-
Community Stories, Advocacy and Campaigns, Health and Disability, Looking for work, Staying in work, Currently not in work, Self-Employment, Organisations, Spotlight Stories,Blog Views
241
Patchworker Spotlight: Jacqueline’s story
Jacqueline is Founder and CEO of Universal Inclusion and The Inclusive Entrepreneur Network, an internationally recognised business that furthers equality of access to life’s opportunities. Jacqueline kindly spoke to us about her company, her experiences and her vision for the world of inclusivity.
To start, could you please tell us about yourself?
Hi, I’m Jacqueline. I navigate complex health conditions as a Founder and CEO of Universal Inclusion and The Inclusive Entrepreneur Network.
Can you tell us a bit more about your story?
I’m one of the lucky ones who are able to do the things I’m passionate about within a portfolio career increasing equality of access to life's opportunities. My working career has been quite a journey. During my earlier career, I designed and opened one of the first inclusive play and childcare settings in the UK. This was in response to disabled children and their families being denied access due to accessibility barriers. Following this, I was enticed to take the blueprint I developed and work within local government to expand the model across the country. After this success, I influenced government policy on short break care for disabled children, young people and their families.
However, I developed a health condition at the height of my career within local government which sadly led to me no longer holding the job I loved. This became the catalyst for my return to entrepreneurship and my current portfolio. Amongst other things, this includes the creation of the Inclusive Entrepreneur Network, and I currently serve as the Secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Inclusive Entrepreneurship.
Within these roles, I’ve been fortunate to share my good practice internationally at conferences, such as the Windsor Consultations and the United Nations in New York. Here, my unique approach and proven track record are not only cited as an exemplar but included in international policy development and guidelines for good practice. This approach is built on lived experience, key partner cross-sector collaboration, academic validation and the creation of sustainable, holistic, inclusive working practice. All this is sprinkled with my creation of poetry academic and fiction writing.
Have you faced any workplace barriers due to your situation? Do you think the ‘conventional’ world of work most employers use needs to change?
Yes. At the height of my career, I developed complex health conditions and I could no longer hold the job that I loved. In response to my lived experience and that of others, I realised that things needed to change, and decided I was going to change them.
If you could change one thing about the world of work or the way employers saw accessibility, what would it be and why?
The need for a holistic response to creating inclusive working practice which has a clear and supportive pathway for employers and employees. This should not only allow for successful recruitment, onboarding and retention, but an emphasis on career progression.
What inspired you to start doing the work you currently do?
Seeing inequalities and realising that not only did I have a vision, but was able to create practical and sustainable pathways to removing those inequalities and see the resultant impact on individuals.
What is the biggest lesson you have learnt from your career to date?
What I’ve seen in my work to date, is that people haven’t set out to put barriers in place, they just haven't known how to remove them and are fearful of getting it wrong. Once people are provided with a supportive pathway, resources, practical support and collaboration, the barriers just melt away. This is particularly true in terms of workforce recruitment and retention, accessing services and opportunities, and creating enterprise.
Do you have a favourite quote or personal mantra?
Go ahead, underestimate me!
If you could change one thing about people's perception of disability, what would it be?
To see beyond it and welcome the valuable contribution that everyone has to offer.
Find out more about Jacqueline’s story and work:
Follow Jacqueline on Instagram
Follow Universal Inclusion on Twitter
Contact Jacqueline on LinkedIn
Published: 20th April 2022
Tags
All Tags
Academy for Disabled Journalists Academy for Disabled SEO Specialists Accessibility Accessibility information Accessibility int he workplace Accessibility ramps Accessible education Accessible locations Accessible places Adaptive fashion Advocacy AI All Saints Alt text Assistive technology Autism Awareness Blog Bullying Burnout Business Businesses Cancer Candidates Captions Cerebral palsy Characters Charity Charity sector Chronic pain Closed captions Clothes Clothing Cognitive disabilities Communication Companies Company Company Corner Company culture Confidence Confucius Consultant Consultation Content designer Data talent Diagnosis Difference Digital transformation Disabilities Disability advocate Disability advocates Disability awareness Disability community Disability confident Disability employment Disability inclusion Disability news Disability Policy Centre Disability Pride Disabled Disabled community Disabled people Disabled People’s Direct Action Network Disabled team Disabled-led Diverse Diversity Diversity and inclusion Diversity Recruitment Platform Domestic violence Dysfluency Education Education and resource platform Employment opportunities Empowerment Ethnic