There we were standing in the most amazing room in Windsor Castle. My sister turned to me and said “You should talk about this, you know.”
“What?” I said….
”Your MBE. No one would believe you’ve got one. It was very unlikely. I mean, you barely finished school! I’m surprised you’re even still alive!”
And then, like every good sibling, she laughed at me. This was not helpful for my imposter syndrome…
But, as usual, my sister was right. If I look back to the teenage Emma, no one would have predicted that I would one day receive the award of Member of the British Empire (MBE). For various reasons, I left home at 16 and school at 18. With not much in the way of qualifications, the narrative was stacked against me ever receiving an MBE. But yet, here I was - at Windsor Castle in November 2022, receiving my award from King Charles III for services to diversity and inclusion in the Digital Identity industry - UK and abroad.
In fact, I believe it was this very start in life that has kept me pushing for equality and advocating for underrepresented groups. Humanity is diverse and in the digital identity industry, where we are designing systems to enable people (yes, real-life humans!) to access digital services, we must always think about who these systems are intended for. We must include them in our teams, in our design thinking and in our user testing – these represent the key to making our solutions fit for the intended purpose.
So there I was (me and my imposter syndrome) standing in the Great Hall of Windsor Castle waiting to meet the King!
Aside from the amazing surroundings and the ceremony, one of the best bits of the investiture for me was being in the company of a fantastic group of fascinating people who were also receiving awards. I was lucky enough to chat with Charlene Hunter who started Coding Black Females. Charlene received her award just before me, and then it was my turn. I walked in, did a curtsey (there’s a first time for everything 😊) and walked forward.
(Blog continues below picture)
So, the question on everyone’s lips …”What did you talk about?”
King Charles asked me if I was an “expert in Digital Identity?”. At this point, the only answer I could give was: “Yes”.
We discussed scams and fraud and he said he was concerned about how many people were falling prey to fraud. He makes a good point. Identity theft and fraud levels are still skyrocketing. Depending on which report you read, identity fraud has increased anywhere from 45 – 68% since 2020. And in the UK 80% of that fraud is cyber enabled (source: Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee 2022). It’s a massive problem.
One of the things that has contributed to those numbers is the rise in data breaches. King Charles expressed his concern about the Australian Opus data breach and then we went on to discuss the use of technology and how many people can be excluded from accessing the most effective digital services – including financial or public services. I found the King to be incredibly well-briefed, but there was also genuine concern about how all these changes could impact people in the long run.
I am proud of everything I have achieved, but this award isn’t just about me and I haven’t done it alone. I have been lucky enough to have some of the best people around me, some great mentors who have advocated for me, and an amazing team of volunteers at Women In Identity. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented, supportive team.
It is incredible what a small, passionate group can achieve - but there is still so much more we must do to ensure we have a positive impact on our industry.
“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much” (Helen Keller)
- Djenifer Diettrich likes this.