As adults, if we have never experienced homelessness, it can be really tempting to turn away and not engage with the humanity of the situation. Sometimes it’s just too upsetting and we feel guilty or even embarrassed about our own comparative security. We need reminding of the importance of engaging with homelessness empathetically and that it is not as far away as we might like to think. Often it isn’t just one thing, most people become homeless because a lot of challenges in their life play ou...
Jan 26, 2022•23 min•Ep. 182
I often get asked by people, surely gender equality will just be achieved in time? Aren’t we becoming more progressive? Won’t younger generations ensure we have greater equality because they hold more liberal views. The answer to all these questions is No. The belief that we will just achieve equality through the passing of time is one of the reasons we will never achieve equality no matter how much time we have. Equality is a practice it is something that we do. Taking action every day to value...
Jan 19, 2022•26 min•Ep. 181
Over the last four years we have spoken with so many incredible people from all walks of life about how to make a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world. During that time I have found there are some consistent lessons that people shared around what it really takes to build a workplace that works for everyone. So to help kick off this year in the right way, we will be discussing my top 10 lessons learnt in DEI. This is based off the podcast episodes as well as our four decades of experience ...
Jan 12, 2022•47 min•Ep. 180
As the entire world works to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the role of effective leadership has been brought into razor sharp focus. What people need now are leaders with empathy, compassion and an ability to show support, skills that women leaders tend to exhibit more than men. While it may take a global pandemic to finally acknowledge the unique talents and capabilities women leaders offer, companies shouldn't wait until there is a crisis to afford women an opportunity to lead. It's a...
Dec 09, 2021•23 min•Ep. 179
If the pandemic has taught us anything it is that to collaborate either virtually or in person we need to learn how we can bridge our individual and cultural differences and work as one team regardless of our location. We need to create culturally inclusive environments. Culture includes the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Culture also includes the shared patterns of behaviors, norms, interact...
Dec 01, 2021•21 min•Ep. 178
Have you heard of the 'Great Resignation' or the 'Big Quit'? It is an informal name for the widespread trend of a significant number of workers leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. While most news articles are covering the 'Great Resignation' in relation to the United States, the problem is happening on a global level and it is thought to be the result of many different factors, notably employees dissatisfaction with current working conditions and post Covid reassessment of the lack ...
Nov 25, 2021•19 min•Ep. 177
Recently a male colleague asked me what he could do to support women at work, and I told him to start by being an ally. Simply speaking up when someone makes a derogatory comment about women, even if it seems innocent enough, is how men can practice this. When one of his colleagues made a comment to him about the size of their female coworker’s breasts, he spoke up. He said, “Don’t do that. Don’t speak about her like that. It’s not cool.” While this might seem like a small action, it is really a...
Nov 18, 2021•21 min•Ep. 176
Men’s ability to financially support their family is equated with their identity and self-worth. Living up to this requires that men have a job, conform to the 1950’s ideal worker image, and advance at work. This is the expectation we all hold for men, and it limits men’s freedom to explore their identities outside of work. We need to let go of the idea that women’s careers are somehow expendable, but men’s careers are not. This is not just good for women, it’s good for men. For example, a 2016 ...
Nov 09, 2021•22 min•Ep. 175
Over the last two years health and wellbeing has become front and center in organisational life, thanks to the pandemic. We have all heard of the business case for DEI but what about the wellness case for DEI? It is becoming increasingly apparent that without compassionate, inclusive, people-centred workplaces, health and wellbeing suffers and, in turn, so does productivity. If we want more innovative, collaborative and productive workplaces, we need to put wellbeing front and center, not just f...
Nov 04, 2021•22 min•Ep. 174
Both men and women are feeling even more burned out in 2021 than they were in 2020. The annual 'Women in the Workplace' report from McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.Org found that the gap between women and men who say they are burned out has nearly doubled in the last year. Women in particular have taken on more responsibilities at home from supervising remote learning for their children to basic household chores. Women have also been forced out of their jobs at a disproportionate rate. As the U.S....
