I always knew I was different to my colleagues, but about eight months ago I realised just how much.

During a Retail Week Be Inspired event, surrounded by people I admire, I heard a talk from chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation Sarah Atkinson.

As she spoke, I was hit by a wave of emotion as it dawned on me how much judgement I’ve navigated and how many hurdles I’ve overcome to get where I am.

At that moment, I realised that by hiding my past I may be hindering a brighter future for others from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds.

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For the first time that day, I decided to talk about my own experience of social mobility to show people that where you come from doesn’t need to limit you – and to show businesses the value of building a diverse workforce.

Everything felt familiar as Sarah described what it was to be someone from an underprivileged background. She listed the “cold spots”, towns “left out in the cold” in terms of receiving focus and attention to improve social mobility. Weymouth was one – the town where I’m from.

She mentioned people from low-income households, who had paid-for school dinners, were born in a council house and shared a room with siblings – I have six. I was five years old when my dad became disabled, so my mum worked shifts.

Sarah’s list described me and made me realise I’m one of the lucky ones.

I left school after GCSEs and have worked ever since. My amazing mum taught me the importance of working super hard, listening, being kind, being honest and not being scared of my own voice.

So from the age of 13 I worked – cleaning local ferries, in the local restaurant, at the chiropractic clinic, at the solicitor’s – until I moved to London at 23 to be freer. There, I talked my way into a PA role at a media agency.

Following six years of hard work, I progressed into executive roles and five years later made the jump to retail.

“I’ve been overlooked for career opportunities because I speak another language, think differently and have a different background”

The climb has not been easy. I’ve been overlooked for career opportunities because I speak another language, think differently and have a different background.

One of the hardest things is watching people’s attitudes towards me change when I share details about my background. People who’ve never had reason to doubt me start to question my methodology and sometimes my ability.

Starting out, I struggled with spelling and spreadsheets, but by allowing extra time to work on things that challenged me, I overcame this.

There were often times I was scared to use my voice around people educated at top universities, but I practised adapting my language. I’ve seen that through hard work, getting great results, being kind and being schooled in life, people can relate to me, learn from me and I can earn my way up.

“The retail industry has a brilliant track record in hiring people from disadvantaged backgrounds on the shopfloor, but those people should be in head office roles, too”

I love working in retail and one of the reasons I’m successful is because I find it easy to put myself in another’s shoes – whether colleague or customer. What I lack in qualifications, I’m told I more than make up for in EQ. I’ve learnt that’s a skill not everyone has.

Truly successful businesses grow from teams who all think differently, together – teams with people from all types of backgrounds, some schooled at university, others schooled by life.

The retail industry has a brilliant track record in hiring people from disadvantaged backgrounds on the shop floor, but those people should be in head office roles, too. They bring different thinking, refreshing approaches and will shine a new light on things.

You may need to adapt ways of working, making allowances for nerves and varying levels of confidence, but by showing people they’re understood and valued you get so much back.

We’re about to welcome our first Intern from the Social Mobility Foundation, and I’m so excited to coach them and learn from them.

I am one of the lucky ones who’s used my voice to open doors – now I want to do the same for others.

Virtual Leaders Summit, November 9-13

‘Which university did you go to?’ and other questions impeding social mobility in retail

This panel discussion on November 12 will look at the state of play with social mobility in the retail sector. What are we doing right? And what needs improving?

Watch and listen as we delve into why it’s good for business to have people from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds throughout your organisation.

Panellists include:

  • Ella D’Amato, chief commercial and marketing officer, Notonthehighstreet.com
  • John Williams, UK director, Under Armour

Register to attend the Virtual Leaders Summit for free