Simon Fanshawe

Simon Fanshawe OBE believes that the truth about humans is that maybe the only thing that we have in common is that we are all completely different. And we can never properly know one another. We can never see the world through another’s eyes, filter it through another’s experience. We will always be approximating, in the hope that we get closer to some kind of truth over time.

But.... it can be a great joy to go on the journey in order to try. And if we do, we must do so in the certain knowledge that it will never end. To seek to understand each other’s differences is an essential human challenge. To know that we never will is the human condition. At its heart, that is all diversity is. To appreciate the power of difference.

On that basis Simon co-founded the ground breaking consultancy Diversity by Design and many years ago Stonewall the LGB equality lobby (which now makes him a very disappointed man). He is on the board of POWERful Women. Based in Brighton, UK, in 2013 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sussex for services to the University and equality and social justice.

His latest book, The Power of Difference, explores why it's these human differences and how we combine them that create true diversity and generate innovation, fresh thinking and, ultimately, success.

He brings together his own experiences and the latest research to explain why inclusion is more than just being nice to people, why unconscious bias training doesn't work so it's not the fix we need and why listening to all individual voices, not assuming that one viewpoint represents a group, is key. Offering insight, analysis and practical solutions, The Power of Difference explores how to confront bias, question assumptions and avoid generalizations, this book illustrates why diversity should be part of the overall business strategy, not separate from it. It shows how we must create spaces that are safe for disagreement, not from disagreement, in order for innovation and diversity to flourish and how that helps us tackle some of the most significant issues at work today.

He lives in Brighton with his husband. They have no children. He cooks a lot and is funny.