As part of our leadership series celebrating International Women's Day, Madeleine Weightman caught up with Jessica Huie MBE, an entrepreneur, author, and changemaker committed to fostering diversity and authenticity in business and leadership.  

Jessica shares her incredible journey, the importance of representation, and how we can all play a role in creating a more inclusive world. Read the full interview below.  

Tell us about what led you to PR and Communications initially. 

Honestly, when I first got into the industry at about 17, it was mainly because I didn’t know what else to do!  It was serendipity. I had a chance meeting with Connie Filipello who offered me my big break.  

So, I had an interview with her, became an office junior, and then decided that this PR thing is actually interesting. From there, I went to study journalism at university to understand the other side of the industry. And basically, fell in love with it all.  

And can you tell us a bit about your roles since then/your role now? 

I’ve been working in communications for 25 years and have worked with some of the best-known personalities and entrepreneurs in the world. I’m also an author, and today, I help business leaders and personalities to amplify their message and embody more of who they're here to be for social impact and our collective good.  

Amazingly it’s almost twenty years since I launched my first business, Color Blind Cards, to create a space for diverse representation in greeting cards. 

How did that come about?  

On my lunch break one day in 2006, I went out to look for a card for my daughter, who was feeling self-conscious about her beautiful afro hair at the time.  

And just discovered there was a complete lack of multicultural greeting cards on the British High Street. I mean, here I was on Oxford Street, one of the biggest shopping streets in in the UK, and there were no cards featuring Black, Asian, or mixed people.  

I felt really compelled to do something about it. So, Color Blind Cards was born. We went on to become first independent card brand to secure a presence on the British High Street. Cards featuring black people secured distribution in the US and South Africa, we won multiple awards, and an MBE. But more importantly, we contributed to bringing this conversation from sidelines to the mainstream.  

And I guess that was my earliest experience of the power of visibility to drive social impact and positive change. Seeing how the amplification of a message can actually cause people to go out and buy cards, which means that retailers will then say, “Yes, we're going to roll this out across the High Street.” 

What advice would you give to your younger self?  

I’d want to tell myself that being an outlier is a real advantage. Throughout my 20s, when I was working for other people, I was often the only person of colour in the office, or the only non-privately educated person in the office. Definitely the only young mum in the office.  

This had me feeling like I didn't belong. But actually, I’ve learnt that diverse and contrasting experiences are a real gift and our difference is our power. 

What advice would you give to women navigating leadership roles in today’s workplace? 

This is a great time to be in communications. I think the sector is really ripe for real evolution, for real progression. But I do think that leadership is an inside job – it’s something you have to embody.  

And the moment you embody it and start showing up and acting like a leader, life tends to offer you opportunities to actually play that out.  So that would be my advice. Forge your own path, don’t wait for somebody to hand you an opportunity.  

What more should our industry need to be doing to drive better representation?  

We’re an extremely diverse industry – we just need to see that diversity woven through the leadership. The businesses that accept the reality or just how multicultural society has and will increasingly become – and respond to it – are the ones that will be sustainable. 

And it’s important to note, initiatives only work if there is a real shift in consciousness. We need a level of self-awareness, we need the right support and coaching, and we need to make opportunities available to people regardless of their background.  

But it’s not just about leadership. We need to see change at every level. I’d love to see more individuals who are open to new perspectives or new ways of doing things.