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Lisa has been featured in Forbes and Glamour magazine and is a regular contributor in the media where she has taken part in discussions and interviews on a wide range of topics. More recently, Lisa was chosen as one of BBC 1Xtra’s Future Figures 2022 in recognition of her work around equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as being nominated for other awards this year.

 

An engaging and passionate public speaker, Lisa wants to use what she has learnt over the years to not just help her thrive, but to help others thrive too.

Photo by:
Bartek Basista

As featured on
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Showreel

MANCHESTER ART FESTIVAL

  • Katie Walderman: Now, Manchester Art Fair is about to welcome its 100,000th visitor this weekend. It's now into its 15th year, but it hasn't always been an easy journey, as Laura O'Neill reports.


    Laura O'Neill: It's the art fair critics said would never work.


    Thom Hetherington: I found that as someone living in Manchester who wanted to buy art, there were almost no galleries where you could actually walk in and spend your money and acquire a piece of art. I spoke to my friends in the art world in London, and almost unanimously, they said it won't work.

    There are no galleries up north because no one buys art.


    Laura O'Neill: Now in its 15th year, Manchester Art Fair is at the forefront of the city's diverse art and culture scene.


    Lisa Maynard-Atem: I think what's fantastic is things like diversity in terms of the artists. I've seen a number of black artists and I know that some of the pieces that are being showcased are by female artists and artists who identify as having disabilities, which I think is absolutely amazing.

    I think the more diversity and inclusion we have in the art world, the better.

BBC

CELEBRATING OUR SISTERS


  • Colin:
    Bring in Lisa. Now, Lisa Maynard-Atem, who's an entrepreneur, co-founder of the Black United Representation Network. Yes, great acronym BURN, which I love. I wanna pick up on hearing the same misconceptions time and time again, which I'm sure, Lisa, happens to you week in week out, but just explain to us, you, you, the, the, the goal of, and aim and, and I suppose your day-to-day, what you speak to in, in the workplace.


    Lisa:
    So, um, the Black United Representation Network, uh, BURN, was set up to address, um, economic and social empowerment of the Black Community in the North of England and, uh, one of our key focuses is leadership, and for me, this is quite, um, this is quite close to my heart because as a child, I traveled a lot. So, I was born in this country, I left when I was about a year old and I didn't come back till I was 10 and that was because of my Dad's work. Um, my Dad was... Because when I was young, back in the eighties, it was very rare that you saw Black people in leadership roles and my Dad was one of those people who would be, who did actually have a seat around various tables and one of the things he would do is he would always take me to his meetings, even though I was very young, and I didn't really fully appreciate what was going on, he was very keen for me to understand and to see that I could sit at those tables too, and there were certain things always stood out to me, but the main thing always was that whenever I went to the, whenever I got exposed to that environment, we were usually the only two Black people around the table and I just grew up with this, with that constantly on my mind and also we lived in Cameroon where my dad is from originally and the thing that was really interesting there, Colin, was that there, I was just another person because everybody was Black. Whereas here I'm a Black person. So that was quite interesting as well.


    And as I got older and got into my career, I got into corporate roles and corporate organizations, and again, I was very fortunate to have access to certain tables and I never saw anybody around these tables, hardly ever that looked like me. So when we got together [00:02:00] back in 2020 to set up BURN, one of our key, um, because there were nine founders altogether, one of our key, um, focuses was leadership. So I'm really, really passionate about diversity at the top tables, because if you think about it, the top tables are where all the decisions are made. So if there are, there are decisions are being made there, we need to ensure that those decisions will be, will impact everybody equally and fairly and I think it's impossible when a seat when a table is made up of one group of people. I think it's very, very difficult for that group of people to make decisions that will fairly impact everyone in the, everyone in various communities, because we all have different lived experiences and if you haven't shared in those experiences, it's very difficult for you to understand where certain communities are coming from and therefore, I do think that that impact can negatively impact decisions that are made. 


