Afleveringen
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Show Notes:
There are some brilliant leaders doing amazing work to promote equity & inclusion in the UK. Would you agree? There are not enough superlatives to describe the hard work and commitment of these advocates.
Christina Brooks, Founder and CEO Ruebik is one such leader. Along with her day job she is a trustee for an alternative provision school in Tottenham, a Trustee for pioneering Social Communications Centre for Autism. She also mentors incarcerated young people and advises many black owned social startups.
So, I was thrilled to have @Christina Brooks as a guest on the 126th episode of The ๐in the Room podcast to talk about all things equity and inclusion. In this freewheeling conversation we spoke about her journey from global talent lead at Rolls Royce to starting Ruebik an inclusion first talent attraction agency and DEI consultancy. We also spoke about ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ Learnings from the corporate world that she brought to her entrepreneurial journey
๐๐พ Being purpose led, and B-Corp certified
๐๐พ Lived experiences, and her intersectional identities that led to her being othered
๐๐พ Her thoughts on Industry trends indicating a slowdown and step back in investment and commitment of DEIB/EDIB initiatives
๐๐พ How culture and measurement contribute to creating an impactful recruitment and hiring process
๐๐พ Conscious/Inclusive leadership
๐๐พ Future of work โ the impact of AI
We also spoke about her podcast Elevated Conversations with Tacita Small and Monique Carayol, Zoom Fenty, even Beyonce, her beliefs, motivations and having a long view of changeโฆโฆโฆ..
To learn more head to the podcast (link in comments) ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Christina. It's such a pleasure to have you as a guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Christina: It's an absolute honour to be here Sudha. Thank you for the invitation.
Sudha: Brilliant. let's start with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do. Also, tell us why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
Christina: Yeah, a really good question. Why did I decide to become an entrepreneur because it was not by design, I actually fell into it. So, if I give you a little bit about my background, I've got almost 20 years executive search experience. So that's really my bread and butter. So really thinking about how organisations should attract and retain exec leaders.
And prior to setting up Ruebik, I worked for Rolls Royce as a global talent acquisition lead. So, my team were in Derby, and I was based down here in London, and it was a really wonderful experience. And my mandate at the time was to increase gender representation, and we started to look at other underrepresented strands as well. But I think the real light bulb moment for me, Sudha, was when I was often looking for suppliers and other executive recruitment firms to help us really think about diversity.
They often sounded and looked like the business that we were trying to change and innovate in. And so really for me, I built the kind of business that I wanted to work with. So Ruebik, as it stands, it's an extension of a talent acquisition function. And so, we really partner closely with organisations who are trying to move the
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Shownotes:
Reams have been written recently about SDGs, climate change, just transitionโฆโฆ what does it mean in practice? India's National Action Plan on Climate Change emphasises the need for inclusive and sustainable development to ensure it does not fail millions on the margins or without a voice.
It would not be presumptuous to say that most people in world are aware of Indiaโs demographic dividend. At 21% or 253 million, India is also home to the largest adolescent population in the world of which 120 million are girls. For a just transition and for India to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend by unlocking the potential of its youth, it is crucial that they are empowered with knowledge and skills to combat social and economic exclusion.
A majority of Indiaโs adolescent girls are on the margins and face numerous challenges including lack of access to education, domestic work, early marriage and pregnancy and financial dependency. There are a myriad of government initiatives and schemes aimed at keeping this group in education in urban and rural area, but long lasting change will be impossible without addressing the deep rooted cultural norms, expectations and stereotypes.
This is where organisations like VOICE4Girls, step in, they create safe spaces for girls to have critical conversations around their physical and mental health; recognising, preventing and reporting violence and a space where they can dream. This social enterprise led by Anusha Bharadwaj, has impacted over 3,00,000 girls and boys through their work across 12 different Indian states.
In the 125th episode of The ๐in the Room podcast we spoke about Anushaโs childhood, how it influenced her to step into the social sector, her ambition for Voice4Girls, breaking the cycle of exclusion, deprivation for young girls and boys, the challenges of being a founder. We also spoke about ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ SoCh for social change an initiative aimed at building leadership capabilities of young social changemakers,
๐๐พ Social entrepreneurship as a powerful force for transforming communities and nations, being hubs of innovation
๐๐พ Context, feminism and feminist leadership
๐๐พ Failures, highlights and role models girls and boys can identify with
And much more in this freewheeling and inspiring conversation.
