Bonus Difference Makers Discuss 1 - Tackling disadvantage through the Open Private School - Vincent Egunlae

at large. From diversity and inclusion to mental health, from business to digital disruption and the climate emergency. We will be taking an unflinching look at what is impacting our industry, and most importantly, how we can work together to make it better. In order to help us navigate these topics. We'll be pulling in leaders from our profession who are making a significant impact in their communities, their businesses and the world at large. This is who we call out difference

makers. In this episode, we'll be unpacking the value of diversity. We all know that discrimination comes in many forms, and being treated unfairly at work due to either age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or any other difference is grossly unfair and needs to be addressed. We will be speaking to both those types of leaders who have fought discrimination and stood up for inclusion, they'll be sharing some of their personal and

professional experiences. And hopefully you will walk away with a few practical tips today on how you can start making a difference. So without any further delay, I'm very excited to bring on our first guest today, Vincent Egunlae. Vincent is a chartered accountant and the assistant manager at Grant Thornton, UK in the strategic

leadership team. He's also the co founder of the open private school, which is an initiative that seeks to take disadvantaged students and give them exposure to world leading experts in industry, as well as opportunities to have one on one mentorship possibilities. So Vincent, welcome to the show, I'm going to get you to kick us off today really on something that I read that you said, and I found really profound, and it

stuck with me. And that is that disadvantage stocks through a lack of finance, but it survives through a lack of exposure. So I think if you could start off by unpacking what that means, and what the open private school have been doing to really tackle this issue, that'll be great. I'm happy to and thank you, Mandy for introducing me. And thank you to everyone watching. And I suppose what I meant from that statement is that being from an underrepresented background is often seen as a

barrier in the UK. But I see it as more of an exacerbate to the one true barrier in existence, which is that the biggest determinant for who you are going to be is how good your parents are. And in the UK private school pupils and 35% more than stay educated peers,

ages 25. And now it isn't surprising when we consider that the people of influence those who hold the top jobs across media, the judiciary, politics, finance or pretty much any professional service that that you look at, there are five times more likely to attend a private school than the general population. And I feel that that lack of diversity is suboptimal economically, and it's morally undesirable. But why does it

actually happen? We all know that privately educated students are typically more likely to be from wealthier backgrounds. But it doesn't simply just facts that they have more money that

produces better outcomes. For example, the statistics will tell us that someone from a low socio socio economic background, who goes to Eton perhaps from a scholarship, but it's you standard grades is still more likely to become a person of influence than someone who achieves top grades, but went to a poorly performing state school. And that is because of the difference in environment that wealth allows while to be

exposed to at the schools. from a really young age, privately educated students have access to informed career departments that help them make informed decisions about subjects and career paths. And this increases the likelihood of the right decisions being made at a critical stages in your career development. If they if any help is ever needed, it is more likely that they will have exposure to professionals in their areas of interest, who can help to provide them of

assistance. And these things again, make a massive difference when it comes to applying for those first internships and getting that work experience that makes the difference when applying for your first and choosing job in the future. And even if a state educator student does manage to overcome these hurdles, then when you get your first job, you're still less likely to feel comfortable in that environment because you've

never been there before. You're less likely to have grown up with access to senior professionals. So it all feels new and new can be intimidating. When you're in that kind of environment where you feel intimidated where you feel like things are new, and you feel like you're adapting yourself to fit your environment rather than the opposite, then it's tough to display that confidence that only truly comes with familiarity. And that means it's difficult to hit the ground

running. And first impressions count for so much in the professional world. I still remember that. When I started my first job as as an auditor, and I sat down and I met a partner for the first time, I couldn't stop calling him sir, just because that's what I would. That's what I was used to. So that, fundamentally is why I believe that disadvantage begins with a lack of finance, but it survives through a lack of exposure to resources, and

opportunities and networks. So at the open climates, we want to expose our students to the right opportunities, believing that if we give them the right resources, and the right information, and the right level of support, that they can be just as good as anybody else. Wow, that's truly amazing. And I think really important perspective. I think it's a lesson I learned to my own career as well, you know, starting my career out in in a prestigious bank, and you said, then you think, or everyone's

has to everyone's equal now. But as you get to know, people, you realise what some people have had to go through before they walked through the door, you know, to start their day at work. And I think that was really an important kind of perspective for me, and for other people to keep in mind as well. But it will be really interesting to hear, I guess, what got you into this line of work? What motivated you and what traction? Have you seen with the open private school?

