Page 73 - Powerlist 2020

Dr Sandie Okoro
Senior Vice President and Group General Politics, Law & Religion
Counsel, World Bank

In primary school, Sandie Okoro said she wanted to
be a judge. The then nine-year-old was told by her
teacher: “Sandie, little black girls from Balham don’t
become judges.”
Luckily for the world of law, Sandie ignored those dubious
words to become one of the world’s leading lawyers.
She was appointed Senior Vice-President and General
Counsel for the World Bank Group in February 2017. In this
role the barrister-turned-solicitor is the principal adviser
and spokesperson on all legal matters at the
World Bank.
She also serves as the legal adviser to the board,
management, the Inspection Panel, and the CEO of
the Global Environmental Facility Program. The legal
powerhouse leads the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency,
which is responsible for all legal services provided to
internal and external clients.
Former World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim has
described Sandie as a “highly regarded thought leader with
a strong track record of developing new legal approaches in
the field of inter-national finance”.
This year, Sandie launched the Empowering Women by
Balancing the Law initiative, a first-of-its-kind programme
helping countries build greater legal gender equality and
David Lammy revise existing laws that continue to impede women and
girls’ voice and agency.
Member of Parliament for Tottenham In addition to her roles and responsibilities at the World
Bank, Sandie is also serving as Vice President of the
Compliance Vice Presidency, an independent authority
First elected as an MP in 2000, David has become one of the established to oversee compliance with the World Bank
country’s most high-profile African Caribbean politicians. Group policy on personal data privacy.
Under the last Labour government he held various Sandie received the 2019 Vanguard Women Award by
ministerial positions for nine years, including roles as Howard University for her accomplishment as a woman
Culture Minister and Minister of State for Innovation, of colour who has blazed the trail as a lawyer and for her
Universities and Skills. He was made a Privy Councillor in commitment to mentoring young women and advancing the
2008. rights of women and girls globally.
But it is his campaigning work and rallying speeches that
brought him to national attention.
Since the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, David has been at
the forefront of the fight for justice for the survivors, families
and local residents. He also led the campaign for the
Windrush Generation to be granted British citizenship and
paid compensation by the government.
In February 2019, he reignited the issue of ‘poverty porn’
when he criticised Strictly Come Dancing winner Stacey
Dooley for posting images on social media of her trip to
Uganda for Comic Relief. “The world does not need any more
white saviours,” he said, accusing her of “perpetuating tired
and unhelpful stereotypes about Africa”. He also called far-
Right columnist Rod Liddle a “national disgrace”.
David is an Ambassador for Action Aid, President of the
British and Foreign School Society and a Trustee of the
National Youth Theatre as well as a Patron of a number of
charities in Tottenham.
He wrote Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots, an
analysis of the long-standing causes of the 2011 riots.
A new book by David, Tribes, will explore the good
and bad aspects of tribalism and will be published in
October 2020.

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