Head to the podcast to know more about the incredible work being done by Ashoka Fellow, Anusha Bharadwaj and Voice4Girls ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Anusha. Wonderful to have you on the Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Anusha: Hi Sudha, lovely to be here.
Sudha: Let's get started with a quick introduction. Tell us a bit about your childhood, your education, what sort of influences did you have? I'm curious to understand how and why you decided to work in the social sector.
Anusha: Every time somebody asks me this question, some new parts about my family emerges and today what really came up is that I grew up in a South Indian family where education was super important Sudha. In fact, both my great grandfathers were very well educated, one was a medical officer, the other was a maths professor. And I've heard that, even during those times, this is still very British ruled India both my grandmothers, my maternal and my paternal grandmother, both are high school graduates.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Show notes:
The ESG backlash is real, and it is polarising. The rhetoric around it exacerbated because of roll backs by corporates and governments on climate/energy commitments. According to a leading ESG publication, Trumpโs victory in the worldโs second largest democracy, is likely to result in roll backs on climate and ESG regulation in the country and retreat from the global stage. Despite all the noise against ESG - asset managers globally are expected to increase their ESG related AuM to US$33.9 trillion by 2026 (84% growth). The driver for growth for ESG activity is not altruism but value creation.
In India the worldโs largest democracy there are reasons for cautious optimism, with the government introducing a slew of policy changes over the last decade, that makes it obligatory for organisations to adopt an ESG lens for sustainability reporting. Since 2022-23, the top 1000 listed companies are obliged to follow the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework. The driver of course is Indiaโs ambition to be a 7 trillion economy by 2030. There is lots to be done but the country is on the path.
To discuss Indiaโs journey on ESG and Sustainability reporting I spoke with Arvind Chari and Chirag Mehta, Quantum Advisors in the 124th episode of The Elephant in the Room podcast. The focus of the conversation was global and local trends and Quantumโs own approach to ESG investing. We spoke about ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ The drivers for sustainable investing
๐๐พ Responsible (patient investing) and what it means. Adding a 5th P to the 4 Ps investment management - predictability or patient capital
๐๐พ The reason for developing Quantumโs own due diligence process or integrity screening mechanism
๐๐พ How weightage on governance can drive better E and S performance for an organisation
๐๐พ Sustainable investing in the Indian context (considering India needs approx. $200 billion a year), where the country is on the sustainable investing journey
๐๐พ Public equity markets as the low hanging fruit for sustainable investing in India
๐๐พ Whether Indian companies are prepared to meet the regulatory requirements in particular BRSR
We also spoke about the ESG backlash, social license to operate, whether ESG funds perform better than funds that donโt have an ESG lens, the EHG trilemma and The ๐ in the Room. If sustainability, sustainable investing, transparency and accountability is your thing check out Quantumโs โThe Little White Book of Governanceโ.
Disclaimer: Quantum Advisors are not my client and I remain sceptical of the investment management & PE industry and their relentless pursuit of profits. However, we know how critical they are to achieving global and local climate and SDG targets. I was drawn to Quantum's mantra โBe good and Do goodโ and intrigued by the integrity screen.
Check it out for yourself โ links in the comment ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
#esginvesting #esg #sustainability #impact investing #governance #Climatehange #SDGs
Episode Transcript
Sudha: Good morning, Arvind and Good Afternoon, Chirag. Wonderful to have both of you on The Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Arvind: Sudha, it's good to have us. Your name of the podcast itself is so interesting, and there are always a lot of elephants in the room to be discussed about so great to be talking to
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Shownotes:
Not many people in the western world have heard of Hansenโs disease or Leprosy โ for most who are familiar with it arouses fear and aversion. It is a tropical disease that occurs in more than 120 countries, has been referenced in the bible and Victoria Hislop wrote The Island inspired by a visit to Spinalonga, the abandoned Greek leprosy colony, which sold over a million copies.
My earliest interaction with the disease was on the Main Street of the city I grew up in. Along the street, one aften came across a small group of people begging for alms, those badly affected being pulled on makeshift carts by the more able bodied. The easiest thing to do was to ignore them or pretend one could not see them or their plight. That was my first experience of shame. Shame at the lack of knowledge, confidence or ability to engage with respect with people disfigured and ostracised by disease. However, this is not about me but about people who are disenfranchised, excluded from accessing healthcare, education, economic opportunities and social support because of fear and misinformation.
