Adele holds a number of public appointments. She is the Vice Chair of Sport Wales, Chair of the Public Transport Users' Committee for Wales and Committee member of the Social Security Advisory Committee. Adele is self-employed consultant on equality and diversity strategies to the private, public and voluntary sectors, with a particular expertise in the new 'positive' equality duty. Previous to this she worked for the Equal Opportunities Commission.

You may be wondering how and why Adele could manage to hold three public appointments along with being self-employed. The answer is – it's her passion. Having worked in equality throughout her career Adele had a particular interest in each area that she has pursued as a Public Appointee.

It was her interest in women and girls underrepresentation in sport which inspired her to join Sport Wales and her experience of working with disadvantaged groups that led her to work in public transport – a recurring issue important to this group.

The most enjoyable part of this volunteer work for Adele is the challenge that these roles bring; "the opportunity to influence policy and services as they are delivered and to challenge received wisdom and traditional ways of doing things."

Adele's main barrier in getting to her position was her lack of confidence. She found that the support of other key women with which she could share her concerns has been a crucial part of her success. Having mentors and role models throughout her career was a great help.

"Most people are more than happy to give their time, support and share their experience and wisdom if asked – the challenge is to be confident enough to ask."

Her tip to you is "just do it! Be confident and pick something you have a real enthusiasm for, if not expertise in and remember that men are always applying for things they are not qualified for and getting the posts – we really need good women in these positions to make sure our decisions as a country don't all come from one perspective and life experience."