A colleague with light coloured hair wearing a red coloured shirt under a gold necklace.

Clare: Thriving at work with a disability

Meet Clare. She’s our Head of Technical and Marketing Compliance. 

Our Disability Awareness Network (DAWN) aims to raise awareness and combat stigma and stereotypes faced by people with disabilities, both visible and hidden.​

It focuses on developing insight and awareness, building confidence and helping build an inclusive workforce. The network also provides insight and feedback to help make sure Royal London continues to support colleagues, providing adjustments as needed. ​

Clare, one of DAWN's members, tells us her story of thriving at work with a disability.

My name’s Clare and I’m the Head of Technical and Marketing Compliance and a media spokesperson for Royal London. I’ve worked here since 2018 , I’m married with three children, and I’ve had epilepsy since I was 12.  So that’s more than 35 years of dealing with and managing an unseen, incurable disability, around which there’s still a fair amount of stigma. I’m very fortunate my epilepsy is fairly well controlled with medication. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about it at least a few times a day. And recently I had my first seizure in nearly 15 years during a Teams call with a radio producer. It wasn’t a surprise to me but sadly does mean I can’t drive for a year.  Which is a bit easier now than it was in 2011 when I had three young children and my husband was working shifts! But it still means lifestyle changes.

For much of my life, I tried to ignore that I had epilepsy. I didn’t want to tell people because I was worried they’d think differently about me. I’d tell someone who needed to know, like a manager, but I would often only tell the people I trusted. I felt I had to hide that part of myself because I didn’t want to be different. And that meant I was never really my authentic self at work.
“Having a disability hasn’t stopped my career progression at Royal London. Knowing I work somewhere where I can get the support I need is important.”

But in 2011, I felt like I had to take ownership and talk about it more. I started to fundraise for Epilepsy Research Institute UK and raise awareness about what epilepsy is and what people should do if they see someone having a seizure. I’ve spoken to schools, youth groups and at the RAF Air Cadets where I volunteer. Anyone can help someone having a seizure – my 16-year-old was brilliant helping me with my last seizure. At Royal London, I’ve organised fundraising activities and have used these as an opportunity to educate and explain what people can do to help. It was an uncomfortable conversation for me at first, but it has become easier over time. 

I’m a member of our DAWN network which is all about raising awareness and combating stigma and stereotypes faced by people with disabilities, both visible and hidden. Not everyone has a disability, but we all share a desire to empower everyone to feel they can be themselves in the ways they're most comfortable. Even in a world where intolerance for inequality is at an all-time high, there’s still stigma and stereotypes regarding visible and hidden disabilities. DAWN aims to achieve a consistent understanding and raise awareness of what disability means and how we can support each other.

Support from Royal London

It's important we continually focus on making Royal London a great place to work for all  colleagues and it’s equally important that we attract and keep talent irrespective of disabilities.

I don’t need any help day-to-day now, but I might one day. And knowing I work somewhere where I can get the support I need is important. Having a disability hasn’t stopped my career progression at Royal London. Some of the things I used to worry about like – 'will they think I’ll have a seizure and not want me to speak at an event or on the radio?’ or ‘will they treat me differently?’ – I rarely think about now. Having epilepsy doesn’t define me but it is part of me, and I know that the whole me is welcome.

Inclusion, diversity and belonging

We're welcoming, friendly and flexible. Royal London is a place where everyone wants to be.

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