A couples of months back, I happened to be seated on the same take table at India Week as Sian Arulanantham, head of programmes and research of Leprosy Mission UK. We got chatting about the incredible work they are doing across the world and in India and I invited them to be a guest on my podcast to speak about the important work being done to eradicate an ancient disease that stigmatises and makes outcasts of over two hundred thousand people every year.
In this episode of The Elephant in the Room podcast, Daisy Mansfield Policy and Advocacy Adviser at Leprosy Mission talks about the work being done in India and across the world. We spoke about a) how they deliver on their goals in this highly complex geography b) behaviour change campaigns for education and removing social stigma c) Strategies to empower individuals and families d) Roles models with lived experience of disability and stigma e) WHO 2035 goal for eradication of the disease and challenges to getting to the target
The most important thing to remember is that if detected early, the disease is curable with multi drug therapy (MDT) and the good news is that the WHO has made MDT available free to all leprosy patients around the world (with the help of big pharma).
Head to the podcast to listen and see how you can support the cause ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Daisy. Lovely to have you here today. I'm so glad that I met with Sian and Louise at India Week recently in London. And that's how I came to know about the work of Leprosy Mission UK. So, let's start with a quick introduction. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Daisy: Hello. Yes. It's so nice to be with you on the podcast today. Thank you very much for having me. I'm Daisy and I work for the Leprosy Mission and have done for about three years now in a number of different roles. So, my current role is called a Programs and Advocacy Officer. Which means I am a point person, look after some of the projects that we fund in India and work in partnership with our team over in India. And previously I had roles in fundraising and also advocacy and policy working with UK stakeholders in parliament and also in international spaces such as the UN and WHO to advocate for people affected by leprosy.
Sudha:...
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Shownotes:
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the podcast are Sakshi Bansalโs personal views and do not represent or reflect the views of Arup Ltd.
Excited to share the latest episode of The Elephant in the Room podcast featuring Sakshi Bansal FRSA ChMC! ๐๏ธ Sakshi, a recipient of The Diana Award, the worldโs first UNESCO Kindness leader and Founder of Project LEAP, dives deep into the 'S' in ESG.
In our conversation, we explore:
๐๐พ Psychology's link to sustainability
๐๐พ Social equity, triple bottom line, and social license to operate
๐๐พ Challenges in reporting the 'S' factor and current industry trends
๐๐พ Global sustainability dialogue dynamics and diversity concerns
๐๐พ Millennials' & Gen Z's perceptions of Purpose-driven organizations
๐๐พ The importance of continuous learning in navigating evolving standards
Tune in for insightful discussions on sustainability and ESG with @SakshiBansal
Link to the podcast in the comments below. ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
hashtag#ESG hashtag#Sustainability hashtag#PodcastDiscussion
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Sakshi. Wonderful to have you as a guest on the Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Sakshi: Hi, thank you so much. It's so nice to be here.
Sudha: To start with, give us a quick introduction and tell us a bit about yourself, maybe your childhood, education.
Sakshi: Gosh a bit about myself. So, I am a psychologist by education, both a bachelor's and master's degree, but I'm also a management and strategy consultant now. And if I look back on my career, because it's so well integrated into who am I it's what I call a roller-coaster career or a squiggly career. It started in a tech startup. I was studying in Delhi I wanted to be a professional salsa dancer, And I came across these guys and they were doing something really...
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Shownotes:
Being an advocate for equity and inclusion requires a certain level of self-awareness, humility and an appetite to be a lifelong learner. Especially considering that the vocabulary around DEIB/DEIBA or whatever you choose to call it is constantly evolving, there is more we donโt know than we know.
My chance encounter with Caroline Collier, CEO Inclusion Barnet happened over a LinkedIn recruitment post and my subsequent message to her regarding the language. She was gracious in her response educating me about why they were using โdisabled personโ (instead of person first language). I was slightly mortified but glad that I had the opportunity to engage with Caroline to better understand why they subscribe to the social model of disability.
I am grateful to Caroline for making time for this important conversation (a learning opportunity for me). In the episode we spoke about Inclusion Barnet and why it describes itself as a Deaf and Disabled Peopleโs organisation, deaf being separate from disabled in deference to the cultural model of deafness. We also spoke at length about the โsocial model of disability; harnessing lived experiences for social change; acceptable language; role of the private sector in opening up opportunities; what allies can do to support; and the just launched โCampaign for Disability Justiceโ calling for a) Opportunity b) Security c) Respect.
