Sabina Iqbal, MBA FRSA CMgr FCIM

She/her
Award-winning Deaf leader, Sensory Services Manager, and Chair of a national deaf health charity.
Hertfordshire County Council, Chair of SignHealth and Founder of Deaf Parenting UK

Award category:

Cross-Sector Advocate

With over 25 years of experience in social work, Sabina is a dynamic and visionary Deaf leader. Currently serving as the Sensory Services Team Manager for Hertfordshire County Council, she has played a pivotal role in developing and implementing the Hertfordshire Sensory Strategy, aligning it with Diversity & Inclusion initiatives and collaborating extensively across Health, Children’s Services, and Employment strategies. Her career spans more than two decades in Social Care, Health, and the third sector, where she has been recognised as a leader in sensory needs across the UK. She is a passionate advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, focusing on improving quality standards and customer journeys. Known for her agility, resilience, and strategic management skills, Sabina has consistently achieved tangible results through cross-team collaboration.

In 2001, Sabina founded Deaf Parenting UK, where she led several impactful projects, including creating a charity website and producing BSL videos to address service gaps. Her international research on Deaf parenting led to the publication of her book, “Pregnancy and Birth: A Guide for Deaf Women,” in 2004.

Sabina’s commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion extends to her freelance consultancy, where she has created videos, written articles, and presented her research findings at numerous conferences, including the World Federation of Deaf People. She has also served as an advisor and trainer to improve customer experiences in social care.

Additionally, Sabina is the Chair of SignHealth, a national deaf health charity, where she continues to advocate for accessible healthcare services for the Deaf community. Her contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the Charitable Tesco Mum of the Year 2010, the GG2 Leadership and Diversity Award 2009, and recognition on the first-ever Muslim Women Power List 2009 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Sabina has also appeared as a reporter and presenter on various TV programmes including BSL translations for mainstream channels.

Sabina’s dedication and leadership continue to inspire and drive positive change in the fields of social care and Deaf advocacy.

It’s fantastic to be named on Disability Power 2024. If I can do it, you can do it too.

Q&A

Sabina Iqbal, MBA FRSA CMgr FCIM
Three things: 1) Mentoring: having access to wider range of mentor who can embrace you and support you through your journey – access to their wealth of experiences and connections to enable you to network. 2) Development training opportunities- Develop yourself by having access to mentor and identify areas for developments and how to access them 3) Peer support& networking opportunities – network for peer support and knowing where to go for networking opportunities so you can continue to learn and develop yourself.
As a deaf leader and keen change maker, identifying barriers and gaps in services and keen to address inequalities. Lots of people focus on diversity and inclusion and often forget disability dimension as a crucial part missing from EEDI so my role is to advocate for better changes and to reduce inequalities. Addressing the needs of deaf and disabled people as the norm often resolve the issues that people faces in wider society eg: better deaf awareness in health settings would bring more compassionate approach to wider public who have hidden disability. Equally learning BSL means we can also communicate with prelingual babies/toddlers before they learn to communicate verbally, subtitles is another example where is it now becoming the norm esp for children and adults learning English. Imagine watching a film in different language that you couldn’t understand and this lead to frustration. That is how deaf and disabled people fwwlon daily basis. Involve us as experts by experiences in the service/product design from the start and NOT as an afterthought. Nothing about us without us!
Having just completed my MBA with dissertation on ‘Disability Leadership and succession planning’, it is my hope to step up and encourage more deaf and disabled leaders as change makers across all sectors/ industries. Whilst the number are small but that makes us invaluable resources to tap into and support the wider EEDI work. Recognise us for who we are and the strengths we bring to the wider organisations/ sectors.
I love travelling and exploring different cultures and communities. I also enjoy cooking cultural foods and entertaining family and friends.
Little things that bring a smile to my face range from babies smiling affectionately to satisfied customers and getting it right the first time. I also love when people share their ideas and contribute to positive changes. Equity matters!
I have neither but would love to have a cat.
People’s mindset and attitudes.
Negative attitudes and mindsets are barriers we can overcome at no cost. By adopting a positive, can-do focus, we can be part of the change. You will be amazed at how simple things become once you change your attitude and mindset. We can do anything.
Headshoulder photo of Asian woman with long dark curly hair and white background.

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Charity, social enterprise, Children and young people, Community, Cross Sector, Disability Advocacy, Education, Employment, Equality, Health and wellbeing, Sign language (BSL), Television, radio, podcast

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