A Dog Called Diversity

Michael Lints is our first podcast guest to do a repeat appearance. Back in June 2020 he wrote a blog post called “ I’m exhausted and I want you to know why ” which was his reaction to the killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests. So many people asked Michael “what can I do?”.  Michael came on our podcast in April 2021 to talk about his experiences as a black person and share his plans to p...

Dave Bahr is a self-confessed baseball fan, author, disability advocate and accessibility expert as well as being completely blind. Lisa talked to Dave about how he acquired his disability, the love of his life Priscilla who had brittle bone disease (Osteogenesis imperfecta), the common stereotypes of being blind, guide dogs and the technology Dave uses to interact with the world. Through his writ...

A lawyer at Bloomberg for over 10 years Amin Kassam is the epitome of intersectionality. Being ethnically Indian, Muslim and gay. As Amin says being muslim and gay is two closets to come out of.  Amin speaks about the challenges growing up where he never felt he belonged anywhere, and how hard it was to reconcile all aspects of his identify without visible role models. He also thinks “closet” is a...

This week’s guest didn’t start out as a heavy industry expert in Diversity & Inclusion but you never know where life is going to take you. Teagan Dowler started studied psychology but a work placement at a mining company changed everything.  She started work in human resources and learning and development, and built a career and a business challenging detrimental stereotypes and culture presen...

Shoon Lim is one of the best known and well-respected Diversity and Inclusion leaders in Asia, and for good reason. She has built a career with global roles based in Singapore at blue chip companies such as Shell, Microsoft and Givaudan.   She now leads the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Practice (DEI) at Russell Reynolds Associates in Asia Pacific, supporting DEI search and consulting includin...

Neil Wilson and his wife Stephanie have 3 beautiful sons. Archie 16, Lewis 13 and Jasper 9. When you think of raising three boys you probably think of a house filled with loud noises, strange smells, messiness and if you have boys yourself you will know the house is also filled with love and fun. But the Wilson household is a little different. Of course there is love (and lots of it) and I’m prett...

In life it can take time to know who you are, and how you need or want to show up in the world. This is true for all of us in life. For some it can an even more challenging path.  Emery Fung however always knew he was male despite being born female. He always knew how he wanted to dress and how he wanted to be. Born in Hong Kong to a traditional and conservative Chinese family the road to transiti...

Today’s guest is really “out”. So much so he calls himself The Gay Leadership Dude .  Dr Steve Yacovelli runs Top Dog Learning Group , delivering inclusive leadership training among other things. We just had to have him as a guest given this podcast is called A Dog Called diversity.  Dr Steve talks about his own story, how he is making a difference with Dog Top Learning Group and his latest book ....

Do you know how to react if someone comes out to you? What do you say if someone tells you they are gay or transgender?  In this episode we hear from Marco De Vries from the Netherlands. He talks about growing up in Amsterdam, the first country to legalise gay marriage. He tells his story of coming out, accepting himself, and meeting and marrying the love of his life, twice. And he gives great adv...

Go to www.thecultureministry.com/salary-survey This is a special short episode where I talk about: why I decided to run a salary survey, just for people working in Diversity & Inclusion the structure of the survey, and confidentiality and data privacy. Most importantly, participating in this salary survey will help you understand how your role compares in the market and help you understand how...

This episode is another example of how you can transition your career into diversity and inclusion. Jordana Sawtell leads Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) for a large multinational across the APAC and EMEA regions. But this isn’t where she started start. As you will hear she never intended on working in this space but she loves the work.   With a degree in Human Resources she worked in consulti...

This is a super fun and sporty episode with Jasmine Titmuss . She was breaking gender barriers from a young age, playing cricket at school (where she received a scholarship for sport and music) and in the community before many girls were doing so. She went on to play cricket professionally for England, before moving to Hong Kong to be Women’s head coach at the Hong Kong Cricket Club. She strongly...

Born in India, and raised in Saudi Arabia, Anat Deracine (dera-seen) is fascinated by cultural narratives around equality and the portrayal of women. Raised by liberal parents, Anat was allowed to dress as a boy so that she could do sports and take part in other activities that girls were not permitted to. Anat and her family moved to Canada, and then to the USA when Anat was a teenager. These mul...