minorities Fashion Fashion industry Fathom Feedback Flexible work Freelance Game Gaming Gareth Walkom Garment technologist Gastrointestinal conditions Gem Turner Gender Grant Logan Guide dog Healthcare HR Hybrid working Inclusion Inclusivity India Inspiration Intellectual capabilities Interviews Invisible disabilities Invisible disability Istituto Marangoni Jack Wills Job descriptions Job interviews Job opportunities Journalism Journalists Learning disability Leeds Leeds trinity university Legislation LGBTQ+ Long-term health condition Long-term health conditions Mapping days Matt Pierri Maya angelou Meta Metaverse Migrants Motivation Musculoskeletal conditions National Council for the Training of Journalists NCTJ Neurodivergence Neurodivergent Neurodiversity consultant Neurodiversity space Neurotype Neurotypes New Delhi News Non-profit Novos OBS Partially sighted People Phase Eight Phone calls Physical disabilities Pirate video games Policy Poverty Presentations Primark Processes and systems Public speaking Puneet Singh Singhal Race Raising awareness Registered blind Remote education Remote work Removing barriers Rights School Scope Self-employed Self-employment Senior staff Sexuality Shaw trust Shaw trust power 100 list Sign language Social mission Social mobility Social-emotional learning Social-emotional learning platform Software Speaking situation Speech differences Speech disabilities Speech impediment Spotlight series Spotlight stories Ssstart Staff Stammer Stammering Stories Stuttering Sustainable change Sweaty Betty Tech industry Tech talent TEDx Tesco Think tank Underrepresentation Unhidden Unhidden Clothing Universities Vanessa Castañeda Gill Victoria Beckham Video game Vimeo Violence Virtual reality VR Web accessibility Women Work environment Work from home Working conditions Working from home Youth Zoom Abc Ability Today Access to work Accessibility in the workplace Accessibility test Accessible work Acting Adhd Adjustments Administrative Adrian lord Advice Advocacy and campaigns Allparty parliamentary group for inclusive entrepreneurship American civil rights movement Android Anglonorman App Artificial intelligence Bad grammar Barriers to work Bbc Benefits Blind persons act Blue badge Blue badge service specialists Care Career Carer Celtic languages Center on everyday lives of families Ceo Cfs Chloe tear Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic health condition Chronic illness Commodo aute beatae Community Community story Community, community story, founder, feature, accessible work, disability employment gap, making a difference Companies house Compressed hours Computer science Computers Coronavirus Councils Covid19 Crystal mark standard Deaf Design Dialects Dictionary Digital accessibility Disability Disability discrimination act Disability employment gap Disability rights movement Disability services Disabled peoples direct action network Disabled persons employment act Disabled-led organisation Easy read Edit Tag Test 2 Email address Employers Employment English English speakers Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship Epilepsy Equality Equality act Equality and diversity Equality of access Esources, disability, disability services, support services, community story, features, adjustments, social support network Esse vero eum nisi a Eugenics Facebook Feature Features Fibromyalgia First world war Flexi Flexible working Flexitime Flextime Founder Francesco cirillo Freelancing French Gcses Gdpr General data protection regulation Good Good grammar Google Government policy Government support Graduate Graduates Grammar Grammar schools Health Health condition Health conditions Hearing impairment Help And Support Tags History History of language Holistic Ico Impact Imposter syndrome Inclusive entrepreneur network Inequalities Inequality Information commissioners office Information governance Instagram Internet Jacqueline winstanley Laborum Magna moles Language Latin Law Learning difficulties Lexicographers Limited company Local councils Local government Making a difference Marketing strategy Mecfs Medical conditions Medical model of disability Medical vs social models of disability Medicines Mental health Middle english Mindfulness Mlm Mobility issues Molestias quod sapie Multilevel marketing Nam eaque iure aut v National league of the blind Neurodiversity Nihil corporis aliqu Niya Normans Old english Old french Onboarding and retention Online Out of work Oxbridge Parent Passwords Patchwork hub Payment details Planning Planning for work Podcasts Pomodoro Preposition Private schools Psychiatric Psychiatry Punctuation Qui voluptatem debi React Reasonable adjustments Recruitment Remote working Resources Resources and support Rest Retinopathy of prematurity Sales Scam Search engine Second world war Shell shock Slang Sociability Social Cipher Social interactions Social media Social model of disability Social support network Socialising Spelling Spoken language Spotlight stories Standard english Startup State schools Student Students Studying Suffragette movement Support Support services Syntactician Syntax Tag Technology The Disability Policy Centre The elderly Then barbara met alan Trafalgar square Turkish United nations Universal inclusion University University of arts london University of cambridge University of hertfordshire University of hull University of leeds University of oxford Victoria Jenkins Visual impairment War Ways of working West germanic dialects William shakespeare Windsor consultations WithVR Wordpress Work structure Workforce recruitment Working environment Workplace barriers World war one World war two Young carer