    So for me, it's about actually, I want to see more people around the table that look like me. And as, as a woman, um, I can remember when I was growing up and we lived in New York, my mother used to work a lot from home and the reason for that was because sometimes when she went for job interviews, she was turned away and even told that they don't hire Blacks. So she used to work from home because it was just a lot easier because the thing is, if she did a telephone interview, they're not going to see the colour of her skin, so it's more, there was a greater chance of her securing, securing work. So, and obviously I saw all of this growing up, so for me, it's really, it was really important for me when I got older to make sure that I'm visible and that other people that look like me can, can see me in those kind of lofty positions and know that they can achieve that too, and also I have a younger sister, so it was really important for my sister Louise to see me occupying certain spaces and know that she can do it too if she wants to. So that's really, it's quite, it's a very, very personal thing for me. But, even now, if we look at the Black community, if you look at various industries, we are not really, we're still not very well represented at those top tables and that really, really needs to change.


    Colin:
    It's, it's not just a numbers game. Talk to me about what is actually being seen and heard, what that actually means within the corporate world, the top table, absolutely. So, so that that's what I mean about it not being a numbers game. If somebody says. We had it in Northern Ireland, by the way, we, we, we had it with fair employment in terms of Protestant and Catholic, and I remember an interview I did with someone as a young journalist and they said, well, what if everyone's religion's the same, they come in to clean and work at the most junior level, and then what if every one of the other religion are in the boardroom?


    Well, that, that, that's not parity, so, so I'm a hundred percent on that page, but also, if I could get you to talk a bit more about being seen and heard, what that actually means. It's not just about eyes and ears and not just about numbers, right?


    Lisa:
    No, I think for me, that kind of see me, be me piece is really, really important.

    Um, cause when I was growing up, I'll be completely honest, Colin, I didn't see a lot of women. I didn't see anybody that looked like me occupying the spaces that I now occupy, I never saw, I, if I think back, cause I've been working since I was 16, I'm 45 now, I never saw anyone that looked like me occupying the roles and the kind of jobs that I've had. You know, I saw the obvious people like Oprah Winfrey, who was obviously a very big heroine of mine, but it was very few and far between and I do think, you know, even now I had this, I had a situation the other day where I walked into a meeting room and I saw two other Black people and I was really excited and it's, in one way, it was great to see them, on the other hand, it's quite sad as well that that's still the case. That, you know, you still, it's still not the norm and you know, it's really interesting when I have conversations with people who challenge organizations like BURN and who challenge things like Black History Month and things like that and the thing is, yeah, these things shouldn't exist, but the reality is because we're not all represented equally and fairly, until, until everything, until equality and equity becomes the norm, these things have to continue to exist. Because, the reality is, you know, you'll hear that argument a lot where people say "all lives matter". All lives should matter, but in the cold light of day, that's not the reality. So that's why you need things like Black History Month, you need Black Lives Matter, you need LGBTQIA plus organizations supporting that community. The reason we still have these things in the 21st century is because it's still the exception and it's not the norm for everybody to live equally and fairly.


    Colin:
    When, when you go in, Lisa, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I read in your website and stuff of going in to talk to organizations and talk to big companies, you're a great public speaker.

    I, I'm interested to know, and we will get onto your heroes in just a second, I'm interested to hear what are those regular things that you hear? We, we touched on this slightly with Alice. And immediately thought I must, must, must, must ask Lisa about this. I mean, I, I wanna preempt it by saying one of the things that I think I would've said by the way, 20 years ago, thinking I was the absolute high and mighty when I said I don't see colour, I don't see race and then of course you evolve and you, you learn that you absolutely as a white man need to see race, especially the race of, of a woman of colour and you have, you have to understand as much as you can about what that means. I'd imagine that's quite, quite high up the list of somebody who feels like they are, um, not part of the problem, if that's the right way to say it, just an interest of having an open conversation. People's views are different, but what are those things you hear? You sort of quite regularly that might make you want to run to the hills, but you stand there and you, you calmly talk it out.


