Page published on 3rd December 2024
Page last modified on
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) has been celebrated on 3rd December each year since 1992. The day – also known as the International Day of Disabled People (IDoDP) – is intended to promote understanding of disability-related issues, and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of disabled people.
As with many awareness days, there is a different theme each year to provide a focus and increase understanding of a particular aspect related to the lives of disabled people. The theme for 2024 is “amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”, which provides an opportunity to highlight disabled leaders, especially those working on inclusivity and/or sustainability initiatives.
This year, IP Ability has chosen to mark this day by highlighting disabled leaders working within professions related to IP, including the legal, research and creative industries. For a whole host of inspiring and insightful profiles of some of the best in these professions, read on!
Featured below: Jonathan Andrews, Mark Blois, Jessica Boland, William E. Donald, Hamied Haroon, Victoria Jenkins, Funmi Lawa, Reena Parmar, Amelia Peckham and Ollie Thomas.
Jonathan Andrews
Jonathan Andrews is an associate at Reed Smith within its Entertainment and Media team. He advises clients in a range of transactional, advisory and litigation work, including projects relating to copyright law across different jurisdictions.
Jonathan advocates for diversity and inclusion within Reed Smith (as a key member of its disability network LEADRS and LGBT network PRISM), throughout the legal profession and in the wider world. He is open about being autistic, and advocates for neuro-inclusion by emphasising the strength neurodivergent individuals can bring to the workplace. He has also made significant contributions to global conversations about inclusivity, having addressed the United Nations in 2019 on safeguarding disability rights. In 2020 he was recognised by national employment charity the Shaw Trust as the 4th most influential disabled person in the UK.
You can learn more about Jonathan in this Financial News article and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkUZ8QqrKGs.
Mark Blois
Mark Blois is a partner at Browne Jacobson within its Education team. He is an expert in education law and governance and in 2021 he was the only lawyer to be designated as a National Leader of Governance by the Department for Education.
Mark has cystic fibrosis, a condition that has at times required hospital treatment. He has praised Browne Jacobson for the positive impact of the support it provided him with in terms of flexible working arrangements. He encourages employers to consider the positive characteristics disabled lawyers can bring to work, to the direct benefit both of their employers and their clients. In 2021 and 2023 he was included in the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100’ List as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.
You can learn more about Mark in this Law Society article and this Disability Pride webinar on YouTube.
Jessica Boland
Jessica Boland is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester and the Research Area Theme Lead for Atoms to Devices at the Henry Royce Institute. Her research focuses on new nanomaterials such as topological insulators that could be used in quantum technologies. She is an expert in terahertz spectroscopy and uses it to identify the nanomaterials’ electronic properties.
Jessica was born hard of hearing and later received a metal implant and artificial eardrum in her left ear. Her heightened awareness of visual cues, body language and structured conversation has made her an excellent communicator, particularly in chairing meetings and facilitating inclusive discussions. She advocates for accessible communication practices like use of sign language, good lighting and microphones. She is involved with Tigers in STEMM, a group of professionals and students who are seeking to improving equality, diversity, inclusion & accessibility within science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.
You can learn more about Jessica in this Royal Society article and this University of Oxford disability lecture.
William E. Donald
William E. Donald is an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton. His area of expertise is sustainable careers and human resource management with a specific focus on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being) 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities). He is a high-achieving academic, with analytics company ScholarGPS placing him in the top 9.45% of academics across all fields for productivity, impact, and quality of research over the last 5 years (top 7.06% for higher education and 3.68% for career development).
William advocates for inclusive education and career development by emphasising the social model of disability (some information about this can be found here), with a view to removing societal barriers to create enabling work environments. He is disabled and housebound due to various conditions, and uses his personal experience to promote inclusive practices in academia by advising on accessible conference design. In 2024 he was included in the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100’ List as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.
You can learn more about William and his work in this University of Southampton article and this Times Higher Education profile.
Hamied Haroon
Hamied Haroon is a Research Fellow in Quantitative Biomedical MR Imaging at the University of Manchester. His research focusses on biomedical imaging and he uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at early-stage changes in the brain that lead on to dementia, which could result in more effective treatments for dementia.
Hamied lives with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic condition that affects peripheral nerves, resulting in physical challenges including reduced mobility. He uses assistive technologies but is unable to overcome some barriers since his use of a wheelchair and metal callipers means that he has to maintain a safe distance from the powerful magnets used in MRI. However, he enjoys the analysis and programming side of MRI research.
Hamied is passionate about the rights of disabled people and founded the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN) to support disabled professionals across the UK. He actively encourages disabled young people to consider science as a career and acts as a role model for the Lightyear Foundation, which aims to break down barriers to disabled children taking part in STEM.
