Friend of FAIRER interview: Annisha Taylor

About Annisha Taylor

Annisha Taylor is Group Head of DEI at Ofcom, with over 25 years of experience spanning retail, HR and broadcasting. She began her career at the John Lewis Partnership, progressing from operational roles into HR, where she worked across organisational design, talent acquisition and transformation. She later moved into broadcasting, joining the BBC as Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, before taking up her current role at Ofcom. Her work focuses on embedding inclusion into systems, culture and employee experience across the organisation.

Fairness, equity and equality are still misunderstood

Annisha highlights the distinction between equity and equality, noting the risks of treating everyone the same.

"For me, fairness is about recognising that not everyone is starting from the same place – treating individuals and groups equitably, based on data or how they’ve been treated historically. Not everyone is on the same starting line, and I think that distinction between equality and equity is still very misunderstood. Yes, you can treat everyone the same, but if people aren’t starting from the same place, the impact is very different, and that shows up across the employee lifecycle – onboarding, progression, opportunity, accessibility."

Accessibility is much broader than people often think

"Accessibility is not just about reasonable adjustments once someone has made a disclosure. It’s everything: physical environments, hybrid set-ups, access to training, access to opportunity. There’s a tendency to narrow accessibility down too quickly, but actually it should be built in from the start.

"I also don’t like the word 'disclose'. It feels like something whispered, like you’re saying something you shouldn’t be saying. I think we need to move away from that mindset entirely. A good example of accessibility is when organisations proactively share interview questions with candidates in advance. That’s accessibility built in – not something people have to ask for or justify."

DEI is an enterprise responsibility, not just HR

Annisha explains why DEI affects everyone, and should therefore involve everyone.

"One of the biggest challenges I still see is that DEI is often positioned as HR’s responsibility. For me, it has to be enterprise-wide. What is the impact if we don’t address it across the organisation? Different parts of a business experience DEI differently. Finance will see it differently to marketing. Operations will see it differently again. So it has to be translated into what it means for each function, not just owned by one team.

"I also try to bring DEI back to business impact – things like turnover cost, employee experience, progression – these are real, tangible outcomes. It’s not about DEI sitting in a separate box. It’s about how it connects into everything, such as culture, performance, wellbeing and leadership. I think we’re moving towards that more integrated thinking, especially where inclusion and employee experience are starting to sit much closer together."

"For me, DEI is not something you 'do' on top of the business. It is the business."

Humanise your DEI data through storytelling

Annisha emphasises the importance of moving beyond percentages to the people behind them.

"If I think about the skills that matter most in the DEI space, storytelling is right at the top. Unless you can tell the story behind the data, you lose people. DEI can very quickly become something people switch off from if it feels abstract or overly technical.

"I always use age as an anchor for the DEI conversation, because we all have an age. At some point in our lives, we are all going to need some form of adjustment based on how we navigate the world and whatever stage of life we’re in. That’s why DEI cannot be framed as something that only impacts certain groups of people. It impacts all of us at different points in time.

"But storytelling isn’t just narrative – it’s also about how you use data properly. You can look at a headline number and think things are fine. But when you break it down intersectionally, the story changes completely. You might see a high overall percentage, but when you look at disability, ethnicity, or other intersections, the experience can be very different. That’s where the real insight is.

"Relationship-building is just as important. Earlier in my career, I probably made the mistake of trying to bring everyone with me too quickly. But people are at different points in their journey. Now I spend more time understanding what matters to them first – what their pain points are – and then linking DEI into that."

"It’s about speaking people’s language, not expecting them to immediately speak yours."

Why we should be setting DEI targets

Annisha explains why setting DEI targets is less about winning and losing, and more about establishing accountability.

"Measurement is a really interesting topic, because there can sometimes be a fear around setting targets – particularly if people think not achieving them means they’ve failed. For me, it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about understanding what’s actually within your control and being accountable for the things you can influence.

"What matters is whether you’re doing the things that are within your power – using inclusive language, role modelling the people already in those roles, thinking carefully about where jobs are advertised and making sure opportunities are genuinely accessible. If you can honestly say you’ve been intentional and consistent in those actions, that’s meaningful progress. More broadly, I think there’s sometimes such a fear of doing or saying the wrong thing that people end up doing nothing at all – and that can perpetuate the problem in the first place."

The power of inclusive leaders

Sharing the qualities that have shaped her leadership style, Annisha also reflects on the one trait all her most supportive managers have consistently demonstrated.

"For me, key traits of an inclusive leader are curiosity, acceptance, humility, and not making assumptions based on what you see at surface level. It’s about accepting people as they are and recognising that everyone experiences the world differently.

"I’m also against the idea that everyone should 'bring their whole self to work', because not everybody is afforded the ability to do that safely. I prefer to think about bringing the version of yourself that is most suited to your working environment.

"Warmth also really matters. When I think about the managers who have supported and encouraged me throughout my career, warmth is always the thing that stands out most."

A word from Laura

Laura Drakeford, Inclusion Partner at FAIRER, shares her key takeaways from Annisha's interview.

Unlike some diversity characteristics, everyone experiences age and changing needs throughout their lives. It helps leaders understand that inclusion is relevant to all employees. Additionally, moving away from language that focuses on limitations can encourage greater openness and inclusion. Leaders should encourage conversations around support needs rather than requiring employees to "disclose" something personal, which only comes with psychologically safe environments.

If you would like to be considered for an expert interview, or want to further discuss any of the themes covered in Annisha's interview, please get in touch.