    Lisa:
    I think that the biggest one for me, which I still hear and it does get under my skin is that we are difficult to reach, you know, I've had quite a lot of conversations with organizations and individuals says, Oh, you know, we find that the Black community are difficult to reach and my argument is, well, I'm stood here, so you found me, you know, and we live in quite a diverse region and obviously the Black community here where I am is quite prominent. So, this whole idea of "we're difficult to reach", to be perfectly honest, Colin, is just nonsense. There are incredibly talented Black people out there who are very, like me, are very visible and very easy to reach and it's things like that, or, you know, people will challenge the idea of white privilege and the reality is it does exist. I know that's not a comfortable thing for a lot of people, but white privilege does exist.


    You know, I, as a Black woman will never enjoy the privilege that a white man has and that's just how it is and I know that's not a comfortable thing for people, but it is a thing. You know, I still will walk into a shop calling and I still get followed around. You know, it's happened to me quite a few times recently where I've been paying for things in the supermarket. They've seen me paying for things and they still stop me, stop me at the door to check my bag, even though I have a receipt in my hand. You know, it's things like that. It's like, you know, it's still very much present. I know some people don't like, aren't comfortable with that, but the reality is it's still there. But the biggest thing for me is definitely when people say that we're difficult to reach and we're really, really not. That, that is, that really does need to be put to bed now.


    Colin:
    It also doesn't run in, in, they're, they're not, uh, they don't run exclusive bias. Bias isn't exclusive. They, sorry, sorry to steal a sporting term here. They, they, sorry about this, Alice, but they, they, they don't swim in their own lanes. You know, if we, if we talk about, uh, a bias against, against class accents, say a Midlands accent up against, you know, quote, unquote, the Queen's English. If we talk about, of course, in my opinion, the biggest one of all that helps solve so many problems is the gender inequality. Then they don't swim in the same lane, they all converse in there. Um, it's, it's always good to have a progressive, open conversation about it.


    Lisa, tell me about your heroes, because even though you threw me a curveball with Oprah there, your heroes are much more. They haven't won any Olympic medals, they're within your world - science, entrepreneurs and, and managers of day nursery. So tell me a little bit about, uh, the women you want to shine a light on.


    Lisa:
    So, I mean, the first one has to be my mother, um, my mother is just like the most incredible person.


    Like I say, when we lived in New York, my mum faced a hell of a lot of racism, um, but she would still pick herself up every day, dust herself off and get up and put herself out there and I really, really admire her for that. You know, she came here as part of the Windrush generation. They settled in Yorkshire and I remember her telling me stories of, they had to be escorted to school because the neighbors would attack them and racially abuse them. So she's been through a hell of a lot and despite all that, she's managed to raise two children successfully. So, she is my number one. Um, my sister is also, uh, somebody that I really, and obviously I know she's my sister, but she's somebody that I really admire because Louise is a scientist and obviously there aren't many, you know, you don't see many Black female scientists, not, it's not a, it's not an everyday occurrence and she has really fought hard to not only occupy that space, but she now volunteers with various organizations to work, to help, um, women and young girls, especially of colour get into more STEM roles, which I think is just absolutely fantastic.


    Um, another heroine of mine is, um, a longtime friend and mentor, Dr. Marilyn Comrie and Marilyn is just the most incredible woman and I've known her for around 15 years and pretty much from the day I met her, she has really supported me. Um, and she's just incredible. She's does so much in our region and she received an OBE because of all of the incredible work that she does and she really does kind of really push and champion the Black community, which is just incredible. Um, I have two other women. There's another lady who is also one of the co-founders of BURN, a lady called Dr. Elsa Zekeng who is also a scientist like my sister, but she's just, she's just doing some fantastic things. I think one of the things I really, I really admire about Elsa is she is the trustee um, for a charity called SmartWorks, SmartWorks Greater Manchester and they are a charity that are empowering and supporting women into gaining employment, which I think is just a wonderful thing. Another person I really admire and want to talk about is Liz Pemberton, I think she's absolutely amazing. The work she's doing in terms of early years, I think is incredible.


