reWorked: the Workplace Inclusion Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

To mark International Women’s Day, we were delighted to welcome Pamela Jones to the podcast. EW Group Client Solutions Manager, Nana Umoh, and Pamela discuss the significance of the day and how organisations can better support women in the workplace to excel rather than just survive. 

Rather than just a day’s focus, Pamela stresses the need for gender equality to be an ongoing conversation, focussed on transformation change which tackles issues such as how women are positioned in the workplace, what their contributions stand for, and how they are recognised.

Pamela comments: “More work is needed around really speaking to power structures. How do we start engaging with organisational power structures to bring this parity to women? I think there needs to be more than just a policy. A lot of the time I speak to CEOs and Managers and they say, ‘we have a policy for that’. Whilst policies are useful, they are redundant unless put into practice and mobilised effectively.”

Nana and Pamela also speak about the work needed to increase the representation of women in the workplace at all levels, and the additional challenges faced by women from under-represented groups. 

Pamela Jones is an equality and diversity specialist, executive coach, public speaker and mentor who has held multiple leadership roles within financial services in the UK and internationally. She also sits on EW Group’s parent company’s (eQS) Board as a Non-Executive Director.

Follow EW Group on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest news and thinking in DEI or get in touch to find out how we can help you build a more inclusive workplace.

In this episode, Yvonne Howard is joined by David Latten, Head of Procurement at Logitech, a multi-national consumer electronics manufacturer, to discuss the power the procurement function has to influence DEI across the supply chains they work with, and how Logitech has been working to drive gender equality in the tech and gaming industries. 

With a career spanning over a decade, David has a wealth of knowledge in finance and procurement. He comments “Being in the pivot point between the internal and external there is a huge and untapped potential for what procurement can do. Procurement can be a huge force for good and that’s really exciting. No one can do everything, but we can all do something.”

Sharing insights into Logitech’s values and its focus on promoting gender equality, David discusses Logitech’s partnership with Gender Fair, a coalition of companies focussed on influencing large consumer organisations to work towards gender equality and live up to the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles.

Yvonne and David also touch on the importance of diversity data reporting, policies, the role of leadership in driving change, ERGs, women in leadership and the challenges of hybrid working.

Connect with David on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/david-latten

The Coalition Home Page: https://genderfairprocurement.com/

Follow EW Group on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest news and thinking in DEI or get in touch to find out how we can help you build a more inclusive workplace.

Nicki Pritchard is a Managing Partner and Founder at executive search firm Anderson Quigley, who specialise in working with and supporting organisations who have a social purpose in the public sector, from health and education to non-profit and beyond.

In this episode, Rachael and Nicki discuss the importance of the recruitment industry in driving diversity and inclusivity, and how Anderson Quigley has embedded EDI and social purpose throughout their business. Exploring how organisations can affect change and bring greater inclusivity, Nicki explains the culture at Anderson Quigley and the steps they have taken to encourage diversity at all levels of the business.  

Nicki says “We always champion new people who are coming into the business and bringing new skill sets, experience and backgrounds with them. It’s this breadth and depth of diversity that we really value – it’s what makes us a really good team to be a part of but it is also this diversity that makes our business hugely successful.”

EW Group has been working closely with Anderson Quigley for over three years, delivering training, consultancy and coaching support. Rachael and Nicki explain the impact of EW’s programmes and how they have helped Anderson Quigley create an inclusive culture which values diversity. 

How do you engage those groups who don’t consider themselves ‘diverse’ in the diversity conversation? This is one challenge our clients all have in common at EW. During the pandemic, many of us have been working from home, some juggling childcare and homelife between partners in a way we had not done before. In some cases, fathers have spent more time with their children. They’ve been there for bath time instead of on a commuter train. And they’ve experienced first-hand how flexible working can enrich their lives. 

As Elliot told us when he visited the EW podcast, now is the time for organisations to consider better supporting the fathers in their workplace. The benefits are tangible and measurable: from talent retention to productivity. 

Elliot and Rachael also discuss the intersection of fatherhood with race, disability and sexuality. Elliott speaks candidly about the emotional labour of being a black man in the diversity field.

 http://musicfootballfatherhood.com/
https://twitter.com/MFFonline_

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EW Group has worked with organisations to build more diverse and inclusive cultures for almost thirty years. Get in touch to explore how we can work with you to build safe and inclusive environments at work.

