Mohsin Zaidi

Mohsin Zaidi is an award-winning author, barrister and management consultant who specialises in diversity, inclusion and social mobility through deeply personal storytelling and lived experience. His critically acclaimed memoir, A Dutiful Boy (Penguin, 2020), won the Lambda Literary Award and was named Guardian, GQ and New Statesman Book of the Year, described by The Guardian as "a profound meditation on the power of the human heart" and by The Times as a book that will save lives. The first person from his school to attend Oxford University, Mohsin sits on the board of Stonewall, appears as a regular Sky News commentator, and was named by The Financial Times as a top future LGBT leader. His sessions empower organisations to understand intersectionality, tackle mental health stigma, address class bias, and recognise how authentic representation drives both cultural change and commercial value.

When Mohsin Zaidi became the first person from his gang-violence-affected comprehensive school to attend Oxford University, he set in motion a journey that would take him from a council house in Watford to the UK's Supreme Court, a UN war crimes tribunal, and ultimately to authoring one of the most critically acclaimed memoirs of recent years. His book, A Dutiful Boy (Penguin, 2020), won the Polari Prize and Lambda Literary Award, and was named Guardian, GQ and New Statesman Book of the Year. The Guardian describes it as "a profound meditation on the power of the human heart to transcend the contradictions of diverse cultures and create something new", whilst The Times calls it a book that will save lives. Currently being adapted for screen, the memoir offers an unflinching exploration of growing up queer in a devout Muslim family whilst navigating questions of race, class and belonging.

Mohsin qualified as a barrister at 6KBW chambers after training at Linklaters, and served as Judicial Assistant to Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson at the Supreme Court. He now works as a management consultant at Hakluyt & Co, where he advises on complex strategic challenges. His legal and advisory career has been complemented by sustained advocacy work: he sits on the board of Stonewall, was listed by The Financial Times as a top future LGBT leader, and was named in The Lawyer magazine Hot 100. A regular commentator on Sky News, he has written for CNN Style, the Guardian, the i newspaper, Bustle, Mr Porter and Newsweek, whilst Attitude magazine named him a trailblazer changing the world today. His first-hand understanding of intersectionality, combining lived experience with rigorous professional insight, positions him as a distinctive voice on diversity, inclusion and social justice.

Mohsin addresses audiences with candour and clarity on mental health stigma, particularly within ethnic minority communities, drawing parallels with workplace cultures that discourage vulnerability. He speaks powerfully on social mobility, highlighting how class remains the least addressed dimension of diversity even as progress continues on race, gender and sexuality. His sessions on intersectionality move beyond theory, grounding concepts in personal narrative and data-driven evidence that resonates across sectors. Organisations working with Mohsin gain practical frameworks for creating inclusive environments where authentic representation drives both cultural transformation and commercial value, leaving audiences equipped to challenge bias, foster belonging, and understand that diversity work succeeds when it reflects the full complexity of human identity.