If ever there was living proof that you don’t need to settle for one career then that’s Parvin Ali, whose first degree was one in Education, as she planned on becoming a high school teacher but now heads the FATIMA Women’s Network which she set up over two years ago. The Network, as a Social Enterprise, supports the personal development of all women from diverse backgrounds through dynamic initiatives in employment and self employment; its mission is to “Lift As We Go!”

As the UK delegate for the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development) Conference in Istanbul this year on Women in Enterprise in the MENA Region and as a speaker at the Inaugural World Islamic Economic Forum in Malaysia, Parvin has been promoting an innovative model for a women's centre that she has developed for FATIMA. Post the 7/7 attacks in London she has been appointed to the Government Working Group for Muslim Women and has also set up the first Regional Muslim Women's Forum. Parvin is a keen advocate for interfaith work and is spearheading the setting up of the first global interfaith centre for women with the Council for Parliament of World Religions.

Born in Malaysia and brought up in the UK, Parvin had been involved in a variety of businesses with first her father and then her husband before deciding to try it on her own. She successfully ran her own textile company supplying high quality elastics to the major lingerie designers in the UK, and exporting to South Africa, for almost ten years, during which time she also decided at the eleventh hour to embark on a part time Masters degree in Business Administration. Excellent entrepreneurial genes, the love and support of her parents and two daughters have helped her manage a busy portfolio of interests which include being an Executive Member of the Regional Assembly, the Regional Planning Board, the Regional Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Partnership and the Regional Community Action Network. Her interests include travelling and buying fabrics and books.