Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese diaspora writer, broadcaster, and award-winning social advocate. Her powerful TED talk, “What Does My Headscarf Mean to You” has more than 3 million views and was selected as one of TED’s top 10 ideas. With a unique ability to make complex ideas accessible to all, Abdel-Magied is an internationally renowned speaker on unconscious bias and transformative leadership who advocates for a safer, fairer world for all.
With over a decade of governance experience across sectors, Abdel-Magied’s work is informed by both theory and experience. She founded Youth Without Borders at the age of 16, leading it for nine years before founding Mumtaza, which focuses on serving and empowering women of colour. She is also a former mechanical engineer and one of the few female engineers who worked on oil and gas rigs around Australia.
An experienced broadcaster, Abdel-Magied has presented on television and podcasts in Australia, Britain, and the US, including the current affairs show, Australia Wide; the ground-breaking documentary, The Truth About Racism; and Hijabistas, a series exploring Australia’s modest fashion scene. She is currently a regular news and current affairs commentator on the BBC, Aljazeera, and Monocle 24, and hosts podcasts such as Motor Mouth, EY’s Better Questions, and The Guilty Feminist.
Named Queensland’s Young Australian of the Year and one of the LinkedIn’s Inaugural #Changemakers, Abdel-Magied is a globally sought-after speaker and advisor on social justice issues and inclusive leadership. She has delivered workshops and keynotes in 25 countries across five continents. She has also published five books, written two plays, and is currently developing several projects for screen. Her commentary and criticism have appeared in TIME, The Guardian, Australian Review of Books, The New York Times, Times Literary Supplement, Vogue, and more.
Abdel-Magied is a Trustee of the London Library and on the Executive Committee of the Black Writers Guild. She previously served on the boards of the Queensland Museum, ChildFund Australia, and the domestic violence prevention organization, OurWatch.
