Blended

Welcome back to Blended! T oday, we're talking about learning culture.   We talk a lot about creating the right cultures at work, hiring for 'culture fit'. But do we talk as much about the culture we're actually trying to create? Often 'culture fit' ends, whether consciously or otherwise, with the creation of a group of likeminded people and personalities that drive comfort, not innovation. So wha...

Between Two Voices: Understanding Code-Switching   Welcome back to Blended! T oday, we're talking about code-switching. A couple of episodes ago, my panel and I were talking about intersectionality, this phrase come up and, I have to admit, I hadn't heard it before. It's one of the things I love about Blended, it always throws up something new. And I thought that, if it was new to me, it might be...

Welcome back to Blended! T oday, we're talking about intersectionality.   This is something that comes up a lot as part of our conversations here on Blended. But often it's when we're really exploring personal identities and sharing our experiences. And, the more we dive into the workplace, the more the nuance of intersectionality tends to disappear. There's an ERG for this type of person, a polic...

Welcome back to Blended! T oday, we're taking on a big topic – stigma and stereotypes.   As laws and recommendations continue to evolve at both federal and state levels, employers face an increasingly complex landscape. According to reports, some of the top challenges for employers in 2026 range from navigating compliance and whistleblowing, to dealing with issues around immigration and mental hea...

Seek, create, mentor, partner – the four steps to getting diverse voices onto industry stages     Welcome back to Blended!    Today, we're talking about the ethos behind this podcast – highlighting diverse voices.    The Blended podcast was founded to give people from all walks of life a platform and, as an extension of that, the Blended Pledge was established to get those people onto industry sta...

Welcome back to Blended!   T oday, we're going full circle with the show. We're going back to our roots – because we're talking about DEI.   When Sarah founded Blended back in 2020, we were in the trenches of the pandemic. Everything was changing – within businesses, people's personal lives, within society as a whole. And it felt more important than ever to talk about people. To share stories and...

Episode 62 – Self-worth: the most important journey you'll ever take          Welcome back to Blended!   T oday, we're talking about something that is incredibly close to my heart – and that's self-worth.          Personally I've been on a self-worth journey for a while, but 2025 has been the year that I really committed much more to it. I've researched what self-worth really means, I've experimen...

Episode 61 – From authenticity to accountability – what does ethical AI really mean?   Welcome back to Blended!    Today we're talking about AI who isn't?! But we're not talking about efficiency or data-driven decision-making – we're talking about ethics.         Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, has said that "In no other field is the ethical comp...

Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're talking about menopause.      Women's health issues, from menstruation to menopause, have long been overlooked in workplaces, schools, even families. But, increasingly, those issues are coming to the fore. Women are finding their voices and speaking up about the things that impact them every single day. And finally people are paying attention.   Menopause ha...

Let's make something beautiful – flipping the script on privilege   Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're taking on a topic that's been a part of many of our conversations here on Blended, from immigration to education – privilege.   According to a March 2025 report, conventionally attractive employees earned $20,000 more than co-workers due to an apparent 'pretty privilege.' Meanwhile, another...

Is a re-brand the answer? The face of ERGs in 2025      Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're re-visiting a popular topic from a previous show – ERGs.      We took a closer look at ERGs towards the end of 2024, and covered a lot of the basics – how they work, the challenges and opportunities, and the different responsibilities of leadership and teams in establishing, executing, and supporting ER...

The different faces of identity: Navigating sexual orientation and gender expression   Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're talking about sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.   Discussions around these issues have been hitting the headlines more and more in recent months. And it's fair to say that many recent rulings and debates have felt like a step backward for a lot of differe...

Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're talking about inclusion – one of our favorite topics here on the show! But we're thinking about it from a different angle. Not from the team we build or the people we hire, but the environment around us. We're talking about inclusive spaces.   This might be familiar to you, or maybe it's a concept that's fairly new but, guaranteed, you'll be hearing about it...

Taking care of your team: why you can't afford to ignore mental health at work   Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're talking about something that is often a strand that weaves through many of the issues we talk about here on the show, from burnout to bias – and that's mental health. But today we're focusing in on mental health, and putting the spotlight onto how it interacts with work.     Alm...

Today, we're taking on a topic you've probably heard of – it may have even impacted you personally. But you might not be aware just how linked it is to the issue of diversity and inclusion.   We're talking about noncompete agreements.   Noncompetes have long been a staple in corporate America. But, despite supposedly being in place to protect trade secrets, many workers, including low earners, hav...

Today, we're talking about something that has been around a long time but, until relatively recently, wasn't talked about openly or officially recognized – and that's burnout.   Burnout has been hitting the headlines more and more. From ongoing disruption to widespread corporate cost-cutting, the pressure on teams and individuals—regardless of industry—is high. And, despite being increasingly lite...

Today we're talking, once again, about mentorship. We dove into this huge topic back in  episode 48 and covered a lot of ground. But one thing we didn't talk about was sponsorship.   A few years ago, sponsorship was a topic I didn't think too much about. But I've found myself talking about it more and more on my Women in Supply Chain series , so I decided it was time to take a closer look. And, as...

Today, we're talking about inclusion.     Now, this is not the first time we've talked about inclusion on the show. It's a key part of building working cultures and environments that we all want to be a part of.     But it seems that the way organizations are viewing inclusion might be changing. A number of leading diversity officers are reporting pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion...

Today, we're talking about generational diversity.     Demographic change is one of the biggest issues facing contemporary workplaces. The working-age population in the US is reportedly contracting at a pace not seen since World War Two but, unlike that time, there's no expected baby boom to compensate for it – in fact, each generation is getting smaller. We now find ourselves with a shrinking you...

Today, we're doing a deep dive into a DEI initiative that has rapidly grown in popularity over the last few years – and that's employee resource groups, otherwise known as ERGs. They'll be talking about how ERGs work and the importance of purpose; the challenges and opportunities; and the different responsibilities of leadership and teams in establishing, executing, and supporting ERGs.       IN T...

Today the panel will be talking about traditional mentorship and how it looks different across communities and contexts; the rise of reverse mentorship and its importance in intergenerational workforces; how to measure the success of mentor/mentee relationships and the common mistakes to look out for; and how to avoid the trap of seeking a mentor for the sake of it.       IN THIS EPISODE:   [01.40...

Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're talking about changing working environments, and promotion bias.   The debate of working from home versus working from the office has been gaining traction over the last few years, and people have been discussing the different pieces of it, from work/life balance to in-person versus online meetings to loneliness to productivity.   But where you work, and it'...

Welcome back to Blended!   Today, we're talking about purchasing, and about the power we have – as professionals and consumers – to help drive change.   Over the last decade, purchasing has evolved. Ecommerce, technology, globalization, social media, geopolitical disruption – purchasing has, arguably, changed forever. And of the biggest changes has been the mindset shift with which many people, an...

Today, we're talking about equal pay.  Despite equal pay laws and increasing DEI initiatives across workplaces, women of every race are still paid less than men, at all education levels – and it only gets worse as women's careers progress. Women in the U.S. who work full time, year-round are paid only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. And for women of color, that gap is even bigger. That gap...

The  panel of guests are going to explore the dos and don'ts; discuss the different things we need to consider, from drinking to shaking hands; reflect on the differences between on and offline networking; and share their own experiences for us to learn from.      IN THIS EPISODE:   [01.19] Introductions to our Blended panellists.   ·        Lynn – Founder and CEO at LW Coaches ·        Kristy – P...