Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategist, Fadzi Whande, is considered an expert in her field, specialising in the areas of racial equity, social justice and inclusive leadership, and has worked in Australia, Africa, UK and the USA.
Born in Zimbabwe, Fadzi moved to Massachusetts, USA when she was young. Following the death of her grandfather, her family moved back to Zimbabwe and she was excited to be returning to the place her parents had always told her was home.
However, she soon realised she was considered different, making her feel like the odd person out, speaking with an American accent and having had experiences different to others. The kids at school would call her a ‘Coconut’ – black on the outside but white on the inside.
This began a feeling of exclusion and not belonging that continued into high school and later when she moved to Botswana, a new country with a new language and culture.
In 2002, Fadzi moved to the UK. After hearing of her friends’ HIV/AIDS diagnosis, she decided to do an AIDS Awareness course run by a local charity, the Terrance Higgins Trust. Originally set up for gay men, over time it began working and assisting diverse groups including African communities.
Her time volunteering at Terrence Higgins made her reflect on her own biases and feelings of exclusion she experienced as a child. This would begin her journey into championing diversity and inclusion.
In 2006, Fadzi moved to Australia and started working across various areas including; financial literacy, unemployment, community development, disability advocacy, gender equality and higher education. In all these roles, she would spearhead programs that focused on underrepresented groups.
In 2012, Fadzi was introduced to the courageous conversations about race learning suite of programs and from 2014 she travelled to the USA to develop a deeper understanding about racial equity and to learn from renowned racial equity expert, Glenn Singleton.
Now 20 years on, Fadzi’s work has seen her the recipient of various awards and accolades including winner of the ‘International Racial Equity Leadership’ Award in the USA for her ground breaking ‘Courageous Conversation about Race’ program, rolled out across various law enforcement agencies in Australia. She won the ‘Social Impact Award’ from the Organisation of African Communities in 2019 and was a finalist for Western Australian of the Year in 2018. Other awards include honorary membership of the GoldenKeyInternational Society, 2016 Australian Human Rights, ‘Racism it Stops With Me’ Award finalist, 2014 National Community Ambassador Award and being named a People of Australia Ambassador in 2013.
Today, Fadzi is an Australia Day Ambassador and on the Board of Directors for Business Chicks Australia and the Museum of Freedom and Tolerance. Her sons, Munasche and Mufaro, are who she’s most proud of and she looks forward to one day retiring her D&I hat because its “no longer a thing”.
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