Insights from Pru Orridge’s Journey to MBE on Race, Representation and Resilience

Break The Glass Ceiling: Mastering Yourself & Tackling Inequality.

Delve into this inspiring conversation where our host Kim Mamhende features a special guest Prudencia Orridge MBE, discussing a topic that is both timely and timeless: tackling inequality. From her Tanzanian roots to her MBE honour in the UK , Pru's journey encapsulates both the challenges and triumphs faced by many in the diaspora. Pru shares her impressive journey to success, rising to the top of the ladder at HMRC against all odds, as well as her unique perspective of how racism can be tackled both within workplaces and on a wider societal level.

When discussing how to stay motivated, Pru states that it is just as important to be surrounded by supportive people and to have access to good role models as it is to have self belief, whereby the former needs to be present in order to inspire and maintain the latter.

About our guest:

Pru Orridge: MBE for ‘Service to Diversity’, Customs Fraud Lead at HMRC and Mentor

Pru rapidly climbed upwards at HMRC. Currently holding the position of Customs Fraud lead, Pru had also undertaken several different management positions across many departments. This includes the position of ‘Race Lead’, where Pru shared that she would organise groups where people could discuss their experiences in order to improve equality and diversity at HMRC. Very recently, Pru even received an MBE for service to diversity. Pru also mentors colleagues, helping them to improve their confidence in order for them to pursue their dreams.

Having had direct experience with challenges of racism within the world of work, Pru has an important insight into the extent to which racism prevails in workplaces as well as in broader society in the UK. Yet despite the challenges that she has faced, Pru’s journey proves that it is still possible to achieve success.

At the beginning of the episode, Pru shares her personal experiences with racism when she was first seeking work in the UK. Following on, she talks about how she managed to overcome this as well as other challenges that were in her way and rise to the point where she held important positions at HMRC. From here, she asserts the importance of having self-belief, however she also states that being surrounded by support and good role models is equally important. She additionally adds that she always tries to teach self belief in the people who she is mentoring, often ‘using herself as an example’, stating that a common challenge that people face is that they feel that they are unable to do the job because of their race and ethnicity.

Later on, Pru discusses some of the steps that HMRC have taken to tackle racism and to improve diversity. She claims that in recent years especially, HMRC have come a long way in doing so. In addition, she argues that problems with racism and a lack of diversity tend to prevail in a lot of workplaces, and it is therefore important that employers listen to the concerns of ethnically diverse people as a fundamental means towards tackling racism. Finally, Pru talks about how racism can be challenged on a broader societal level, emphasising that often black people tend to be ‘invisible’. Pru therefore suggests that black people should be represented more in British media and in British education, and that it is important that everyone has an equal platform to voice their opinions.

Time Stamps:

0:00: Start

2:18: Introduction

8:14: Pru’s journey to success

22:41: Importance of Self motivation, resilience and strong support networks

37:59: How employers can tackle racism

49:00: How society can become more inclusive

1:04:44: What is Pru’s Welsh Dream?