Welcome to VERCIDA website.

Skip to main content
Enable Recite to make this website accessible

Niru Subramanian Head of DEI UK discusses her career in Teneo and all things DE&I

Category: Dependency (Parenting & Carers)

Diversity and inclusion

Teneo Niru

We interviewed Niru Subramanian Head of DEI UK at Teneo.  Read on to hear her discuss her career in Teneo and all things DE&I

1) Hometown:
I was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the UK with my parents when I was three. I grew up in Hertfordshire, a county just north of London.

2) Global Office Location:
London, 6 More London Place

3) Education:
LLB Law, University College London; MBA, University of Bath

4) Business Segment:
People Team

5) Teneo Tenure:
Since February 2021

6) What does your role entail?
As Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, I partner with the firm to ensure that we are diverse and inclusive and everyone is set up for success.

7) What do you like most about your work at Teneo?
I love the fact that my role has real purpose and that I get to drive real change within Teneo. The world of work is rapidly changing and I have an amazing opportunity to influence the direction of that.

There is plenty of research to demonstrate that women, and particularly women of colour, have been most negatively impacted by Covid. It is even more important now that we continue to be flexible about working arrangements and help everyone to learn to live with Covid in our lives.

8) You’re the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Teneo. Can you tell us how you found yourself in this field and what about it interests or drives you?
I started off as a management consultant and then spent the majority of my career in HR leadership roles. I believe the HR and influencing skills that I possess along with lived experience as a woman, an individual with an ethnic minority background and as a mother really pushed me into DEI. I have faced a lot of challenges, and I want to ensure that barriers to entry and progression are removed. I want to influence people to view life differently and to become more self-aware so they can use their positions of power to benefit those who are underrepresented.

9) How do you define gender balance in the workplace?
I feel incredibly strongly that women should have the freedom and power to make all the same choices in their career that men do and have the same opportunities. Different women will prioritise different aspects of their life at different points, and as a firm, we should be able to flex to ensure that women are able to achieve success in their careers. That to me is gender balance – not just having equal numbers.

10) What are some ways that men and women can act as allies to each other in the workplace?
The first step in being an ally is to understand the privilege that you hold by your identity and lived experience and/or your positional power within the firm. It is important that men and women are allies for women. At Teneo, we want to encourage a culture of allyship so we move beyond just good intent. The fact is, both men and women hold biases about women at work, and we need to confront these head-on before we can break them down. Once we understand our own biases and our privilege and power, we can work out how to take the next steps to advocate underrepresented groups. We will be holding allyship training in some of our regions this year.

11) How has Covid-19 affected DEI in the workplace, and what do you see as the way forward for businesses?
There is plenty of research to demonstrate that women, and particularly women of colour, have been most negatively impacted by Covid. It is even more important now that we continue to be flexible about working arrangements and help everyone to learn to live with Covid in our lives. It isn’t going away. We also need to be much more aware as a business of how Covid has impacted everyone’s mental health. A mental health condition remains a stigma, particularly in some parts of the world, and we need to work with our employees so they feel psychologically safe to express their needs and to replenish.

12) How can businesses get their workforce involved in DEI efforts and initiatives?
There are so many ways and, here at Teneo, we are already working on moving to a more inclusive culture. One of the best ways to really get the workforce involved is through employee resource groups (ERGs). In the UK there are six. The other way to get them involved is to recognize the cultural contribution that employees make in addition to their client-facing/operational roles. There are many people who feel passionately about DEI, and it is important that their hard work is rewarded.

13) In addition to your role at Teneo, you are also a coach accredited by the International Coaching Federation. Why is being a coach important to you?
I really do believe that everyone should be able to live their best life. What that looks like is very personal. Coaching allows me to facilitate the thinking and action that individuals need to discover what their best life is and how they can achieve it. It is incredibly satisfying to work with people in this way.

14) “Mentoring” and “coaching” are often used as synonymous terms. Is there a difference? What are the roles of each?
There are important differences. Mentoring is a partnership where one member has more experience on a topic or is more senior. The relationship involves the mentor sharing expertise or knowledge on a topic. A coach does not tell their coachee what to do or how to do it but asks the right questions and facilitates a process during which the coachee can find solutions for themselves. This allows them to own their solutions in a much more powerful way than if they were told what to do. Mentoring and coaching both have many benefits.

15) What are some ways we can ALL be better “coaches” in our day-to-day at Teneo?
One of the best ways to be a better coach is to really listen. This is an important skill to develop as many of us don’t really listen, we just wait until it’s our turn to speak. When we listen, we slow things down and can process what someone is saying. We can then ask the right questions to help someone find an answer or solution. Another way we can be a great coach is to be brave enough to challenge. This will allow people to see things in different ways.

16) What trends are you following, and why?
A trend that holds women back is the gender norms that we are all conditioned to accept. I am really keen to celebrate people who have broken away from stereotypes and what is expected of them. A recent example is Harpreet Kaur "Preet" Chandi, a British Army medical officer and physiotherapist who became the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition to reach the South Pole on 3 January 2022.

17) What advice would you give your younger self?
Know what your boundaries are for the sake of your wellbeing and make sure to communicate these to friends, family, partners and work colleagues.

18) What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
I love animals. I have two cats and two dogs and would have more if I could manage! I believe all adults should have their version of ‘soft play’ and mine is playing with my dogs!

19) What’s a fun fact about you that your coworkers may not know?
I’m on a 65-week streak on my Peloton!

20) Do you have a favourite book, movie or TV show at the moment?
I love murder mysteries and still love re-reading Agatha Christie books!

 

To find out more information on D&I at Teneo please click here

Vercida logo

VERCIDA works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with VERCIDA to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please email [email protected] for more information.

Learn more about this employer

Teneo

Inclusive features

  • No matching inclusive features
Business Management Consulting Teneo

Thank you for registering on VERCIDA - the leading job site for companies that are passionate about diversity and inclusion.

  • Check out our client profiles to get the latest on their DE&I credentials
  • Look out for client benefits next to all our job specs
  • Sign up for job alerts to keep up to date on new roles as they come in
  • Search 1000s of roles from the biggest brands

Please proceed to the next step. If you are unable to complete the next stage of application please use the contact form HERE.

You will receive an email with link to reset your password.

Enter your new password