Psychological safety, a term coined and defined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, people feel psychologically safe at work when they believe that they can be themselves at work and they won't be punished or humiliated for sharing their identity, speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes. In short, it is how comfortable individuals are with being themselves, taking risks and being vulnerable with their team. Having a diverse workforce most certainly does not guaran...
May 12, 2021•20 min•Ep. 152
Did you know that in the United States in 2020 over 2 million women left the workforce, and in December 140,000 jobs were lost and every one of those was to a woman. This is an issue which disproportionately impacts Black and Latina women, who often work in roles that lack paid sick leave and the ability to work from home. As covid19 hit, mothers were forced to stay at home to care for their children. According to UN Women, the global organisation responsible for advancing gender equality, befor...
May 05, 2021•26 min•Ep. 151
The social model of disability, which is a way of viewing the world developed by people with different mental and physical abilities, is the idea that society disables physically impaired people by assuming everyone experiences life in the same way. By not accounting for people’s differences, one of which is physical impairments, we inadvertently exclude people from fully participating in day to day activities. This can include structural barriers, like not having access to handicap accessible t...
Apr 28, 2021•20 min•Ep. 150
Did you know that according to UNICEF, babies as young as 6 months old notice physical differences including skin color, and studies show that by the age of 5 children treat people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds differently, favoring some over others. Inequality is everywhere, there is simply no way to shield children from it. So what can you do? Arm your children with awareness. Ignoring inequality doesn't protect your children from it. When kids are exposed to bias, discriminatio...
Apr 21, 2021•26 min•Ep. 149
Global Pride Day is June 27th a day chosen for people to be proud of who they love irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender. It is not just a celebration of love and acceptance, it is also a day to recognize how far we have come in celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and how far we still have to go to ensure equality, equity and inclusion of its members. In the United States being homosexual was considered a mental illness in the 1960’s and at the same time in the United Kingdom it was ...
Apr 14, 2021•23 min•Ep. 148
According to a report by the American census, despite making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, women are still vastly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. Women made gains from 8% of STEM workers in 1970 to 27% in 2019 but men still dominated the field. Men made up 52% of all U.S. workers but 73% of all STEM workers. Given the technological advancements with things like AI, robotics, nanotechnology and the internet of things, STEM occupations ar...
Apr 07, 2021•24 min•Ep. 147
In January this year, the government in the United Kingdom, released a stay at home Covid 19 advert, that had illustrations of women undertaking a range of domestic responsibilities, like ironing, homeschooling and cleaning while the one male featured in the advert is sat on the couch. They were forced to withdraw the advert for it’s sexist depictions of women. Sexism in advertising is an issue that has been around as long as the advertising industry has. Organisations like the Advertising Stand...
Mar 31, 2021•23 min•Ep. 146
Mallory Weggemann has proved to be one of the most inspirational figures in the sport of swimming. It isn’t because of her achievements in the sport, which are incredibly impressive but rather it is because of how she has fought back after tragedy. She is a Paralympic Gold-Medalist, 15-Time World Champion Swimmer, Author of the book Limitless and founder of social impact agency, TFA Group. Mallory has broken 34 American Records, 15 World Records, becoming a twelve time World Champion and became ...
Mar 24, 2021•27 min•Ep. 145
Transgender and gender-nonconforming people face risks that make them particularly vulnerable to homicide. Some experience bias explicitly because of their gender identity. For others, their identity makes them more likely to experience other risk factors, such as unemployment or homelessness, experts say. The risks are compounded for trans women of color, especially Black women, who face the additional burden of racism. Last year was the deadliest one on record for transgender Americans, with B...
Mar 17, 2021•20 min•Ep. 144
In the Great Recession, men lost twice as many jobs as women. But from February to May, in the united states 11.5 million women lost their jobs compared with 9 million men because of business closures intended to stop the spread of Covid-19. By the end of April, women's job losses had erased a decade of employment gains. In the 2020 recession, job losses are much higher for women. At its peak, women's unemployment had risen by 2.9 percentage points more than men's unemployment. We spoke with Ble...
