Smile, Engage, Educate: Joanne Lockwood on Turning Awareness Into Inclusive Action
Joanne Lockwood spent much of her life moving through the world with the privilege of being perceived as a man. In her forties, as she stepped away from a career in IT and began her gender transition, that changed - and so did her view of the workplaces she'd been part of, including the business she once ran. She began to see the gaps: the unchallenged banter, the exclusion, the cultures that quietly left people out.
That shift led her to found SEE Change Happen ten years ago, built on a simple philosophy: Smile, Engage and Educate. Her work centers on a problem many organisations recognise but struggle to solve - the gap between what they say they value and what employees, candidates and customers actually experience. For Joanne, awareness is only the starting point; real change comes from building the confidence and competence to act differently.
Now, she's bringing that mission into digital tools, most notably the Trans Inclusion Toolkit, an AI-assisted platform designed to help organisations move from good intentions to confident, defensible action. In this interview, Joanne shares what inspired SEE Change Happen, the problem she's solving, and how she's using technology to scale inclusion without losing the human judgment at its core.
Are you a woman leader with an inspiring journey to tell? Founded by Women is on a mission to elevate and amplify the voices of women making an impact. If you’re breaking barriers, driving change, or paving the way for others, we’d love to feature your story. Get in touch with us today! 👉 hi@foundedbywomen.org
Q: What inspired you to start?
For much of my life, I experienced the world through the privilege of being perceived as a man. In my forties, as I stepped away from a career in IT and began my gender transition, I also stepped into a vastly different experience of the world—one shaped more directly by marginalisation and exclusion.
That shift caused me to look back differently at the workplaces I had been part of, including the business I had run. I could see gaps in how people were included and valued, and I recognised examples of inappropriate banter, exclusion and workplace cultures that had gone unchallenged. Most people were not bad people; they simply had not been shown a better way.
That inspired me to establish SEE Change Happen ten years ago: to help people and organisations move beyond good intentions and create positive people experiences through a simple philosophy—Smile, Engage and Educate.
Q: What problem are you solving?
Awareness is only the starting point. Organisations may recognise that inclusion matters, but recognition alone does not change culture or improve people’s experiences.
I help organisations move from awareness to confidence and competence by developing the knowledge, skills and practical understanding needed to make better decisions. From there, the critical step is action. I often use the phrase “Action Changes Things” because nothing changes unless somebody is prepared to do something differently.
My work focuses on closing the gap between what organisations say they value and what employees, candidates, customers, and communities actually experience.
Q: What is next for you?
I am increasingly using responsible AI and interactive digital tools to make practical inclusion support more accessible. Rather than creating static websites that simply provide information, I am developing platforms that combine learning, assessments, quick guides, diagnostics, and decision-support tools.
A major focus is the Trans Inclusion Toolkit, an AI-assisted application designed to help organisations become more trans-positive at a time when confidence around trans inclusion is declining. It supports employers in moving from awareness to confidence, competence, and action through structured, lawful and defensible approaches.
Technology can help scale knowledge and strengthen decision-making, but it must not replace human judgment, accountability, or empathy. The aim is to use AI to extend human capability while continuing to create better and more positive experiences for people.
Are you a woman leader with an inspiring story? Founded by Women elevates the voices of women making an impact.
Breaking barriers or paving the way for others? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch! 👉 hi@foundedbywomen.org
