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Social commentator, writer and entrepreneur, Dr. Atul K. Shah has launched a new web portal - www.diverseethics.com to help Britain find new ways out of the recession, through untapping the huge strength and creativity of its ethnic professionals. The portal calls on employers to utilise this resource, and on professionals to bring their cultural and ethical values to the workplace and not hide them. Collectively, ethnic professionals generate billions of pounds of economic value, but lack the national media channels, political influence or the civic recognition they deserve. Britain still has a strong legacy of ‘empire’, and this pride is inhibiting its progress, argues Dr. Atul Shah.
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The portal contains advice, interviews, resources, leadership themes, and has an exceptionally qualified advisory board, including Professor Werner Menski of SOAS, University of London. There are plans to research and publish ethnic diversity credentials of large employers in Britain, through audits and rankings, to lobby Boardrooms and Public Boards to break their mono-cultural bias, and to encourage ethnic professionals to support one another and not be divided by the elites or the powerful. Foremost is an emphasis on an ethical Britain, and a workforce committed to sustainability and respect for all living beings.
Throughout his career, Dr. Shah challenged barriers and stereotypes, and empowered young people and community members to live by their ethical values and principles. Recently, he has been seconded to the Board of Directors of the National Council of Museums, Libraries and Archives, Chaired by Sir Andrew Motion. He founded the Young Jains global organisation, the international magazine Jain Spirit, was one of the first East African Asians in the UK to obtain a PhD from the prestigious London School of Economics, and wrote the highly acclaimed book: ‘Celebrating Diversity’ and founded the very unique social enterprise Diverse Ethics. Written jointly with Dr. Aidan Rankin, his book on ‘Social Cohesion’ is hailed as one of the best on the topic. He has a pioneering record of leadership in many different arenas, from research to teaching, community welfare, media and faith, and is therefore very capable of working with and inspiring leaders to embrace diversity.
“Britain is sorely in need of new ideas and fresh energy, and culturally diverse people have a huge contribution to make in this space”, argues Lynne Sedgmore CBE, founder of the Centre for Excellence in Leadership and a key advisor to Diverse Ethics. “They are already flourishing through their enterprise in spite of the recession, but can do much more if allowed to integrate more widely, especially in the leadership and policy arenas. By inhibiting their participation or promotion, Britain as a nation is losing out,” she explained.
“ Leadership helps people to accomplish more than they think they can, to gauge risks and to innovate. Leadership is a democratic quality, transcending ages, cultures, backgrounds and social context; leadership can be practiced by everyone, in all communities. I welcome this portal and the wide range of resources that it makes available, and I congratulate Dr Atul Shah on his leadership of Diverse Ethics.”
Roy Clare CBE, CEO of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (www.mla.gov.uk).
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