Arti Agrawal, who is gay, didn’t have access to LGBTQ+ support groups when growing up in India, where homosexuality was a crime until 2018.

“The society itself was very homophobic,” she says. “I had to live under the radar, and it was very difficult and quite traumatizing to live that way.”

Agrawal found solace in advocacy and support organizations in London after moving there in 2005. She went on to form her own groups and lead diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the universities she worked for in London and Sydney.

This year she started a consulting firm where she helps businesses around the world improve their DEI programs. She also has spearheaded DEI campaigns for the IEEE Photonics Society.

To read more about how Agrawal is fighting for diversity and inclusivity in STEM, launching a DEI startup, and more, visit https://spectrum.ieee.org/arti-agrawal-profile.