Episodes

In the second special celebrity episode of Why Care? I am joined by the multi-talented, Double Olympic Champion, Dame Kelly Holmes. We dive deeper into her journey of self-discovery, personal experiences, and traumas, which she explores in her powerful memoir Unique. Kelly shares her emotional backstory in which she concealed her true identity and sexuality from the public and lived in fear for most of her life. We discuss the discriminatory military laws and systemic mistreatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in the British army, as well as the mental health impact. As a world-class athlete, Kelly opens up about the pressure to hide her sexuality, and how she overcame her fears and revealed her authentic self publicly.

In this special celebrity edition episode of Why Care? I am joined by the truly inspiring Dr Ranj to delve deeper into what drives him, his passion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and his perspective on how to break society’s confines of masculinity. Dr. Ranj shares some personal life experiences and insightful observations, as we probe more into his upbringing, mindset, sexuality, and journey to being authentically 100% who he is. We also explore his adventurous career, his advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, and promotion of diverse and inclusive education, and one of his many books aimed at boys, How to Grow Up Amazing! The No Worries Guide for Boys.

In Episode 40 of Why Care? I am joined by the brilliant and highly entertaining David McQueen to delve deeper into his brand-new book, The Brave Leader. David shares some life experiences, powerful insights and we touch on subjects such as the importance of followership, his BRAVE framework for good leadership, and how to take a systems approach to inclusive leadership.

In Episode 39 of Why Care?, I am joined by Amber Cabral to delve into her second book, Say More About That. We cover topics including how to use the best language to stand up for change, and how organisations can nurture a positive feedback culture and ensure accountability.

In Episode 38 of Why Care?, I am joined by Jenny Garrett, Founder of Jenny Garrett Global to discuss her book, Equality Vs Equity. We discuss colourism, racial discrimination and power, and how we can assimilate our differences and create a society where we are all benefitting.

In Episode 37 of Why Care?, I speak to Jenny Vazquez-Newsum, Founder and CEO of Untapped Leadership. We discuss her book, Untapped Leadership, and we explore the concepts of contextual agility, stealth-clean up and the zone of untapped leadership. We also touch on topics such as the race penalty, imposter syndrome, and how we can redefine and redesign leadership so it is representative and inclusive of all.

In Episode 36, Sheree Atcheson, Global DEI Senior Executive at Valtech, joins me to speak about her book, Demanding More. We explore the concept of white saviourism and white feminism, and how we can all benefit from DEI. We touch on topics such as privilege, intersectional allyship, strategy and processes, inclusive technology, and growth opportunities.

In Episode 35, I speak to Catherine Garrod, Founder of Compelling Culture, to discuss the underlying concepts in her book, Conscious Inclusion, the difference between positive action and positive discrimination, why organisations struggle to take a stand against exclusionary behaviour, and the data-led, systematic approach she takes to developing a DEI strategy.

In Episode 34, I am joined by two guests: Chris Altizer, a leader and partner of Altizer Performance Partners, and, Gloria Johnson-Cusack, founder and owner of Gloria Johnson-Cusack Consulting. We discuss their book, Growing the Elephant, and how they shift the linguistic focus from ‘privilege’ to ‘earned and unearned advantage’. They offer a really helpful way to break down dimensions of power and provide tips on how we can create an advantage for all.

In Episode 33, I am joined by Amri Johnson, CEO and Founder of Inclusion Wins, to discuss the dangers of being led only by emotion and not reason, the dangers of being led by passion and not skill, and what DEI practitioners and organisations need to do to sustain DEI efforts.

In Episode 32, I am joined by Sue Unerman, Chief Transformation Officer and Global head of Relevance at EssenceMediacomX (EMX), to discuss the consequences of diversity fatigue, the significance in cultivating belonging, and the value of cognitive and demographic diversity.

In Episode 31, I am joined by Jennifer Brown, Founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting (JBC), to discuss the challenges of being an inclusive leader, how to overcome these challenges, and what inclusive leadership means.

This special takeover episode of the Will to Change features a conversation with Nadia Nagamootoo, Dr. Pippa Grange, and Errol Amerasekera. We speak about the idea of winning shallow vs. winning deep and why checking the box when it comes to DEI doesn't lead to transformational change.

In Episode 30, I am joined by Bonnie St. John, CEO of Blue Circle Leadership Institute, to discuss the specific barriers and challenges that multicultural women face in climbing up the corporate ladder, building trust across multicultural differences, and engaging leaders to support them.

