‘I knew I’d have to work twice as hard as a white person’: Preena Gadher on the fight for diversity in the workplace

View from the Top: The co-founder and co-MD of arts and culture specialist Riot Communications explains why creative industries like PR and publishing must diversify their workforce

She and a friend launched the firm from a bedroom with two laptops, two phones each and a pile of books (Riot Communications)

From poor work-life balance to incompetent bosses there are a lot of reasons why people quit their stable jobs to become independent or launch a business of their own – but few of those involve an AGA cooker.

Preena Gadher, co-founder and MD of award-winning agency Riot Communications, had been working at Penguin Random House for almost six years in 2008 when a conversation about the iconic oven prompted her to take the plunge.

“I left because career progression in publishing tends to be quite slow, but if I’m honest I didn’t think I really fitted in there,” Gadher says.