I think that I think what motivated me was truly my own personal experience. So for full disclosure, I'm in accounting, but the way I became an accountant is I studied undergrad, and then I went to study at masters. And by the time I was leaving, I still have no real idea of what I wanted to do no one that I could kind of speak to you. And I felt that I was going into the rest of my life blind. And I remember I actually Googled, what is the

average salary in the UK? And then I said, Okay, you've got a master's. So I added 10%. And then I Googled What are lucrative careers. And I think one of the first things that came up was CEO, and I thought, Okay, I'm just gonna be that, and then after 10 minutes, we're looking, I realise you can't just just be that. So then I started looking at the CEOs and what they have in common, and I found that 25% of board executives in the footsie 100

were accountants. So then I literally filtered by the wage, I pulled out filtered by accountant, and I became an autor. And I still remember going into the going into the office, first time I'd ever been in an office of any description. And I was so excited by the Financial Times on the table, and seeing these big glass bottles of water, that I was taking pictures, and I was sending them to my friends, guess where I am. And it's funny

looking back. But it also reminds me that I never from the start, I didn't really feel like I was supposed to be I was supposed to be in this supposed to be in this place. And I remember finding the after finishing interview, I went to went out with the other people that interviewed me after. And they said, Did you apply for the

big four? And I remember, I was wondering, why would I apply for Liverpool Manchester United arsenal, because that was that's what I thought the Big Four was that, at that time, I was starting from, I didn't feel like I was starting on an even keel. And I kind of wish that I had some support. At that stage. I wish I had access to more professionals. And whilst I'm so happy that I ended up where I am, I've realised that other people may not be so fortunate. So that was the motivation for

starting in private school. And we started three years ago with seven students, then we went to 23. And this year will be 30. And we've been sponsored by some some big corporates. We're happy about where we are. Wow, that's really incredible. You know, sitting here today, we have a variety of people watching. And I always say you never know who's watching these platforms are about getting your voices in the right room as

well. So if you had a call to action for government and industry, what would you ask them to do to help close the opportunity gap? I think that if I was to ask government and industry to do one thing, it will be worked together closer, so that students who aren't going to be exposed to a professional environment or get the opportunity to meet business professionals, and start thinking about what they can be in the future from an earlier

age. And I think that having those conversations earlier on and breaking down some busting some of the myths that are common would mean more stay educated students will be more likely to feel that professionals like accounting can be can be for them. And if we're looking at state schools, they are predominantly going to have higher numbers of people from underrepresented backgrounds. And industry and government want businesses to be

more diverse. And we want businesses to be more diverse than we were speaking to the students at much earlier age than I feel we speak to them. I couldn't agree more. And outside of government, government and industry or anyone sitting on this call, I guess you know, everyone has joined because they do want to make some form of

difference in society. So what would you what would you tell them are small practical steps that they can do in their working environments, or something that something that I've tried to do within within my environment is I'm very passionate about ethnicity for for obvious reasons I'm for about social animals, tuition, mobility, something I connect with. But it's really important for me to to understand that across most underrepresented groups, we face very similar

issues in a lot of respects. And it's impossible for a minority to change things for themselves without the will of the

majority. So what I would encourage people to do is something that I'm really trying to do this year is to spend more time learning about more underrepresented groups that I don't have that natural affinity with, because whilst I am black and masculine from Alicia, she can have a background if I am able bodied, and a male there are privileges that I have done, I need to first understand so that I can first understand the privilege that I have, so I can better understand how I can make

a difference for those that need it. Thank you so much. I think you know the same goes if you if you can't see it, you can't dream it's and it's really evident that you not only giving people the ability to dream but actually surrounding them with the tools they need to succeed. So really your works very

inspiring, very important. I hope in the same way you look for other minorities, they find you after this and your work really goes from strength to strength, but we are going to bring you back in the Roundtable. I'm sure people have lots of questions for you. So please stick around