Oct 27, 2021•22 min•Ep. 173
When we talk about pressure we usually conjure up negative images – being pressured into something, feeling the weight of pressure. Even the dictionary definition of “pressure” focuses on coercion and intimidation. And who could forget Queen and David Bowie singing about pressure being the force that burns a building down, splits a family in two, puts people on streets. But is this the whole story? In this episode we are joined by Dane Jensen, CEO of Third Factor and an expert on pressure. He un...
Oct 21, 2021•28 min•Ep. 172
When men align with other men who hold positions of power, they are better able to access the privilege associated with that power. This includes things like having direct access to high-profile people, job opportunities, high-profile assignments, and rewards at work. Homosocial behaviors provide men with ways to develop relationships with other men in positions of power, to their benefit. There are many ways these behaviors show up in workplaces, but they tend to result in employees tolerating ...
Oct 13, 2021•19 min•Ep. 171
As workplaces are now taking the steps to shift back to versions of ‘business as usual’, it is also a critical time and a golden opportunity for them to focus on the wellbeing and psychological safety of employees across their organisation. We see psychological safety in teams when members engage in learning behaviours, such as asking for help, seeking feedback, admitting errors, being open about lack of knowledge, trying something new or voicing work-related dissenting views, with the belief th...
Sep 30, 2021•32 min•Ep. 170
When I started out in my career, there were so many articles and news reports, events, training and speakers sharing how to engage and manage millennial workers. And over the years I have seen this same focus extend to Generation Z. Companies want to and need to engage the next generation, many of whom want businesses to change their approach to sustainability, equity and corporate social responsibility for the better. The challenge is there isn't a quick fix to tackling the problem. All too oft...
Sep 22, 2021•32 min•Ep. 169
In the process of selling my first book, I spoke to several editors at major publishing houses. One editor revealed that she was thankful her workplace was “not gendered in any way.” In that moment, I realized how much we all take inequality for granted at work. This made me determined to find a way to explain how systemic this issue is and how most workplaces don’t work for men and women in the same way—even industries that aren’t seemingly male dominated. In fact, the publishing industry is a ...
Sep 15, 2021•27 min•Ep. 168
Last week the supreme court in the United States decided by five to four to allow Texas to effectively ban abortions in the state despite the blatant disregard of the court’s own 1973 ruling legalizing abortion in US, Roe v Wade. United Nations human rights experts have called the new Texas abortion law “structural sex and gender-based discrimination at its worst”. Women of color, those with low incomes and from other vulnerable groups would be hardest hit from this ban. Given the significance o...
Sep 08, 2021•33 min•Ep. 167
From a young age, we are taught what the appropriate behavior is for boys and girls. Through repeated exposure over the years we come to know how men and women are meant to behave. These beliefs are then used to make judgments about women at work. When women succeed in traditionally male-dominated roles, they defy the expectations society has for women and they are punished for it. One study found that when women lead teams with only male employees or teams with a mix of male and female employee...
Sep 01, 2021•25 min•Ep. 166
When it comes to innovation, current approaches tend to adopt a male lens, by only considering the needs of men, or only engaging men in the design process. Consequently, many products we have today were never designed with women in mind. While there is increased attention on the gender gap in innovation, it isn't enough. What we need is a GENDER-RESPONSIVE APPROACH to innovation, which means going beyond acknowledging and raising awareness of gender gaps, to make sure women’s and men’s concerns...
Aug 25, 2021•23 min•Ep. 165
Between 2015 and 2020 there was a 107% increase in the number of people employed with the head of diversity job title, according to LinkedIn data. This global hiring trend is set to continue, as more businesses appreciate the fundamental importance, including to the bottom line of having more diverse representation and inclusive cultures. The top three fastest growing roles in this space, according to a LinkedIn report, are Director of Diversity, Diversity Officer, and Head of Diversity. 77% of ...
Aug 04, 2021•23 min•Ep. 164
There is a loneliness epidemic, and it is affecting people from all ages. A recent study, conducted by the American Enterprise Institute, suggests that the proportion of people who can name six close friends has dropped from 55% to 27% since the 1990's and one in five single men say they do not have any close friends. According to the Guardian, while the pandemic has increased experiences of loneliness, people were struggling long before as a YouGov study carried out in 2019 suggested that 9 in ...