Sue Unerman is Chief Transformation Officer at MediaCom, which is the UK’s largest Media Agency. She is also the co-author Belonging - The Key to Transforming and Maintaining Diversity, Inclusion and Equality at Work.

In this episode, Sue joins Rachael Wilson to discuss what makes belonging different to inclusion, why majority groups are so vital to progressing the diversity agenda and the role we can all play in reimagining the workplace.

Connect with Sue on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Securing an environment of respect in which your team is encouraged to think critically are essential threads weaving into the fabric of your inclusive culture. Feeling encouraged to speak up, challenge thoughts, and have difficult conversations are vital in workplaces – after all, the most cutting-edge, risk taking and creative of organisations stray away from a monolith of thinking and approaches. Feeling empowered to do this without facing embarrassment or hostility must be a given.

We’re joined in this episode by EW Group experts, Sharla Smith, Nina Mayler and David Ruebain, to explore the increasingly debated topics of safe spaces and psychological safety. Hear how they approach these themes differently and discover why they think work cultures build on safety are key.

Connect with Sharla, Nina and David on LinkedIn.

Follow EW Group on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest news and thinking in diversity and inclusion.

EW Group has worked with organisations to build more diverse and inclusive cultures for almost thirty years. Get in touch to explore how we can work with you to build safe and inclusive environments at work.

Born in Bradford and now living by the sea in the North East, Kate Fox is a poet, comic, radio journalist and wild swimmer. A regular guest on BBC R4, she is a doctor of comedy – it was the subject of her PhD – and identifies as neurodivergent. Kate and Rachael discuss what happens when some of these passions and talents intersect and explore what neurodiversity in the workplace means for your colleagues.

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Check out her blog on neurodiversity at work

Learn more about how you can support neurodiversity by reading our workplace guide.

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EW Group has worked with organisations to build more diverse and inclusive cultures for almost thirty years. Our offerings include effective training in Diversity and Inclusion and Inclusive Cultures, Diversity Audits, and Strategy and Policy Design. Gain a fair advantage by building a truly fair and inclusive workplace.

Babita Sharma is a broadcaster, journalist and author. A well-known anchor for BBC News, Babita was born the daughter of first-generation immigrant shopkeepers in Reading, Berkshire.

Her family’s story was the starting point for her critically-acclaimed documentary Booze, Beans & Bhajis: The Story of the Corner Shop which aired on BBC Four in 2016. She has since published a book on the social history of the corner shop in Britain (which was a Between the Covers pick on BBC Two) and will soon get to work on a children’s picture book series. Babita is a big believer in unblocking barriers to progression for diverse groups and was a mentor on a programme which EW Group designed for the BBC in 2014.

We chat about her career so far, class, representation and finding a platform for her very personal story.

Follow Babita on Twitter @BabitaTV

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Tom Shakespeare is one of the UK’s leading social scientists. He is Professor of Disability Research at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has taught, written and researched widely on disability rights and bioethics. In 2011 he co-authored and co-edited the World Report on Disability for the World Health Organisation. Among other things, he’s currently researching how the pandemic has impacted disabled people in England and Scotland, and writing a novel about a time-travelling pub. Tom continues to find time to be a broadcaster and regular contributor to news and current affairs programmes. 

We talk about making complex ideas simple, strength in adversity, and about giving voice to the lived experience of disabled people through the pandemic.

Learn more about Tom's work and follow him on Twitter.

Get in touch to find out how we can work with you to progress your organisation's inclusion.

Naomi Dickson is chief executive of Jewish Women’s Aid, the only specialist organisation in the UK supporting Jewish women and children affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. She’s been involved in the organisation for two decades, starting out as a volunteer. Last year Naomi’s tireless work to support vulnerable women was recognised when she was included in the BBC’s 100 Women list.
 
Naomi’s work intersects faith and vulnerable women. She talks to Rachael about how faith influences her leadership, the extent to which she thinks it’s important to reflect the diversity of the community her organisation serves, and the longer term ramifications of the recent media spotlight on anti-Semitism. We also ask: “what can organisations proactively do to mitigate Anti-Semitism and make sure Jewish employees feel included?”.

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