Mar 10, 2021•23 min•Ep. 143
Is your team at work psychologically safe? A team feels psychologically safe when individuals believe they won't be exposed to interpersonal or social threats for engaging in learning behaviors such as asking for help, seeking feedback, admitting errors or lack of knowledge, trying something new, or voicing work-related dissenting views. Research has shown that the absence of such threats is strongly associated with team members bringing their whole self to work, expressing their creativity, tal...
Mar 03, 2021•18 min•Ep. 142
It is never too early to engage young women and men in the fight against climate change. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provided a wake-up call about the importance of teaching kids about sustainability. The report warns that greenhouse gas levels are at their highest in 800,000 years. The findings signal the need for drastic action globally at all levels of society including among governments, businesses, communities, and schools. This includes educating kids acros...
Feb 17, 2021•19 min•Ep. 141
When it comes to advancing women at work, there is a gap between the commitment male allies say they have and what they are actually doing. It’s the same as the conversation around race: It’s not enough to say you’re not a racist, you have to actually do something to create change and take action. On this episode, David G. Smith, Ph.D. and W. Brad Johnson, Ph.D. show why and how men have a crucial role to play in promoting gender equality at work. Research shows that when men are deliberately en...
Feb 11, 2021•23 min•Ep. 140
Creating a more equal workplace, where you feel like you can be yourself and will be valued for that, is going to take all of us. Research finds that unequal work environments —where employees dread going to work, don’t feel they can be honest with their manager, and may witness or experience harassment or discrimination — are the primary reasons workers quit their jobs. Approximately one in four employees dreads going to work because they do not feel safe, respected, or valued. Inequality creat...
Jan 30, 2021•22 min•Ep. 139
It seems to be increasingly difficult to talk about sexism, equality, and women’s rights in a modern society that perceives itself to have achieved gender equality. When women or men complain about everyday sexism or suggest that you are unhappy about the way in which women are portrayed and perceived renders you likely to be labeled difficult or uptight. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project has spearheaded a global movement to raise awareness of the day-to-day experiences of sexi...
Jan 15, 2021•21 min•Ep. 138
Technology adoption could displace millions from their jobs; many others will need to change the way they work. Globally, 40 million to 160 million women may need to transition between occupations by 2030, often into higher-skilled roles. If they make these transitions, women could find more productive, better paid work; if they don’t, they could face a growing wage gap or leaving the labor market. COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on gender equality and resulted in hundreds of thousands of ...
Jan 06, 2021•22 min•Ep. 137
More women and girls are experiencing stress, anxiety, and other mental health impacts as a result of the pandemic. Experts warn that this could have devastating long-term impacts. In September, the nonprofit organization Care released findings from a study investigating 10,000 men and women's experiences of mental health across 40 countries. The findings show that 27% of women had reported increases in challenges in relation to mental illness, compared to 10% of men. The reason for the gender d...
Dec 18, 2020•21 min•Ep. 136
The number of people incarcerated in America today is more than four times larger than it was in 1980. The criminal justice system disproportionately impacts poor and Black men and women. The experiences of women — as well as trans and nonbinary people — are too often lost, because men comprise the vast majority of the incarcerated population. Research is shedding light on the injustices faced by women and LGBTQ+ people behind bars, as well as on issues like money bail and family separation that...
Dec 10, 2020•18 min•Ep. 135
According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, four times more women than men dropped out of the labor force in September 2020. This is having a detrimental impact on women’s financial health. Research shows that the gender savings gap has widened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with women now having a third less saved. More women than men are relying on previous savings to cover essential costs during the pandemic — depleting their already smaller savings pot. Over a third of wo...
Nov 25, 2020•15 min•Ep. 134
When millions of U.S. office workers were sent to work from home in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus, employers did something few have done successfully at scale — they sent corporate culture home with them. For several weeks in the spring, office professionals banded together to adjust to a new way of living and working online. But as weeks of remote work have stretched into months, it’s becoming clear the toxic environment sometimes housed in office cubicles and shared break rooms i...
