Since founding the MOBO Awards in 1996, Kanya has been a key voice for diversity in music and the arts – working with the London Theatre Consortium to address the lack of executive-level diversity in theatre is just one example. For 2020 she announced a year of cultural events to coincide with the MOBO Awards Homecoming and together with the MOBO Trust and their partners will launch a million hours of opportunity campaign for young people of color to engage and interact with culture through music creation, writing, producing, design, coding, talks and business. She helps ensure a diverse selection of candidates as a member of the Arts and Media Honours Committee and is also a member of the Creative Industries Council, prioritizing D&I. In 2018, Kanya was awarded a CBE for services to music, diversity and culture.