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Rupal Patel

Senior Private Secretary to the Deputy Governor for Markets, Banking and Resolution

Rupal Patel - She/Her

Senior Private Secretary to the Deputy Governor for Markets, Banking and Resolution and Author

 

Rupal Patel is a senior private secretary at the Bank of England, helping to prevent economic crises. Her book “Can’t we just print more money” is a Sunday Times Bestseller and has made understanding  the UK Economy more accessible for readers from school children to pensioners. The book has also been made into a GCSE teaching resource and proceeds from the book go towards the Bank of England’s educational programme in schools. Rupal has been a guest on BBC Breakfast,  Women's Hour and the BBC’s Understand: The Economy podcast.

 

Please tell us more about your career

 

I currently work as a private secretary to one of the Deputy Governors at the Bank of England, which is known as Chief of Staff at other organisations. I advise him on his policy decisions such as his vote to set interest rates on the Monetary Policy Committee. I really enjoy my job as it’s always interesting and gives me an opportunity to get involved in important economy policy decisions.

 

I joined the Bank of England as an economist on their graduate scheme nearly a decade ago. I studied economics at university and wanted to join an economic policy institution to help with some of the challenges facing the UK after the Global Financial Crisis.

 

While working at the Bank of England, my co-author and I wrote a best-selling popular economics book, the first of its kind in the Bank’s over 325 year history. It was published by Penguin in May 2022. This was an interesting and challenging moment in my career as it was very different to my day job and has had a lot of impact in helping people understand the economy. For example, every state school in the country was sent a free copy of the book along with a special English language GCSE teaching resource. I have also had the opportunity to go on some popular shows such as BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour, BBC Breakfast and podcasts to promote the book as well as on a regional book tour around the country.

 

Being ND has been challenging at times, especially as my job requires a lot of writing from sending emails to writing reports on complex subjects matters. It also involves presenting my work and briefing different audiences. However I’ve found overtime I’ve been able to overcome some of these challenges with a great supportive network and found ways to make it work for me.

 

I hope my work helps influence a new generation of economists, in particular young women whether they’re ND or not, to engage more and pursue careers in economics in the future.

 

How has being Neurodivergent shaped the direction of your career?

Overcoming challenges with dyslexia and not letting it stop me doing what I wanted to achieve

 

What advice would you give to another Neurodivergent woman navigating their way through life?

Get a mentor and a strong support network

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