When Cherie Arlett won the Llais Cymru Welsh Women in Business Award for best online retailer this year, she saw it as an important opportunity for her to be "visible and representative" for other black Welsh businesswomen. The 39-year-old entrepreneur from Cardiff, who founded online clothing brand Shecan Closet in 2020, says business is "very, very white-occupied" and admitted she often feels like the "odd one out".
"If I go into a meeting, I'm going to be automatically thinking: 'Am I going to be the only black person there? I probably will be the only black woman there. How am I going to dress? I need to be looking like I don't look like a stereotypical black woman, where I'll be judged on my appearance," she said.
Better representation leads to better outcomes, she pointed out. "When you're not seeing yourself, you don't believe you can," she said. "When you're not seeing yourself, it's sending a message that is not for you - you don't belong there."
