Getting Board

In this episode of The Speakeasier we talk to Sheldon Mills, Interim Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at FCA and chair of Stonewall UK. Sheldon charts his journey from school to the boardroom, explaining the roles both family members and senior colleagues played in shaping and preparing him for leadership. The conversations compares the progress of LGBT and Black communities in the w...

In this week’s episode of The Speakeasier we speak to Elliott Rae about navigating race in the workplace. Elliott is the the founder of musicfootballfatherhood.com and the head of ‘Project Race’ - a UK government initiative that has been setup to improve the representation, performance outcomes and engagement of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) colleagues. Elliott discusses the professional...

‘What is unconscious bias?’ - there’s been a spike in people Googling this question. We think the answer lies with our latest guest, Pragya Agarwal, author of Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias. As the Black Lives Matter movement has changed how we see ourselves and others, she helps us understand what bias is, and how it plays out in business, society…and ice cream choices.

Less than a month ago, a Black man in Minneapolis spoke his last words as he was murdered: “I can’t breathe.” Since that day, many of us have begun to question whose voices we should really be listening to right now. Two weeks ago, we were struck by a compelling new voice on the radio - a caller speaking out about racial issues during talk show host Iain Dale’s show on LBC. Denise Headley challeng...

This episode takes us deep into the world of diversity and inclusion with a guest who has way more experience than most. Jan Gooding was formerly chair at Stonewall and held the position of Director of Inclusion at insurance brand Aviva before most people knew their D from their I. Jan talks to us about the role of brands in Pride, how Black Lives Matters rallies have given the physical manifestat...

In this episode we talk to TV presenter, author, campaigner, and director of creative diversity at the BBC, June Sarpong. The recording takes place against a backdrop of BAME communities around the world being disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, and Black Lives Matter rallies being held in response to the police killing of George Floyd. With so much global inequality, unrest and uncertainty,...

Mohamed Mohamed, a British-Somali poet and football coach from south London, moved to London when he was a child to flee civil war in Somalia. In December 2019, he was commissioned by the Museum of London to make a film capturing the capital at the only time it ever fell silent - on Christmas morning. That was, of course, until the Covid-19 crisis struck just weeks later. This episode explores wha...

Asma - who owns Darjeeling Express restaurant in London's Soho and was profiled on the sixth season of the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table - talks to us everything from all-female kitchens to allyship, Brexit to biryani, Covid-19 to curry. We learn about using business as a social enterprise, how equal pay across all employees can drive inclusion, and how shouty chefs who berate women on p...