Mo has worked in business for many years, climbing the corporate career ladder, leading teams selling technology and software. She writes blogs about, diversity, inclusion and belonging. She is a Co-Creator of Watch This Sp_ce, a consultancy to help workplaces reimagine work to include everyone. She is writing a business book and a novel and is one of the Sussex Bylines team. Twitter @Mo_Kanjilal
Highlighted by MP Nusrat Ghani’s description of the discrimination she has faced, Islamophobia remains deep-rooted within the Conservative Party against a background of supportive media headlines and the implementation of policies that discriminate against people of colour and ‘othered’ faiths. Is the Tory party setting itself up for a fall?
Mo Kanjilal was born in the UK and has lived all her life here. The Nationality and Borders Bill, clause 9 sends the message that certain citizens, despite being born and brought up in the UK and having no other home, remain migrants in this country. Their citizenship, and therefore all their rights, are precarious and contingent.
Rishi Sunak and the government are looking at ways to force people to return to work in offices, despite Covid being an ongoing problem, and despite the many proven benefits of working from home, especially for women and minority groups… In an updated version of her article from last year, Mo Kanjilal ponders what the Tory ministers’ real motivation might be…
“Being involved in Sussex Bylines since day one has shown me that there is another way; that there are so many of us out there who want to see a different, better world.”
The wonderful fact is that this team really does represent what it is to be English today. They represent Englishness and belonging. They inspire those of us from immigrant backgrounds to embrace being English and to be proud to support the team. Sport does have a way of doing that. And it is especially needed for a country that has been so divided in recent years.
Meghan Markle talking about British society stirred up a lot of feelings for Mo Kanjilal and many other people of colour. The fragility of your legitimacy in being British if you are not white is always there. It might not be on the surface all the time, but it is always there, and you don’t know when it’s going to come to the fore.
Sanna Marin has led her country through the same crisis all world leaders have faced this past year, the COVID-19 pandemic. And while she does not get as many headlines as Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand, her record is impressive.
Councils around the country are struggling to work out how to fund the things they need to. Since 2010, funding to local councils has been cut by almost 50%. With tough choices for every council to make, and no clear sight of when we will emerge from the lockdown, there are tough times ahead for local communities.
As Kamala Harris took the oath to become vice-president of the USA, she became the first woman and the first person of colour in this role. People are inspired by her, what she represents and the role model she is. But is she being held to different standards because she is the first?
Gaslighting is a way of control that enables bullying through manipulating the truth to make the victim doubt themselves. It makes you doubt your version of the truth. What happens when a whole nation is being bullied and gaslit? What happens when the population is living without trust in the truth?
After 10 years of tireless campaigning Stacey Abrams and her Fair Fight Action Team succeeded in flipping the state of Georgia to the Democrats for the first time in 20 years. Mo Kanjilal explores their work for voter empowerment and the lessons it holds for the UK.
Is a day out at the shops gone forever? The fate of our high streets and the retail brands that drew us to them, is in the balance. Mo Kanjilal explores whether new and innovative brands, and a radical rethink about what to do with existing retail space, can bring our dying town centres back to life.
Brighton & Hove City Council has a problem. It represents a population where 12.4% are not white, yet there is only one councillor of colour and the employees of the council are only 7% non-white.
A fatal flaw in the Remain movement may have been the lack of diverse young voices
Small firms are indispensable to the creation of jobs and of wealth Margaret Thatcher, speech to small business conference in 1984 Thatcher’s Britain claimed to be about creating a nation of entrepreneurs starting small businesses and thereby generating wealth and jobs. In her 1984 speech to the Small Business Conference she said, “you will see […]
It seems that everyone is on the move. So many of my phone messages are full of Rightmove links and property photos. As the photos of kitchens, gardens and bathrooms start to merge into one, I wonder why is it that it seems like everyone I know has decided to move? Well, since March when […]
This summer, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the USA, there has been a reigniting of the Black Lives Matter movement around the world. There have been widespread protests, many of them driven by, and attended by young people from a variety of backgrounds. For some, even if they want to […]
Last night Brighton and Hove took a significant step towards becoming the first local authority in the country to declare itself an anti-racist city. Green councillor Amy Heley’s Notice Of Motion to pledge the council to become anti-racist passed unanimously after a passionate speech where Councillor Heley read words from Brighton Black Lives Matter. Is […]
In late 2016, Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror episode NoseDive painted a dystopian future, where people can rate each other and these social media scores affect how you can live your life. Nosedive was aired in October 2016, just past the June Brexit vote. We had little idea of the years of turmoil ahead of us. […]