Emma Partlow

she/her
Director of Consumer Engagement and Policy
Transreport Ltd

Award category:

Transport, Retail, Service and Hospitality

I am Emma Partlow, Transreport’s Accessibility and Inclusion Manager, with a background as an experienced researcher, teacher, and advocate for Equality, Diversity, and Human Rights. I specialise in accessibility and inclusion, drawing from my own lived experiences of being disabled and ten years of dedicated research into the lived experiences of disabled people, focusing on policy and legislative impact.

I am passionate about accessible travel, having previous experience working within the rail industry specialising in accessibility and experiencing first-hand the impact technology can have upon an individual’s journey led me to global accessible travel.

In recognition of my impactful contributions, I was chosen to be a Baton Bearer in 2022 for the Queen’s Baton Relay, highlighting the fresh thinking and significant impact of my academic research into the area of disability and employment.

I am currently on the path to obtaining my doctoral degree and continue to publish in the areas of policy, inclusion, and diversity. You can often find me travelling both nationwide and globally with Luna, my assistance dog by my side.

Over the last 12-18 months whilst working on global accessibility strategies and projects I have witnessed the power of policies in action and personally experienced what Disabled experiences can be like when policies and legislation are not grounded in Disability rights, co-production or inclusive of lived-experience within decision-making.

I’ve experienced colleagues and stakeholders worldwide deepening their understanding of the Social Model of Disability leading to them recognising the power of focusing on barriers that can then be dismantled. The impact of this has been profound both personally and professionally for individuals. It is a privilege to lead people on this journey of understanding as I know this frame of thinking can have a powerful impact and tangible outcomes for Disabled people.

These experiences have led to me having an ever-growing deep-rooted passion and knowledge of the importance of accessibility.

Being nominated and chosen for the Disability Power 100 2024 has led to me reflecting back to a time when I would have done just about anything to conceal my impairment effects as I believed being Disabled was something to be ashamed about and hide. This is a stark contrast to now as I live my life as a proudly Disabled, first-generation university attending woman. There was a time I had been written off and told that I would not achieve my goals on the basis of being Disabled alone – I only wish I could go back and advocate for myself knowing what I know now – I know that 14-year-old girl would be incredibly proud of who I am today. Nobody enters into the space of accessibility and inclusion for awards and accolades alone, but this is a huge moment for me when I look back at the personal journey I’ve been on, and I couldn’t be prouder and more energised in my work and mission – it is an honour to have made this list.

Q&A

Emma Partlow
My three pieces of advice to a Disabled person at the start of their career in the space of accessibility and inclusion would be: Always act with integrity, working in the space of accessibility and inclusion is not without challenges. Having an internal grounding in your own integrity, ethos and approach gets you through these moments! Try not to take anything personally, when doing a role that impacts you individually this can be difficult, but this leads into the final piece of advice. People are on their own individual journeys and leading on accessibility and inclusion means sitting with this fact each and every day – education is power. Some general advice would be to always advocate for what you want and need to be your best and most comfortable self at work (linked to this is to know, understand and use your rights!) Finally, find community – surrounding yourself with other proudly Disabled people is incredibly empowering and important when navigating work and employment to share ideas, experiences and offer informal support.
Within my workplace at Transreport, I’ve made a transformative impact on accessibility and inclusion by managing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy. I’ve championed best practice solutions, challenged processes and policies, and influenced my colleagues’ approach to disability rights, leading to greater accessibility and inclusion within the company. My advocacy does not stop within the organisation; I influence external stakeholders and organisations through public speaking, accessibility audits, workshops, and educational outreach. I’ve also contributed to publications nationally and globally, including guest appearances on BBC Radio 4 and in the London Evening Standard Tech & Science podcast. I was a speaker at Naidex 2023 and 2024, in 2023 hosting a session around travelling with an assistance dog, and in 2024, recognised as a subject matter expert and contributed to an accessible travel panel. I’m regularly requested to respond to key issues within the context of disability and have featured in the Inclusive Design Magazine and provided comments for publications nationally and globally. I bring a refreshing insight into the issues of accessibility and inclusion by raising awareness and challenging misconceptions around disability and inclusion, that provoke a shift in mindsets and subsequently change-making.
I can often be heard reiterating the statement: ‘Disabled people are not a homogeneous group’ and with this in mind, my future goals are to continue developing new and innovative ways for engagement with diverse groups of Disabled people. There is always a risk within the space of accessibility and inclusion of it becoming a siloed and privileged community. I am personally and professionally committed to intersectional co-production and ensuring that everyone who wants to be involved has an accessible way to do so and is remunerated fairly – this is particularly important and prevalent when working in the accessibility technology industry with the wider context of the digital divide.
I love learning more from different disciplines and areas so can often be found reading from a broad range of fields including but not limited to Psychology, Disability Studies, Sociology, Social Policy and Business Studies. Additionally, I love nothing more than spending time with friends and family outdoors, whatever the weather!
I’m often asked what my favourite accessibility moment is, and nothing brings me greater joy than when people share their own accessibility passion back to me. I’ve had conversations with colleagues and stakeholders who are full of excitement as they have spotted Deaf representation and British Sign Language interpreters on the Great British Bake Off, to tell me that they have heard the Social Model of Disability be recognised in hit Netflix series Sex Education or highlighting barriers to access and participation in their home towns and how they have challenged this – to name just a couple of examples! The small moments of people sharing their growing awareness, passion and knowledge of accessibility and inclusion invigorates me daily. The more people that are aware of and actively seeking to dismantle barriers in society will lead to greater change.
This is a difficult question – both! (With a particular passion for working dogs!)
If I could change one thing it would be to erase the preconceptions and stereotypes that people can often apply to Disabled people. I believe some of the biggest barriers that remain in society are grounded in long-standing, harmful stereotypes. This is why representation and lived-experience is so important in creating meaningful change as preconceptions can be erased with authentic inclusion and representation.
Access to participation and inclusion continues to need to be addressed, many barriers remain for people to have a seat at the table. For organisations to be able to address these barriers they need to ensure they are committed to dismantling the barriers that may prevent people being included and ensure a commitment to making adjustments, paying people for their expertise and actively working to bring Disabled people in as the power of lived-experience cannot be understated.
Woman with brown hair standing on a marbled floor infront of a large window with sky scraper buildings outside. To her left is an assistance dog yellow labrador wearing a yellow and red jacket arabic text. She is wearing a black dress, black shoes and glasses with red lanyard.

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Business, Charity, social enterprise, Community, Cross Sector, Disability Advocacy, Education, Employment, Equality, Politics, Transport, travel

Disability Power 100 profile information is self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.

Request easy read version