school I studied at university for a BA(Hons) degree in International Business and Spanish, followed by an MSc in International Politics and Human Rights. During my studies I spent a year abroad in Spain, which is where I started to really understand what it meant to be Black woman out in the world. I was highly educated, but I still felt like I had to fight for my right to exist. I experienced very direct racial abuse and challenges to my ambitions, which made me very depressed.

Back home I worked hard to get my confidence back, as I didn’t want to let it impact my passion for travelling or my ambition to be successful. I went travelling to Southeast Asia as part of a volunteer project, which was what my peers were doing. It made sense to further ‘fit in’ and prove my value. I felt I needed to work harder and tick certain boxes to show that I deserved a seat at the table in the professional world. When I returned home, I was offered a corporate banking role which I’d always pushed myself towards. However, my travel experiences made me realise I wanted a more people focused career. I went into consulting! I later joined Deloitte because it felt like a great brand to work for.

I’m now a Director in Technology and Transformation, working in the Human Capital team. I work with energy and industrial manufacturing companies. We help these firms to implement changes through new technology, supporting their workforce to adapt. This starts with developing a vision and strategy to reimagine what their workforce can look like. Then we work with business leaders to understand the changes and design new teams, as well as helping their people to develop new skills. My career is people focussed and I enjoy connecting with different teams and working closely with clients to make positive change for their workforce and leadership.

Outside of my main role I’m one of the Technology and Transformation People and Purpose leads, and I try to participate in the Deloitte Black Network initiatives. Our firm is built on the power of our diverse people, and our networks are an important way for our people to celebrate individuality. During the Black Experience Initiative, I was part of the reverse leadership mentorship scheme. I found it very useful to spend time with senior leaders before I became a Director.

I later had the opportunity to take part in the Future Leaders Programme, which gave me personalised self-development support. I found myself wanting to build spaces for underrepresented groups, and it helped me to identify traits that I really value as a leader. These include curiosity and listening to others, as well as the ability to show vulnerability. I think my passion for inclusivity has been driven by my own early experiences with racism and other people telling me what I can and can’t achieve. I understand how important it is to feel as though you’re accepted and your voice is equal.