Nov 18, 2020•17 min•Ep. 133
Last weekend, Kamala Harris made history when she became America's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect, representing a new face of political power. The California senator's history-making win also represents the millions of women in the demographics -- often overlooked, historically underrepresented, and systematically ignored -- who are now the recipients of that new power for the first time in the country's 200-plus-year history. On this special episode, my for...
Nov 13, 2020•30 min•Ep. 132
Americans – Generation Z (“Gen Z”). Born after 1996, most members of this generation are not yet old enough to vote, but as the oldest among them turn 23 this year, roughly 24 million will have the opportunity to cast a ballot in November. And their political clout will continue to grow steadily in the coming years, as more and more of them reach voting age. Members of Gen Z are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation, and they are on track to be the most well-educated ...
Oct 28, 2020•22 min•Ep. 131
A survey released this month by Women Who Tech, which includes responses from 1,003 tech employees, founders, and investors, globally found that nearly 50% of women founders and women working in tech have experienced harassment — a statistic that has barely budged since 2017. When asked what kind of sexual harassment, 65% of women founders said they were propositioned for sex. In addition: • 59% of women experienced unwanted physical contact • 56% of women had sexual slurs directed at them • 32%...
Oct 21, 2020•18 min•Ep. 130
If you are committed to tackling inequality, racism, sexism, classism, ableism, at some point in undertaking this work, you will realize that the work begins with each of us. We have to address our own racist and sexist beliefs on a daily basis, with the curiosity and compassion needed to transform these beliefs. Today’s episode is a special one that features Benjamin Mertz, a composer, performer, and song leader who specializes in music of the Black Spiritual tradition. Benjamin is a human righ...
Oct 14, 2020•26 min•Ep. 129
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. Isolation makes the situation worse, as women and girls are more vulnerable, because of a lack of established social support systems. The temporary shutdown of non-essential businesses has led to unemployed and economic strain and quarantine conditions are associated with alcohol abuse and depressi...
Oct 07, 2020•26 min•Ep. 128
There is growing research demonstrating how ineffective unconscious bias training is. A longitudinal study found that traditional diversity trainings are the least effective efforts in increasing numbers of underrepresented minorities, while experimental research has shown that presenting evidence that people commonly rely on stereotypes — information often found in diversity trainings — isn’t helpful and can even condone the use of stereotypes. One of the major challenges is simply telling peop...
Oct 02, 2020•20 min•Ep. 127
Imposter syndrome was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. In their paper, they theorized that women were uniquely affected by imposter syndrome. Since then, research has shown that both men and women experience imposter feelings, and Clance published a later paper acknowledging that impostor syndrome is not limited to women. On this episode, Rita Clifton, author of "Love Your Imposter: Be Your Best Self, Flaws and All" will tackle the myth that you nee...
Sep 25, 2020•18 min•Ep. 126
Today, employees must manage both a virtual workplace and a work environment at home. This takes different types of skills, like online collaboration, delegation, and time management. For leaders, the primary concern is how to ensure engagement, wellbeing, and inclusion in a virtual work environment. Employee engagement is critical to enabling creativity, innovation, problem-solving, productivity, and profits. And what enables engagement? Leadership. On this episode, Edward Hess, author of the n...
Sep 10, 2020•23 min•Ep. 125
In 2018, Uber Founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as CEO following a number of public scandals, which revealed the toxic organizational culture. Studies show that 40% of women with engineering degrees quit or never enter the profession, with the vast majority leaving due to hostile work environments. But how do so many young tech companies develop these types of toxic atmospheres and what can we learn from cases like these? This week, we are joined by Frances Frei, Professor of Technology and O...
Sep 05, 2020•22 min•Ep. 124
Women who might have been considered for leadership roles often find that their dedication and capability are called into question as they approach motherhood. Simply being at a point in life where society assumes that women might want to have children can stall their career progression. Motherhood is a clear sign women are betraying the ideal worker standard. When women go on maternity leave, return to work, or take up flexible workplace practices, they face a range of beliefs and behaviors tha...
Aug 26, 2020•21 min•Ep. 123