You can learn more about Hamied in this Royal Society article and this interview by the Lightyear Foundation on YouTube.
Victoria Jenkins
Victoria Jenkins is an inclusive fashion designer known for her work in adaptive clothing through her brand, Unhidden. Victoria founded Unhidden in 2017 to address the lack of stylish, adaptive clothing for disabled people. Her designs focus on style, dignity and inclusivity, with different designs to suit different needs. For example, Unhidden makes trousers for wheelchair users with a longer seat and no back pockets, and T-shirts for those who need arm and chest port access with wrap sleeves and invisible zips.
Unhidden is the first adaptive brand to become a member of the British Fashion Council, and has had runway shows in London Fashion Week. Victoria has also partnered with Primark to bring adaptive fashion to the UK high street. She has hosted and participated in multiple TV programmes including Channel 4’s The Unique Boutique and Dragon’s Den on the BBC. She has won multiple awards, from organisations ranging from the Big Issue to Vogue, and has been included in the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100’ List multiple times including being recognised as the 2nd most influential disabled person in the UK in 2024.
You can learn more about Victoria and Unhidden in this Vogue article and on the Unhidden website.
Funmi Lawal
Funmi Lawal is the founder of Clip-Knix, an adaptive fashion brand that designs innovative, clip-on underwear for people with limited mobility. Her interest in adaptive fashion began after she experienced a life-changing stroke shortly after giving birth in 2002. The impact on her mobility helped her realise the challenges many people face when dressing, and so she created Clip-Knix with a view to enhancing the independence and dignity of those with similar needs such as wheelchair users or those experiencing back pain.
Funmi has obtained patent protection for her front-fastening underwear, which can be fastened and unfastened without the need to bend or stretch. Although based in the UK, Clip-Knix’s products have been sold worldwide via platforms like Amazon and Etsy. Funmi is a vocal advocate for greater innovation and investment in adaptive clothing. In 2024 she was included in the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100’ List as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.
You can learn more about Funmi and Clip-Knix in this article in The Spill and on the Clip-Knix website.
Reena Parmar
Reena Parmar is Counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer within its Global transactions team. She monitors developments in debt capital market law and practice and has experience of investment-grade debt capital market transactions across a range of products.
Reena has experience of disability both personally as someone with a non-visible disability and as a carer for disabled members of her family. She is a prominent and active advocate for disability inclusion, serving as the chair of the Law Society’s Disabled Solicitors Network and by actively raising awareness of the challenges faced by disabled professionals. As a South Asian disabled woman Reena also emphasises the importance of an intersectional approach to equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives. In 2023 she was included in the Enable Role Model List and was recognised as the Champion of the Year at the Inspirational Women in Law Awards. In 2024 she was included in the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100’ List as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.
You can learn more about Reena in this Law Society Gazette article and this Enable Role Model List interview on YouTube.
Amelia Peckham
Amelia Peckham is a disabled entrepreneur and the co-founder of Cool Crutches, a company that designs stylish, ergonomic mobility aids. She believes that entrepreneurship and disability are a perfect match, and she helps other disabled people to run their own businesses.
Following a life-altering spinal injury from a quad bike accident at 19, Amelia identified a gap in the market for improved crutches. Frequent or long-term use of standard-issue crutches can cause significant pain, and Amelia’s use of crutches following her accident resulted in severe blisters and infections such that she was advised to use a wheelchair to get around. However, prompted by her mother Clare, Amelia set out to create improved crutches that were comfortable, silent and customisable.
18 years later, Cool Crutches is a well-established brand with fans within the disabled community and celebrity fans such as Amanda Holden and Jonny Bairstow (who used them when recovering from injuries). In 2024 Amelia secured second place in the Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs and she was included in the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100’ List as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.
You can learn more about Amelia and Cool Crutches in this profile on Just Entrepreneurs and on the Cool Crutches website.
Ollie Thomas
Ollie Thomas is a DPhil student in Materials Sciences at the University of Oxford. His research project involves making new materials for cheaper, more sustainable batteries.
Ollie has Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) meaning that his heart races when he stands up. He has a constant migraine and gets tired more easily than others. However, flexible working arrangements allow him to maximise his productivity without compromising his health. Ollie finds managing his energy levels hard, but doing so has also made him into a more reflective thinker and he is able to analyse complex problems and identify innovative solutions. He emphasises the value of diverse perspectives in scientific discovery, reinforcing the idea that difference fosters innovation.
He seeks to break down taboos relating to invisible disabilities and mental health by sharing his own experiences and actively working to improve equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives within academia.
You can learn more about Ollie in this Chemistry World article and this Royal Society discussion on YouTube.
This article was written by IP Ability co-lead Marianne Privett. Visit this link to find more IP Ability resources and articles on a range of topics.