In Episode 29, I am joined by Paolo Gaudiano, Co-Founder and President at Aleria Research Corporation, and Chief Scientist at Aleria, to debunk the myths commonly associated with DEI. Paolo shares insights on the sophisticated simulation he has designed to capture the complex scenarios of organisational life and how bias leads to some inevitable outcomes.

In Episode 28, I am joined by Claire Brody, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Warner Bros. Discovery, to discuss the art of localisation. Claire shares valuable learning and insight on how to develop a DEI strategy that can be adapted at a local level, addressing proximity bias and the importance of perspective-taking.

In Episode 27, I am joined by Rose Cartolari, Founder and Director of RC Consulting, which specialises in Leadership Advisory and Executive Coaching, to discuss the inner work of inclusive leadership, primarily focusing on the importance of self-reflection and flexibility as a leader, and the dissonance between being a successful leader and an inclusive leader.

In Episode 26 I am joined by Sámi Ben-Ali, Vice President of Inclusion & Diversity at Wood, to discuss the importance of silencing the echo chambers, recognising that lived experience fuels individual perspectives, and how times of global crisis often put the focus on individual survival over the needs of the group.

In Episode 25 I am joined by Devi Virdi, Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Centrica, to discuss how cultural intelligence is key to inclusive leadership, the importance of collecting employee data, and ‘the power of truth’.

In Episode 24 I am joined by Geoffrey Williams, Vice President / Global Head Diversity Equity & Inclusion at Burberry, to discuss empowering the next generation of workers, the toxic cycle of “paying your dues”, and the cultural nuances in global DEI strategy.

In Episode 23 I am joined by Kristen Anderson, Vice Chair of European Women on Boards, to discuss the myth of meritocracy, how organisations can start their DEI journey, and how to gather buy-in from employees who may not immediately understand the need for DEI.

In the episode I am joined by Nina Goswami, Creative Diversity Lead for the BBC, to talk about the importance of inclusive storytelling, representation in the media, and the BBC's impactful 50:50 Equality Project striving for platforming diverse voices using a data-led approach.

In the first episode of Season 3, I am joined by Pat Phelan, Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless. As well as being our Season 3 premiere, this episode is a special one as unlike the majority of my guests, Pat isn’t a DEI professional, but rather a business leader who ‘gets it’ and truly role models inclusive leadership. During the episode Pat talks about the stages of self-awareness and reflection he went through to acknowledge his privileges. It’s a journey from self-admitted ignorance to inclusion, and why he thinks there is no single definition of a good leader.

In this very special bonus episode of the ‘Why Care?’ podcast, I am joined by Elvin Nagamootoo, Head of Product at Shell Energy, and my cousin! Elvin discusses his spectacular career journey, success outside of academia, and how being labelled as a ‘problem child’ during education affected his life.

In Episode 20 and the Season 2 finale of ‘Why Care?’, I am joined by a phenomenal leader, Shawna Ferguson, Senior Managing Director & Director of Global DEI at Wellington Management. Shawna joins me to talk about how to respond to backlash to inclusion programmes, DEI education programmes, talent retention, and why her word of 2022 is “courage”.

In Episode 19 of the ‘Why Care?’ podcast, I am joined by Pauline Miller, Chief Equity Officer, EMEA for dentsu, where Pauline is responsible for shaping and leading its DEI strategy and execution.

We discuss the challenges of being an internal DEI practitioner, how to engage the C-suite and board of organisations, and the importance of celebrating the short-term wins.

In Episode 18 of the ‘Why Care?’ podcast, I am joined by Emma Codd, Global Inclusion Leader at Deloitte, to discuss organisational culture change policies, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on women in the workplace, the stigma around mental health at work, and the importance of inclusive leadership.

In Episode 17 of the ‘Why Care?’ podcast, I am joined by Rukasana Bhaijee, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, EMEA Technology at Google, to discuss her extraordinary career journey and being a Muslim Woman in various industries, her identity as a British Muslim and as a hijab-wearer, and her views on the unique DEI challenges of the tech industry.

Episode 16 sees me joined by Marc McKenna-Coles, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Strategy Lead at Spotify to discuss the importance and intricacies of employee networks, the importance of visibility, and the concept of 'Active Allyship', among other topics.

Marc speaks with a future-facing perspective and highlights the importance of organisations not just trying to keep up with society, but to excel and be at the forefront of society in pushing for inclusion.

