Funke Abimbola Quotes

Studying law was a real break from what they expected of me. It was a big deal to choose an alternative career to medicine, so I had to make a real go of it.

To this end, I personally lead on, sponsor, champion and support a wide range of initiatives and projects, working with a number of organisations to drive change. I have worked with the Law Society, large corporates, various national and global law firms, Aspiring Solicitors, Speakers4Schools and the UK Government to name a few.

At that interview, the head of legal (who is English but whose partner is of Asian descent) asked me if I thought my race had been a factor in me not getting interviews with other organisations. That was, honestly, the first time I had even considered race as being something that could inhibit my progress. Thankfully, I was offered a role by her and was able to qualify as a solicitor in-house.

I have been honoured to receive several award nominations and other recognitions for my work which is truly humbling. I deeply cherish every single one and I am greatly encouraged and uplifted by them.

It would be impossible for me to do everything and I mean no offence by declining your request.

I rarely feel guilty these days as my son is older but when he was younger, I did experience a lot of guilt. This is par for the course when you have very young children whilst also holding down a demanding career – you never feel as if you are doing a good job either at home or at work. However, before you know it, your ‘baby’ is a teenager who needs you less and less and you start yearning for the days when he was more dependant on you!

I love combining leadership roles with caring for my son when he can benefit from seeing the impact of my leadership.

Alongside this, my consistent goal throughout my career is to promote, encourage and campaign for more equality, diversity and inclusion across the corporate world and society as a whole.

Juggling all this is not at all easy and I do decline most requests for my assistance due to time constraints.

To not worry so much about the things I couldn’t control and to focus on changing the things that I could control. This attitude would have saved me many sleepless nights and lots of angst.

My focus is on 3 main diversity strands - gender, ethnicity and social background. I am also an LGBTQI and disability ally. I regularly spearhead positive change through various fora and write regularly about diversity and related issues.

My CV is sometime 2-4 pages long.i would never advise anyone to have a CV run 22-23 pages.certainly,my LinkedIn profile runs to 22-23 pages because I have been very creative.

Initially, it was juggling long hours working as a corporate solicitor in central London with being a mum. Eventually I left London for a regional law firm where I could enjoy a much better life balance.

Yes. I am less likely to suffer fools and my core values are deeply entrenched. I refused to compromise on my parenting, ultimately leading to me leaving my role as a corporate solicitor in a central London law firm for a similar role with a regional firm. At the same time, I moved out of London to Hertfordshire, creating a much better life balance. I became a lot more decisive (again, because this makes best use of time) and even more driven to deliver and get things done within the time available. Ultimately, having my son improved my leadership style and my overall performance.

I believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to maximise their potential irrespective of background. Sadly, it is often only those on the field who are aware of the uphill struggle that they face. We need to empower others if we find ourselves in a position of privilege, embracing and celebrating our differences to work towards building a better society