When Zara Mohammed, the first female head of the Muslim Council of Britain, was met with a hostile interviewer, 100 public figures immediately signed an open letter. The interview enforced damaging stereotypes and prejudicial tropes about Muslim women. Is this what our Muslim sisters face everyday?

This International Women’s Month, if we #ChooseToChallenge, we have to talk about who isn’t represented almost anywhere in our advertising or in our companies: Muslim women. When did you ever see a Muslim hijab-wearing woman as a protagonist in an ad? Where are all the Muslim women in our businesses? Do they feel free to wear the hijab, if this is part of their faith identity? What are their experiences in the workplace? And, are we missing out on the Muslim Pound, worth £20 billion and growing? This IWM is how we #ChooseToChallenge the status quo.

Questions:

How can we create the right environment for Muslim women to enter the industry?
Have you ever felt the need to cover?
What do businesses need to do to help Muslim women feel included in the workplace?
Is the industry doing enough to make Muslims feel included/ or that they belong?
What is the power of the Muslim consumer?
If brands want to engage in representing Muslim women, what do they need to do?
Do you have examples of positive work to show?

Speakers

Zara Mohammed, Secretary General at Muslim Council of Britain

Zara Mohammed is a master's graduate in Human Rights Law and a Training and Development Consultant. Prior to having been elected to her current post, she has served as an Assistant Secretary-General (2018-2020) for the Muslim Council of Britain, helping lead on the MCB’s ongoing COVID-19 response work since the outset of the pandemic, and, more recently, the MCB taskforce that delivered the campaign against forced cremations of COVID-19 deceased in Sri Lanka.

 SG Zara Mohammed has also served as a board member of Muslim Council Scotland, helping deliver more localised representation for Scottish Muslims, and President of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (2016-17), the largest umbrella body for student Islamic Societies in the UK and Eire

Arif Miah, Creative Strategy Director at Mud Orange

Arif is creative strategy director at London creative agency, mud orange. After making the transition from consultancy at EY, Arif went on to join Ogilvy and then later ODD, to work on some of the biggest brands in the country including Vodafone, Boots, and Tesco. Alongside his creative strategy, Arif has written numerous national reports on the British Muslim population - including 'The Great British Ramadan' and 'Modest Fashion: The Industry's Best kept Secret', and the 'm. economy series' to help brands understand and engage with the burgeoning Muslim consumer.  At mud orange, he now works with lifestyle and tech brands while providing a strategic specialism in Muslim audiences.

Shelina Janmohamed, Writer and Vice President at Ogilvy Noor

Shelina leads the world’s first bespoke consultancy for engaging with Muslim audiences, as Vice President of Islamic Marketing at Ogilvy. She is a global expert on understanding and engaging with Muslim consumers. She works with some of the world’s biggest brands like Unilever, Nestle and Coca-Cola.

She is the author of the definitive work on young Muslim audiences: “Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World” She was named by AdAge as one of Europe’s Twenty Women to Watch. The Times newspaper listed her as one of the UK’s 100 most influential Muslim women.  

She is a recognised influencer and thought leader on social and cultural trends on young Muslims, with her best-selling memoir Love in a Headscarf. She writes regularly for The Guardian, Telegraph, BBC and The National UAE.  She is the lead author of "The Great British Ramadan" as well as the "Gatehouse Bank Islamic Finance Consumer Report“

Shelina sits on the Inclusion Board for both Ogilvy and WPP UK and is a passionate advocate for diverse talent and better representation for the industry.  She was recently named as one of the top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models 2020. Arabian Business named her Business Woman of the year, and Advertising Week awarded her their prestigious ‘Future is Female’ award.

Sufia Parkar, Senior Diversity and Engagement Specialist at McCann Worldgroup 

Sufia Parkar is a senior Diversity & Engagement specialist at McCann Worldgroup and charged with embedding a culture of conscious inclusion across the UK and Europe. With several years’ experience in learning and development, employee culture and engagement, Sufia is committed to building an ethos of purpose, belonging and connection across all employees that empowers people to unleash their potential driving business growth. 

Prior to her appointment, Sufia worked for over 10 years in Business Development with a successful career as Business Development Director at McCann Birmingham. She was responsible for the agency’s growth and contributed to its double-digit growth year-on-year by introducing new clients. During her tenure, Sufia identified a multicultural and multiethnic gap in the industry and launched McCann Reach, the division focussed on helping brands target ethnically diverse consumers through improved culture-based marketing messaging. 

She holds an unwavering belief that everyone should have access to positive opportunities in business and society. She is ardent about leaving a legacy of good for her three children and in 2018, achieved her post-graduation in Human Resources by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Sufia was the winner of the prestigious IPA iList inaugural award.  

Outside of work, Sufia is busy supporting women, building their confidence and volunteers as an Interview Coach at Suited For Success and leads numerous women empowerment groups.

Nicola Kemp, Editorial Director at Creativebrief

Nicola Kemp is Editorial Director for Creativebrief, where she oversees consumer trends, innovation, and interviews with industry thought-leaders from across the creative industries for all areas of the business. She is a member of the Associate Board and focused on growing the reach, relevance and reputation of Creativebrief and BITE. She started her career

as a financial journalist before specialising in technology, social trends and marketing. Her work has appeared across titles including Campaign, WGSN, M&M Global, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Guardian and The Observer. A passionate advocate for diversity in all its forms she won The Women in Marketing Journalist of the year award for her work championing diversity in the creative industries, and was featured in Timewise’s Power 50 for her work on flexible working. She was named as one of the 200 women redefining the creative industry by The Dots an #EverydayAction award winner by Bloom, a Pitch 100 Superwoman and a Campaign Trailblazer of the future. With a 5-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, Nicola is always on the look-out for new feminist fairy-tales to add to their ever-increasing book collection.

Tahiya Chowdhury, Medical Student at Oxford University 

Tahiya is a 5th year medical student at the University of Oxford and she is particularly interested in global medicine, dermatology and general practice. Tahiya has been heavily involved in her university’s Islamic Society throughout her time at Oxford and is passionate about creating and being part of supportive spaces for Muslim women working and studying in underrepresented institutions.