ABOUT ME
Dr. Joanne Conway
Making the unwritten rules visible
The rules aren't secret because people are hiding them. They're secret because no one thought to explain."
— Dr. Joanne Conway
MY STORY
I was born in Burnley to Irish parents and grew up working class on council estates first in Dublin, then London. I had free school meals throughout my childhood, and some of my happiest memories come from those years. I also saw, first-hand, how hard life can be when the system isn't built with you in mind.
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I share this openly because it's made me who I am and because none of us should have to hide parts of who we are. It's also the reason I care about how opportunity actually works.
I left school at 17 and went straight into work: retail, customer service, and a string of jobs that taught me how to read people and situations. In my mid 20s I was literally spotted while working in a petrol station and recruited into a call‑centre sales role. That job was my first step into professional services and into a world with different expectations, signals and pathways. I learned to navigate both worlds, often by figuring out the rules as I went.
All my formal education happened while I worked full time. I completed a degree in psychology with the Open University, studied for a master’s in HR at night school, and carried out doctoral research part time. That mix of lived experience and rigorous study shapes how I work: practical, grounded in evidence, and relentlessly focused on what helps people move forward. I do this work because I’ve seen how small, invisible rules change lives and because I believe leaders can change those rules for the better.