Leaving a legacy as an agent of change

Created by VERCIDA for Department for Work and Pensions 

Through the power of her own determination, Sat Minhas has carved a 32-year career path at DWP to be part of the organisation’s transformation for BAME colleagues.

I basically fell into the public sector – I was an Asian girl from Kent, I did a few temping jobs when I finished my education, I had an arranged marriage, which has worked out really well, we moved to the Midlands after the wedding, and in 1991, I joined the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Everything was new to me at that time – a new relationship, I was living in a new area, I was starting a family, and I just took a job as an Administrative Officer. At the time, I didn’t really have any real commitment to the public sector, it was more about money, life and independence. But as my children started to grow, I felt like I wanted to make a difference and leave my mark.

After 13 years, I knew the time was right to be able to give more, but I was finding it hard to make real career progression and I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. DWP was a very different place compared to the organisation it is today in terms of diversity. I remember an Asian colleague was bullied and she ended up leaving – I tried to support her, but it was my first exposure to something that I knew was unacceptable behaviour. 

I’ve always been a workhorse and I put my head above the parapet to be able to move up as a permanent leader and, importantly, to break down the barriers that I felt were holding people – and people who look like me – back. So, I started a different role where I was travelling, speaking to different groups and organisations, and even prisons, as the public face of DWP. Once I put myself out there, my career started its natural progression. My experiences meeting people outside the department taught me a lot and gave me great insights into how our policies were being implemented in the real world.

I started working in DWP’s quality assurance space and one of the big focuses was helping people overcome biases and prejudices. I then went on to become a Higher Executive Officer and a Senior Executive Officer, which is my current grade. Talking to people nationally and regionally broadened my horizons. I’ve always enjoyed working with people and, as I moved up with DWP, I was able to help break down barriers.

Someone once said to me that if you want to get something done, always ask a busy person. They’re always in the thick of it and they will know how to make something right. For example, even though I didn’t have any formal learning and development experience, I realised that one of DWP’s functions – funeral payments – were to be centralised nationally from regional administration, but there was no centralised training package for staff. That wasn’t right, so I developed that training with subject matter experts. With funeral payments, you are dealing with people at a vulnerable time in their lives, so the service we provide needs to be consistent.

If you don’t try, you don’t get anything. If you want something to change, you have to be part of making that change happen. I know some people might find that mindset naive, but it is my mantra for transforming things at DWP. One of the most rewarding parts of my job has been managing a regional team that is responsible for visiting people in their homes when they can’t interact with DWP through traditional ways, such as coming into offices. I covered a large area of England and I wanted to make sure there was no postcode lottery, that everybody got the best service possible.

During Covid, I was on duty temporarily managing a national team and during this time, I was able to really use my passion for diversity and inclusion, to be an Asian person who has a seat at the top table and can flex her leadership muscles. I was able to unleash a development programme for those who identify as Black, Asian and ethnic minority across 26,000 staff. For the past two years I’ve been running that programme and we won a UK award for social mobility as the most progressive development programme against some big hitters in the corporate world.

I’m now a role model for BAME colleagues with more to give. If I can do it, especially while balancing work and family life, then anybody can do it if they work hard and take a pragmatic approach. It’s a cliche, but you have to be in it to win it – we need more diverse people at every level. Over the years, I’ve mentored hundreds of people, I write blogs, I go to events where people know who I am and take me seriously, and I do what I can to influence the big decisions and to create opportunities.

Already, I feel like I’ve left a legacy of lighting and igniting that passion in people, to open doors and help people come across the threshold. But I want to continue to be around the table, to keep making a difference, to let people know there’s a great career for them in the Civil Service if they want it.