5 Changemakers To Watch Out For In 2025

We live in tumultuous times, economically, politically, socially and environmentally speaking. Yet, in the face of some our species’ biggest challenges – from climate breakdown to the continuous threat of global war – people continue to step up with purpose, focused on bridging the divides in society, and exploring what’s possible for humanity as a whole.

In the corporate world, where the wealth, power and fame generated shapes so much of how our world functions, the potential to drive change is profound. While Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are experiencing some pushback, particularly in the U.S., more and more organisations are mobilising their purpose around creating social value. Recognising that without a planet and people, chasing profit is a short-sighted endeavour.

We’re a long way away from ESG frameworks becoming fully integrated into our organisations, or leaders setting bold visions for the role they can play in our collective futures. In the meantime, we can look to those individuals seeking to influence how businesses behave, starting with how they treat people working internally to their organisations, as much as the users, consumers and clients being influenced externally.

Changemakers getting to the root causes of the inequities and inequalities that inform what and who we value, and bringing people with different identities and lived experiences together to explore how our organisations might work for everyone Whether highlighting the economic costs of poor social mobility or the loss in talent that comes from overlooking parents, they’re demonstrating how big picture gains can come from personal change.

Modelling what leadership could look like, through showing up with frankness, vulnerability and humour, these five individuals to look out for in 2025 span issues, sectors, industries and approaches. Whether campaigning for shifts in attitudes, lobbying for workplace policies or training the workforce of the future, their work in their own organisations is setting as much a precedent as the leaders, politicians and influencers they partner with.

Hera Hussain at Chayn

Working on global gender-based violence is something which Hera – who was raised in Pakistan and lives in the U.K. – knew she wanted to do from an early age. Having founded global non-profit Chayn in 2013 while working in open contracting and corporate spaces, the pioneering charity has since gone on to support over 600,000 survivors of domestic, sexual and (increasingly) tech-based abuse around the world.

Shaping and using trauma-informed design principles to provide mindful and culturally sensitive online resources to those impacted, Chayn’s multi-lingual and accessible platform Bloom is setting new standards in the tech industry. Demonstrating how digital spaces can be used for healing instead of harm through information, advice and direct chat support, Hera’s human-centred leadership led to an influential partnership with Bumble in 2021.

Supporting users of the dating site with digital safety advice, information on online manipulation and courses around boundaries, relationships and dating during the pandemic, Chayn has since gone on to provide support for image-based abuse. In the last year, they have also campaigned to raise awareness of AI intimacy, deep fakes and generative AI applications.

With implications beyond online dating, Chayn’s work has resonance for any organisation using digital to connect with employees or customers online, as Hera’s past advisory role with the ICO and present support at TikTok attests. 2025 will see the organisation conduct global research into revenge porn, considering the cultural differences around what is considered intimate, as well as sharing how trauma-informed practice can inform HR too.

Engaging in the 16 Days of Activism campaign as an organisation and platforming other activists and campaigners addressing gender-based violence show what’s valued externally. Internally, they’re currently creating space for the team through the annual Winter Wind Down to rest and reflect on the year gone by or sharing her experiences leading an organisation as a new mother, embodying the culture of hope which Hera and Chayn advocate.

Paul Gerrard at Co-op Group

Changemakers come from organisations of all shapes and sizes, and Paul Gerrard’s work at one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives has provided a platform from which to influence significant social change across the retail industry. Leveraging his background in government, Paul has leveraged his role as Campaign and Public Affairs Director at the Co-op Group to address the interconnected issues of retail crime and social mobility.

Accountable to its million strong membership, the Co-op’s socially-focused business model and offering – reaching into people’s daily lives through food retail, insurance and funeral care – lends itself to standing up for local communities and what they believe in. Its latest message of “owned by you, right by you” chimes strongly in Gerrard’s strategic campaigning and cross-sector partnership building to change laws which protect retail staff from crime.

A persistent issue impacting Co-op Food and the local communities it serves, Paul is part of a cross sector alliance exploring the root causes of the challenges faced. Through the Retail Crime Forum, holistic criminal justice pathways – including substance misuse rehabilitation, restorative justice and employment opportunities – are all being discussed alongside evidence-based approaches to influence government policy and business practice.

That practice starts within, with the Co-op Group’s new strategy placing greater focus on social mobility employment. As an employer of over 70,000 people across the U.K., the organisation has a powerful opportunity to set a precedent across industries and sectors. With over £19 billion in GDP lost annually as a result of leaving people experiencing poverty behind, being the first retailer to publish a socio-economic pay gap report is a great start.

The recent publication of The Opportunity Effect – a report developed in partnership with Demos – highlights the depth of the issue. Yet, to realise the benefits that come with breaking down barriers to employment, organisations need to transform their recruitment and employment approach. With committed individuals like Paul in the organisation, it’s wholly possible for the Co-op group to progress on its ranking as a Top 75 employer in The Social Mobility Foundation Employer Index over the coming years.