    Certainly something that didn't exist when I was young, or when my sister was young, and I can remember having certain experiences when I was very young and in those early years. Um, so for me, I think this kind of work is so, so important. So yeah, I do have "famous" women that I admire, but I like to, I prefer to shine a light on these women because these women are probably lesser known, they aren't definitely lesser known than the Oprah's of the world, but they're really doing some incredible work.


    Colin:
    Well Lisa, I'm loving chatting to you.

BBC Radio 5 Live: The Colin Murray show

SHOCKING LACK OF DATA SHOWS BOARDROOM DIVERSITY IS NON-EXISTENT

  • Lucy:
    Well, next tonight calls for more diversity at the top of business.


    Gamal:
    Campaigners want to see a wider range of people in boardrooms, especially people of colour and people with disabilities.


    Lucy:

    Yeah. Latest figures from 2021 show that not a single FTSE 100 company had a board member who identifies as having a disability.


    Gamal:
    Well, hoping to change that, our campaign is Lisa Maynard-Atem, and Paralympic cycling champion Neil Fachie, who lives and trains in Manchester.


    Lucy: 

    Yeah, Neil is a boardroom apprentice on a new scheme from the company MBH, where Lisa's a non-exec director. They taught me what can be done to prize open those top tables.


    Neil:
    A couple of reasons really. I mean, first and foremost, you know, a sporting career is great, but it obviously doesn't last forever. So part of me wants to get involved in, in the business side. I think that's really comparable to sport. You know, it's very competitive, it's exciting, and it's a world I, I really enjoy.


    Lucy:
    But you're training really hard at the moment, so how do you juggle that with the boardroom?


    Neil:

    Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, I guess, you know, a lot of people after a day at work will go off to the gym to de-stress, whereas my work is spending time in the gym. So for me to go and de-stress, it's almost that flip.


    You know, I want to go and do something else, take my mind off of the sporting world that I'm part of every day. So it's something I always thought I'd like to do is, understand what a board is like and to get that privilege from from MBH to have this apprenticeship for a year is something that I'm now no longer daunted by.


    I don't think it's as scary as perhaps people imagine it is.


    Lucy: 

    And why is it so important that disabled people are given these opportunities?


    Neil:

    Back in 2021 FTSE 100 companies, I saw that the amount of disabled people on their workforces was only 3%, and on the board itself, there were no people at all with a disability, which obviously doesn't match up to that one in five people with disability in the UK.


    Lucy:

    Well, Lisa, that's shocking. Is that right across the board? So to speak.


    Lisa:

    Yeah, Unfortunately, it is. I mean, Neil and I were having a quite few conversations about this. Um, and when, whilst we were on business and we were talking, we were actually doing a lot of research into what do the figures look like in terms of people who identify as having a disability, and they're absolutely shocking. And like you say, the figures that we have found are quite out of date, which is, is very, very concerning. It's just. It's that thing that I've always said, you know, our leaders should reflect the communities and the people that they serve.

    For myself as a woman of colour, I have been in that situation where if I haven't seen somebody that looks like me, it does kind of put me off applying for a more senior role or trying to get onto a board, and I have been in that position when I was kind of early on, mid in or mid-level in my career. You know, I'm very ambitious, very driven, and I'm very passionate about helping people, but I found myself in situations where I just didn't see anybody who looked like me at those top tables and I think there's an element of that, you know, I think the whole See Me Be Me piece is really, really important, which is why I think it's fantastic that, you know, MBH are really, really striving to ensure that, you know, our board is as diverse as possible. And I think, you know, if we look at gender, for example, it's a 50/50 split on our board, our CEO is a woman, which is fantastic. And obviously with Neil on our board as well, we're really working hard to ensure that we have as much diversity as possible.


    Lucy: 

    And what, what are they missing out on by not having more diverse boards, would you say?


    Lisa: 

    The diversity of thought, diversity of ideas. I think in terms of innovation, I think is really, really, diversity is really, really key. I think you're just missing out on just a wealth of talent, a wealth of creativity, so yeah.