In Episode 15 I am joined by Sheri Crosby Wheeler, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for Fossil Group. We discuss how stereotypes and expectations based on diversity characteristics can filter into young people's minds and be internalised to create & fuel self-fulfilling prophecies.

With a background in both employment law and sociology, Sheri provides a unique and expansive perspective into D&I strategies and integration in corporate settings, and we discuss the specific challenges of said strategies in the retail industry.

In this episode, I get lucky with 2-for-1 with guests Charlotte Cox, President EMEA Pentland Brands and their D&I Manager, Caroline Nankinga. We discuss a range of topics surrounding the internal D&I of a global company, and the external D&I of designing products and marketing campaigns for a diverse and global audience.

In this episode, I am joined by Marta Pajón-Fustes, the Head of Technical and Inclusion & Diversity at innocent drinks, to discuss how innocent drinks has developed a clear and measurable Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy that has only grown alongside the company's own growth. We also discuss job-sharing, how to challenge culture fit mentalities, and inclusive recruitment best practice.

In this episode I talk with Christian Hug, the Vice President of LifeWorks & Inclusion at Discovery, the company behind the popular television channels: Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC. Christian discussed the unique challenges of managing a global DEI strategy for a multi-national company and how to engage at a local level to ensure relevance.

In this episode I talk with Bendita Cynthia Malakia, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Hogan Lovells, an international law firm, as she reflects on her accomplished career as a female, black lawyer who identifies as queer. Bendita and I have an in-depth discussion on the LGBTQ+ acronym and how it has evolved so quickly in the last decade.

In this episode I talk to Andrew Fairbairn, Chief Executive at SEO London - a charity set up to support people from ethnic minorities and low socio-economic backgrounds to achieve career success. Andrew discusses the critical work that SEO London does to help create equity, bridging the gap between young people and large corporations and we discuss why it is that young people from underrepresented groups need this support.

In this episode I talk to Sean Betts, Managing Director at Annalect and Founder of Mihnd - a storytelling and support site and organisation for the neurodivergent community and for those who have experienced mental health issues. Sean highlights the benefits for organisations when hiring these individuals and how these efforts need a different approach in the recruitment process.

In this episode I have the privilege of talking to the inspiring Eric Pliner, CEO of YSC Consulting, a global leadership consulting firm. Together we take a deep dive into the combined impact of the pandemic and the #BlackLivesMatter movement and speak about the greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes, institutionalised racism.

In this episode I talk to I have a powerful and inspiring conversation with Emma Mainoo, Partner and Head of Mental Health at Utopia and creator of mental health platform SurvivingSundays.com. Emma shares her experience of life-threatening depression and a total mental breakdown and the subsequent healing process she went through.

In this episode I talk to Dr Laura Radcliffe, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the University of Liverpool and author of many research papers on the topic of parenting and work-life balance. We discuss what fundamental changes society and organisations need to embrace to achieve more gender equality

In this episode, I speak to Christina Brooks, Co-Founder of the executive search company supporting diverse talent, Ruebik. We discuss the challenges faced by organisations when they attempt to bring in diverse talent without dedicating the time to promote the right mindset and culture. We also discuss the issue of systemic racism and she shares her own personal experiences.

In this episode, I speak to Yash Puri, Founder of blog and networking site, Papa Penguin, where he shares many other stories of other dads taking an active role in raising their children and the impact on mother’s lives. We discuss Yash’s experience taking Shared Parental Leave and his mission to make fathering more visible.

In this episode, I speak to Sophie Smallwood, Co-founder of Roleshare - a matching site for professionals who want to combine their skills to share their roles with others for greater career flexibility. We discuss all things job sharing and the benefits for both employees and organisations. Her mission is to enable a sustainable workforce, where people get more from their roles and where full-time balance at work and in life is possible.

In this episode, I have the privilege of talking all things inclusion to Rob Baker. He is a thought leader on diversity & inclusion and on engaging men to support gender equality: at work, at home and in all aspects of life. Rob and I explore how organisations can become more inclusive, happier and successful by valuing everybody in the organisation and unlocking each employee‘s unique potential.

In this episode, Brian and I discuss the challenges of working from home and parenting from work or PFW, as Brian calls it – a concept that has come into its own following the Covid-19 lockdown (we didn't know this at the time!). We also discuss the notion of the ‘ideal worker’ and the what commitment means to employers today and how it manifests. Brian explains his strategy for work life balance and coping with the demands of being “Mr. Available”.