There are so many ways people can make an impact in work that impacts the environment and sustainability, as well as diversity and inclusion. Naomi Vowels and her sister Francis have built Givvable , an online platform to search, scan and verify sustainability credentials, of new and existing suppliers anywhere in the world. Givvable gives access to millions of 3rd party verified environmental, et...

Today’s episode is with Devon Michelle. She is one fabulous black woman.  She has so much drive and energy and I LOVED learning her story. She’s a single mum, advocate for the underrepresented and through a non-traditional unplanned career path found a role that feels fulfills her purpose. She leads diversity and inclusion for a large multinational with responsibility for Canada, USA and South Ame...

Benita Chick works and advocates in a professional as well as personal capacity for social causes with many different organizations. She is passionate in diversity and inclusion, having coached differently-abled individuals at Outward Bound Hong Kong , curated the city's first LGBT+ tour, organized HK's first Green Women Festival, and is a mentor for RESOLVE Foundation, to name just a fe...

Living in Shanghai, Ivy Wong is an Ally to the LGBTIQ+ plus community in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and China where significant barries still exist. Through a chance internship with an LGBITQ+ community organistion while studying psychology, she found her purpose and passion and has worked tirelessly in this space ever since. I often get asked how people can move their career to work in diver...

This week on the podcast I am joined by Dr Latha Poonamallee .  She is an Associate Professor, Chair of the Faculty of Management and University Fellow at The New School , tech founder and diversity equity and incusion expert. Her  research, teaching, and practice have been singularly focused on creating radical change to build a more just world. Expansive Leadership: Cultivating Mindfulness to Le...

Jacqui Simpson and I met many years ago in Sydney when we both worked for the P&O Group. I knew we were going to be firm friends when we were on a business trip in London together. One of us was having a very bad day and so we snuck out of our office on Pall Mall and headed to Fortnum & Mason for champagne and afternoon tea. Any problem can be fixed over bubbles (right?) and anyone willing...

Doni Aldine and I recorded this episode when she had just returned to her home in Denver Colarado from what she called “Adult Summer Camp”, in Peru and Chile. Basically a working holiday.  I was in Singapore during “heighted restrictions” when we were only allowed to be out with or have 2 people over for dinner. It’s fair to say I was a little envious of her getting to travel.  Doni, is the CEO &a...

Brooke Black is the Director People Culture and Talent, Department of Premier and Cabinet NSW, Australia. She not only lives and breathes flexible work (she job shares in a senior role), she was instrumental in building a flexible work culture over the past 6 years.  Flexible work has so many benefits including attracting and retaining talent, improving productivity, engagement and driving and imp...

I have known Amber Williams for quite some time.  We had our first kids around the same time. Her daughter Addison is now 13 and my son Aiden is 12. Since we both finished working at Coca-Cola Amatil we haven’t really connected but have been watching each others lives and careers through social media and our first babies grow quite big! I knew that Addison had Autism and she knew that Aiden has Al...

One of the things I have always been interested in is how people navigate their career, and how they come to work in and with their purpose. My guest this week is Amanda Campbell and she is fully working in her purpose. Her business is Bend Like Bamboo where she works as a sports kinesiologist and resilience trainer. I don't think this career was ever in her plan.  And then at 24 she was diag...

Christine Khor is a bit of a dynamo. She owns and runs two businesses, Chorus Executive which offers Recruitment, Consulting, Coaching & Branding services and PeeplCoach an on-demand, coaching-led career and leadership development platform all driven around her strong purpose and drive to ensure everyone can have equal access to an experienced coach. She’s also on the Victorian Development Boa...

I had a great yarn with Toby Adams and Sharon Grose on this week’s episode. They are the Directors of Leading with Strength , a proud Indigenous organisation that delivers professional learning programs across Australia. They work with in education, government departments, corporate entities and community & not-for-profit organisations.  I think they stand out because the work they do is not a...