Women of colour have to navigate a world of work where they are often discriminated against because of their race as well as their gender. But despite the challenges, they are increasingly making their way to the top and carving out a new ‘normal’ for younger generations. To celebrate their success and share how they got there, Intelligence Squared partnered with gal-dem, an award-winning media platform that spotlights the creative work of women of colour and non-binary people of colour, to bring together pioneers from the worlds of media, politics and culture.

We were joined by Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary and Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington; Yomi Adegoke, Award-winning journalist; Corinne Bailey Rae, Award-winning singer-songwriter and musician; Bernardine Evaristo, author and Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University, who earlier this week became the first black woman to win the Booker Prize; and Mishal Husain, Presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The event was chaired by writer, journalist and broadcaster Ash Sarkar.