    Lucy:

    Yeah. Great point, Lisa. Thank you for that. Neil, you can't go though without me asking you how your training is going and how optimistic you are about, uh, what's coming up.


    Neil: 

    Yeah, I mean, we're just weeks away now from World Championships in Glasgow. It's gonna be a huge event. I'm, uh, I'm very optimistic, I have to say. Uh, hopefully I'd love to come away with a gold from there.


    Lucy: 

    Well, let's hope so. But you're missing out on a bit of sleep at the moment.


    Neil: 

    Yeah, my, uh, my wife, who's also a part of the team, gave birth about seven months ago now to our, our young boy. She's hoping to be competing at those world championships too, so I, I hope we'll both be there and we'll of course, need child support. So if anyone can help us, that would be very much appreciated.


    Lucy: 

    Well, let's hope that Fraser is sleeping well and you can both get some decent sleep and we'd be looking out for you in that the very best of luck. Thank you. And thank you so much, both of you, for coming here.


    Lisa: Thank you.


    Pleasure.

ITV News - Granada Reports

Articles

  • In the wake of Black Lives Matter, what questions are you asking yourself as a leader?
     

    I ask, because asking questions is the start of understanding. If you’re now awake to the police brutality that has long blighted Black lives in the U.S., or are sitting with the gutting realization that people of color are disproportionately dying from COVID-19, it’s long past time we started asking ourselves why...

  • The former stylist and social media entrepreneur Lisa Maynard Atem, 42, always knew she was destined to do work that made an impact. In fact, it was practically her birthright. Her father worked for the UN, her mother was a charity worker and her sister is a scientist, who works specifically in encouraging young girls to get into STEM.
     

    For Lisa, this meant harnessing her existing skill set as Harrods’ first-ever social media manager (she created their Instagram and got it to 1m followers) and founder of her own consultancy ‘The Social Word’ to raise awareness for causes she cared about- namely black business, black representation in business and economic equality...

  • From the age of five, I was sure of two things. Firstly, I would someday become my own boss (taking orders has never really been my thing to be honest) and secondly, I really wanted to help people. I also knew that I was going to achieve both things. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. I enjoyed problem-solving (I remember negotiating with my kindergarten teacher to get our class a variety of snacks for break time rather than just dried raisins because some of the other children didn’t like them - I succeeded) and being in charge - the reasons for...

See Me, Be Me Podcast

“Decisions are made at the top tables. Therefore, those tables should be diverse.”

Lisa in conversation with Nile Henry and Blair Henry (The Blair Project) on their ‘See Me, Be Me’ podcast, talking about her journey, early influences and the importance of diverse leadership.

THE KINGS CORONATION

  • Gamal:

    Well, that Coronation is now just a couple of days away, but there's been one issue that's really been making the headlines.


    Lucy:

    Yeah, the palace announced that millions of viewers are being invited to pledge their allegiance to their new king out loud on Saturday, wherever we are, we're all being urged to swear an oath.


    Gamal:

    Earlier, we were joined by Andy Carter, the MP for Warrington South, who's one of only 20 MP's going to the coronation, uh, and by Lisa Maynard-Atem, who's a social empowerment and black representation campaigner.


    Lucy:

    Yeah. We started by asking what they thought about the so-called oath of allegiance.


    Lisa:

    Service is something that's very, that's at the heart of the monarchy, and I actually feel that it might have been a better idea to actually invite people to maybe make a pledge of allegiance in terms of service, in terms of serving their communities, helping each other.


    Gamal:

    Andy, there is a lot going on at the moment, so is now an appropriate time for members of the public, uh, to be asked to swear this allegiance to the king and his successes.


    Andy:

    I think as Lisa said, it's down to individuals if they want to do that. I, I was on the Mall a little bit earlier, which is just down the road from the House of Commons, and I was talking to a member of the public that had been on the Mall during the last coronation.