Did you know that care in the UK is based on a โmedical modelโ that frames the body or mind of disabled person as something that needs to be fixed?
โWe see disability through the โsocial modelโ, where being Disabled is a political term that describes our experience of marginalisation, not individual impairments. The social model allows us to come together to fight back against a world that we canโt navigate safely without care and support. This model helps us understand that a flourishing social care system should give us access to choices and the freedom to live independently.
We want a system that enables us to live independently, rather than generating a list of โcare tasksโ our local authority can charge us for. The struggle for a better, more equal system should unify us all to talk about intersectionality and disability justice alongside the crucial demands for fair conditions for both paid and unpaid carers, wholesale changes to the gendered imbalance of care responsibilities, and the need to tackle the looming climate crisis, which will affect our capacity to care for one another.โ Caroline Collier, CEO Inclusion Barnet
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Caroline. It's wonderful to have you today as a guest on the Elephant in the Room podcast. Thank you for being here
Caroline: Thank you. Really pleased to be asked, so thank you so much.
Sudha: Let's start with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Caroline: I'm Caroline Collier. I'm CEO of a deaf and disabled persons' organization called Inclusion Barnet. My background is varied. I started after college working in libraries. Then I ended up in my thirties writing about the construction industry, unusually enough. That changed in 2009 when I became really ill with what turned out to be bipolar. I had a bit of a rethink just because I wanted to find something with a little bit more purpose, and I was incredibly lucky to end up working in the organization that is now...
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Show notes:
We all need our cheerleaders, the people, who stand by us through thick and thin, who inspire and bring us joy. The friends who are like family or better๏. I am lucky to have a few friends like that. One amongst them is @SabianaAnandaraj, whom I have known since my first job in PR over 30 years ago when I was a young mom to two toddlers in Mumbai, and she was the young, independent, go getter who introduced me to the workings of the agency and our mutual clients. We worked together for a short while before life got in the way and we drifted apart - she moved jobs, got married, had kids and I moved to the UK.
It was serendipity that we bumped into each other in early 2007 in Mumbai. The circumstances were wildly different her father was in very ill in hospital and mine was in and out of hospital (the same hospital) as he battled a rare form of Parkinsonโs. Sadly, both our fathers passed away in 2007 much before their time. And @SabianaAnandaraj facilitated my unexpected move back to India for a stint to look after my mother. This move would have been impossible without @SabianaAnandaraj offering me a role in the agency she worked for at that time. And the โrest as they say is history.โ Today, we have a deeply, fulfilling friendship and our lives are deeply enmeshed (along with the rest of the gang) enmeshed together (in the best possible way).
Getting her on the podcast has been on the cards for a while, to share her amazing work trajectory and her foray into entrepreneurship. But, also to spotlight the reality, that women in their 50s are not done as yet, they donโt suddenly lose their ambition. The dominant narrative is about them being overlooked and written off but some of us are pushing back against the lazy ageist trope. Sabiana and I are both in our mid-50s (soon to be late), have no plans to retire and firmly believe the next decade may be our best as yet๏ Also, I donโt think we are the kind of people who will take kindly to being overlooked! In this free flowing conversation we spoke about our mothers, being old, work, women in leadership, ageism, freedom in the 50s, entrepreneurship, learnings, cheerleaders, staying motivated and much moreโฆ..
We still need to talk about female friendships, menopause, empty nest, ambition, aspiration, work-life, second innings, third innings, fulfilment, and definitions of successโฆโฆ
Meanwhile, head to the podcast to hear moreโฆโฆ
Episode transcript
Sudha: Hi Sabiana. I'm so, so happy to have you as a guest on the Elephant in the Room podcast. We've been discussing this for the longest time, and finally, it has happened. It's good to see you here.
Sabiana: Thanks so much, Sudha. It has been a pleasure. I was really excited when you asked me to be a guest on your podcast. We know each other for decades, have had, n number of informal conversations. I think this is one of our first formal conversations on a platform like this. So, I'm really looking forward to it.
Sudha: Let's get started with the questions. I always ask all my guests. And even though I know you so well, and we've known each other for decades, please introduce yourself for our listeners and tell us a bit about yourself.
