[2] Exall was a care worker, and joined the Confederation of Health Service Employees.
[3][4] She became active with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), specialising on equality in the workplace and liaising with the affiliated Labour Party.
[5] Exall supported Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.
[4] Exall is an honorary fellow of Catholic Social Thought and Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.
[2] She was a founder member of the Cutting Edge Consortium, which argued that various exemptions for religious groups should be removed from the Equality Act 2010.