    We'd just come out the back of a terrible second world war and they were saying how things have improved so much better today in society. Uh, and actually this is a great opportunity for the nation to come together, uh, to recognize the service that, uh, the, the Monarch gives to this country and for everybody to be part of that special service and I think that in itself is a, a really welcome thing.


    Lucy:

    Would you agree though, that perhaps the pomp and pageantry that goes into this is coming at quite a tough time.


    Andy:

    Even today, people all around the world are looking at what we do here and thinking, isn't this wonderful? My inbox today has been flooded with details of people having street parties, community events coming together, and it is about bringing communities together and celebrating, uh, the, the, the national coming together for, for, uh, for the coronation.


    Lucy:

    So Lisa, a moment in history, it gives people a chance to celebrate, lift the Spirits a bit.


    Lisa:

    Yeah, I mean, I agree with Andy. It's a, it's an incredible occasion. Why don't we celebrate and honor the coronation of the king by doing good deeds and, and helping other people? I think that's, that's a fantastic way to celebrate.


    Lucy:

    It's a great idea. No one's stopping you from doing that.


    Lisa:

    Well, um, I will be doing some volunteering at the weekend.


    Lucy:

    So what will you be doing?


    Lisa:

    I will be, um, so one of my neighbors, she is going to be watching the coronation, she's an elderly lady and she lives alone, so we're gonna take it in turns to go and see her and sit with her. Um, but I also, it's also my mother's birthday, so unfortunately Mummy Maynard has to take priority over the King, so.


    Lucy:

    I'm sure he'd understand.


    Gamal:

    Andy. I mean, a couple of interesting points there for, from Lisa. I mean, many people will say that this whole process of swearing an allegiance to the, to the, to the king and his successes, Is somewhat archaic, should there not be more of an emphasis, um, in this day and age on swearing an allegiance to your local community.


    Andy:

    I think one of the big messages that has come from, uh, King Charles has been this sense of service and supporting communities, and in particular, on holiday Monday, the big help out, uh, I'll be out in Warrington with, uh, what we think will be the biggest litter pick that Warrington has ever seen.

    And, and actually in terms of, of, um, swearing and allegiance to the, I'm probably one of the 600 people in this country that have already done that. As a member of Parliament, uh, we are asked to swear allegiance to the Monarch, uh, their heirs and successors, and it's something that I was very happy to do, uh, because it's part of, uh, of, of representing my constituents and being part of the House of Commons.


    Lucy:

    Yeah, except that not all of your constituents would feel the same way.


    Andy:

    When, when we look at what this does to set Britain on the stage around the world, people look at us and think, actually what a fantastic country, uh, and we should be incredibly proud of, of the, the ceremony and the pomp and circumstance that, that we project to the world.


    Lucy:

    Yes, Lisa.


    Lisa:

    I wouldn't quite agree with that, just because the conversations I've been having have been very different. A lot of people have said that they wouldn't pledge allegiance, they just don't, they just feel that it's somewhat outdated, if you like. Um, and that actually it should be, it should be really about the monarchy doing something that's more in keeping with the times.


    Lucy:

    Well, the debate goes on. Thanks for all of your views coming in as well, via Twitter, Tony Lockwood, for example thinks he's misread the room asking the country to swear allegiance to him and his heirs.


    Gamal:

    Yeah, another Tony's got in touch, a Tony Collier. He says, um, I won't be swearing an allegiance, but I'll watch for a bit, uh, we do things so well and I won't get to see another.


    Lucy:

    Yeah. Jeff Hughes says he's already King, I don't need to see him put his hat on.


    Gamal:

    Samantha says it's costing so much to put this on when it could have been used for the NHS or even food banks.


    Lucy:

    And Matt says, I like Charles and Camilla, but it's my dad's 85th birthday on Saturday and he's having a party.


    Gosh, everyone seems to be having birthdays this coming weekend. Uh, like the coronation, he says, my dad will only be 85 once, so it's a once in a lifetime event.


    Andy:

    That's salient points there.


    Lucy:

    Yeah. And happy birthday to him.

ITV News - Granada Reports

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