Hanna Naima McCloskey at Fearless Futures

From campaigning to conflict management, Hanna Naima McCloskey has spent the last decade bringing her research, communication and international relations experience to the DEI space. Founding Fearless Futures back in 2014, Hanna’s experience working in diverse environments globally, including Israel-Palestine, the USA and UK all inform her work to advance workplace equity and inclusion.

Recognising that the journey organisations and their leadership take has to be transformational, the team provides strategy, training and leadership support daring organisations. Those organisations willing to get to the roots of the inequalities faced by people from marginalised genders and ethnicities, and embrace the discomfort that emerges as a result, benefit from more impactful workplaces, environments, policies and products.

Forthright conversations around global conflict, government policy and business practice are all hallmarks of Hanna’s leadership in this space, but that honesty extends to DEI as a practice area too. A groundbreaking white paper released this year on DEI Disrupted: The Blueprint for DEI Worth Doing on the surface responds to the corporate pushback against more diverse workplaces. Yet, deeper reading reveals an honest assessment of the challenges still to be overcome in making change a reality.

Flagging “Deference DEI” as a watch out – recognising that one person’s lived experience is not representative of every person sharing the same characteristics, and that diversity of thought doesn’t equate to diversity of identity – can only help move the conversation forwards. Highlighting the commodification of particularly groups – seen most recently in the tech industry’s push to embrace neurodivergence – is food for thought too.

2025 will see Hanna and Fearless Futures open up big picture thinking in the DEI space, developing theories of change with clients to explore what’s working and what’s still needed to drive impact, and testing and learning new approaches. Using technology driven insights, understanding the intersectional experiences that come interconnected identities and moving beyond a culture of blaming and shaming are all key to her approach.

Joeli Brearley at Pregnant Then Screwed

While most changemakers bring personal experience of the issue they’re addressing to their work, few run with it as hard as Joeli Brearley has. Experiencing maternity discrimination four months into her first pregnancy, and prohibited in meeting the three month appeal window due to pressing health concerns, Joeli’s frustration at limited access to justice available to those impacted birthed Pregnant then Screwed in 2015.

Almost a decade later, and the desire to prevent the resultant impact on women’s careers, confidence and mental health has spawned copious research, revealing that over 54,000 pregnant women a year lose their job and 390,000 working mums experience negative treatment from their employers. Through the simple act of sharing her story and providing free legal advice, campaigns, marches, government investment and national policy change followed from Joeli and Pregnant then Screwed.

Raising awareness around the motherhood penalty – by the time a woman’s first child is 12 years old, her hourly pay rate is 33% less than that of a man – which is estimated to account for 80% of the gender pay gap, the long-term financial consequences on women is severe. Leading Joeli to publish her first book on the topic in 2021, the focus on preventing motherhood being the kiss of death for your career has highlighted wider workplace concerns.

Exorbitant childcare costs, the limited leeway for fathers taking parental leave plus tensions around flexible working are all topics championed by Joeli and the Pregnant then Screwed team. The March of the Mummies saw 15,000 parents take the the streets across 11 U.K. cities in 2022 to deepen understanding of the impact of limiting employer practises, and influence government to shift policy in its wake.

In 2024, Pregnant then Screwed’s work saw Joeli speak in support of amendments to the Employment Bill to put an end to NDA usage in maternity discrimination cases, better parental leave provision and ambitious changes to how employers approach flexible working. Practising what she preaches, Joeli will be stepping back from the CEO role in 2025, and shifting her focus on public speaking and training around improving workplaces for parents.

Lee Chambers at Male Allies UK

From changing the system from the outside to leading the charge alongside, Lee Chambers’ experience as business psychologist has led him to take his own lived experience in working with men to become better allies in the movement for gender equality. Recognising the need for masculinity to understand and express itself in new ways, Lee established Male Allies UK in 2024 to contribute to the wider movement for workplace equality.

As a small business with a big presence, Lee has spent the last few years doing in depth research and testing pilots around facilitating workplace conversations and delivering training across education and employment. Touching on lesser discussed topics likes fatherhood and healthy masculinity to discomforting issues around menstruation and menopause, the drive for inclusive working environments starts with making the unknown known.

From working in schools with young boys to explore online misinformation and encourage critical thinking, and men in cross-sector organisations to unpack misogyny and workplace harassment, 2024 culminated in the launch of the Mistletoe isn’t Consent Campaign, Highlighting the boundaries around intimate contact around office parties, Lee responded to work agenda claims in the mainstream media around office politics gone too far.

In 2025, Lee will be working towards policy change around social indicators for young men in lower socioeconomic conditions, and scaling to work of Male Allies UK in training 50,000 men around gender equity and allyship. Recognised as a Gender Equality Changemaker by UN Women and named as a Marie Claire Future Shaper, as one of the leading voices in this space, his first book due out in January 2025 – Momentum: 13 Ways to Unlock Your Potential – is a must read.

Who would you add to your changemaker list to watch out for in 2025?