Jul 28, 2021•26 min•Ep. 163
Inequality is everywhere, even when it comes to comedy. What we are encouraged to find funny, is often aligned with what men find funny. This is the male gaze of comedy. We are socialized to believe that women are just not as funny as men. Women comedians receive far harsher criticisms than men. Women’s experiences, in general, are just not normalized in the way men's are. Comedy is a very difficult industry for women to break into. Madeleine Smithberg and Lizz Winstead, creators of The Daily Sh...
Jul 21, 2021•22 min•Ep. 162
My friend, I do not believe you are a racist. My friend, I realize you do not need to care. You do not need to learn the cultural norms of Black people as a prerequisite for your career advancement and access to opportunity. You do not need to understand my fears and perceptions to keep yourself safe or to have social mobility. You do not need to consider my journey or think critically about how the construct of our nation was built nor how it’s supporting your success while it constrains mine. ...
Jul 14, 2021•22 min•Ep. 161
Thanks to the pandemic our working lives seem to be in a constant state of change, with more uncertainty and new challenges arising almost on a daily basis. As lockdown eases, we will have to adopt new ways of working yet again. Across the country people are being called to return to work and go back to normal but what is normal? The pandemic raised awareness of the importance of managing mental health at work, which includes talking about the mental and emotional challenges we face, or the stre...
Jul 07, 2021•25 min•Ep. 160
Earlier this year, dancers from around the world spoke out against racism in ballet, standing in solidarity with black French ballet dancer, Chloe Lopes Gomes. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Chloe reported that she was repeatedly told she didn’t fit in because of her black skin, that she was pressured to wear white skin makeup and in rehearsals was told her mistakes stood out because of her skin colour and that she couldn’t have the white veil her white colleagues would have, becau...
Jun 30, 2021•21 min•Ep. 159
Feedback is part and parcel of working life. We give it, we receive it and mostly we hope that it is positive. Giving and receiving feedback is an art. Knowing how to respond or provide feedback is important because when done well feedback enables performance, engagement, sense of belonging and collaboration. In short knowing how to give feedback is a critical skill for surviving and thriving in workplaces today. But there is just one major problem, feedback is a gendered phenomenon, specificall...
Jun 23, 2021•26 min•Ep. 158
The barriers faced by racial and ethnic minority women are significantly more complex than those which face white women. In the 2010 journal article “Women and Women of Color in Leadership,” authors Janis Sanchez-Hucles and Donald Davis argue that women of color face the compounded effect of “gendered racism.” They cannot separate the multiple aspects of their identity. This means that women of color carry a heavier load because they experience both sexism and racism, as well as the interplay be...
Jun 16, 2021•25 min•Ep. 157
Despite the saying, the thing that makes great minds so great is they don't all think alike. Increasingly companies need people who can solve complex problems, innovate and create in new ways precisely because they don’t view the world in the same way as many others do. The term “neurodivergent” describes a person who thinks differently to the dominant social norm - or “neurotypical” person - because of individual differences related to a cognitive condition such as Autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia o...
Jun 09, 2021•27 min•Ep. 156
As countries begin to ease lock down restrictions, a lot of employees want to know what will the post-pandemic workplace look like? For many office workers remote work is here to stay, whether they like it or not. Companies like Twitter and Dropbox, have moved to almost complete remote working with no signs that this will change. According to LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index, roughly half of U.S. professionals believe their companies will allow them to telecommute at least part of the time ...
Jun 02, 2021•24 min•Ep. 155
It is not surprising there is a gender pain gap given the distinct under-researching of womens’ health and the implications this has for medical education and training. In the book Invisible Women, Caroline Criado-Perez points out that it has been historically assumed that there wasn’t anything fundamentally different between male and female bodies other than size and reproductive function - so for years medical education has been focused on a male “norm”. The doctor-patient relationship is a fi...
May 26, 2021•24 min•Ep. 154
Over the next five to ten years, jobs will change due to technological advancements like artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, 3-D printing, and nanotechnology. While these advancements will create a range of new jobs in industries yet to be created, many of today’s jobs will still exist, they will just look a little different and probably involve working with machines. Consider the field of medicine, where medical doctors are primarily responsible for correctly diagnosing a...
May 19, 2021•27 min•Ep. 153