Sabiana: In the grand scheme of things, I am the third musketeer in the family lineup.
All the way from Bombay, I am today a 57 year old grown up. My one and only, what do I say? partner in crime is Trivikram. I've spawned two mini me's through him. One is...
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Shownotes:
In the past couple of years, there have been a lot of discussions, debates, articles around how PR practitioners can combat misinformation. It is often cited as one of the bigger challenges along with AI (advanced technology) facing the PR industry.
The Elephant in the Room is the role of PR professionals in the dissemination and amplification of misinformation and fake news. How complicit are we as an industry when propagating the agenda of businesses, individuals, and governments?
Beyond the industry a lot of people ascribe โspinโ a pejorative term to the work being done by professionals. So, whatโs the truth? To discuss this and more I spoke with Prof Lee Edwards, from the Department of Media and Communications at the LSE. Considering that the title of her 2020 research paper was, โOrganised lying and professional legitimacy: public relationsโ accountability in the disinformation debateโ, she has an in-depth understanding of the subject.
In this episode of The Elephant in the Room, we spoke about role of PR in society; the misinformation debate; disposable diversity; ethics of climate communications, AI, ethics in general, and moreโฆโฆ..
Thank you Stephen Waddington for the introductions, this fine conversation would not have been possible without your initiative.
Interested in learning more, head to the podcast (Link in comments) ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Hey, Lee Good morning. Wonderful to have you as a guest today on the podcast.
Lee: It's a pleasure. Thank you very much for having me, Sudha. I hope you're well.
Sudha: So, let's get started with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do. I'm really grateful to Stephen for the introductions that he made over email, but I'm keen to know more because I haven't really met with you.
Lee: Yeah, so my name is Lee. I'm a professor of strategic communications and public engagement at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and I've been there about seven years. Prior to that, I was at the University of Leeds, Manchester, and Leeds Beckett originally. My research area is focused on strategic communications, particularly public relations. That's the area I look at most. More recently, it has expanded into the area of public engagement and also media literacy, which ended up being quite nicely related to the type of work that I do.
I originally started in practice. I did about eight years working for the technology industries as a PR consultant. Like most PR practitioners I know, I kind of fell into it with no particular ambition to do PR, but just ended up there. I originally started in New Zealand, then I came back to London. I was mystified by the apparent power that Tony Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, had and how much he was hated because he was the proverbial spin doctor. I was working in the profession and didn't really feel like I was powerful at all.
So that led me to do a PhD focused on understanding how power works through public relations and in public relations as a profession. The rest is history, really. I've been working in academia now for just over 20 years and really love it.
Sudha: Wow, that's interesting. And I think that we should have another podcast episode, probably on your PhD, because like you, I'd agree that, yeah, we don't always feel very powerful as communications professionals. In fact, rather...
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Shownotes:
Most people would agree that sustainability is a much-abused word. It has become a catch call phrase for individuals and businesses keen on asserting their โgood for society/good for planet credentialsโ. As we hurtle towards 2030, the reality is that the private sector has a pivotal role to play in helping to meet the SDGs. Cynicism aside, behind the rhetoric and noise, there is serious effort by some businesses to integrate it into their business strategy.
A couple of weeks back, I spoke with Chris Argent, Head of Sustainability for AMEA at Syngenta (A leader in agricultural innovation) to understand the role of the private sector in global food security (SDG 2), on innovations that can catalyse change and help improve the lives and livelihoods of farmers (especially marginal farmers).
According to the World Economic Forum, โthe global food security challenge is straightforward: by 2050 the world must feed two billion people more and the demand for food will be 56% greater than 2010.โ The sector also accounts for a whopping 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of freshwater withdrawals, so there is also the need for adoption of innovative practices to be more sustainable.
What is the private sector doing to address SDG 2? How are businesses transforming and innovating for sustainable development? Chris covered some of the issues during our conversation๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ The link between purpose, profit and sustainability
๐๐พ How organisations can be authentic when speaking about purpose or sustainability
๐๐พ What it means to be a leader in agricultural innovation for Syngenta?
๐๐พ The impact of climate change on small and marginal farmers who make up majority of the worldโs farmers and produce over 70-80% of the worldโs food (UN FAO 2021)
๐๐พ The โGood Growth Planโ (Indian context) a time bound target to reduce its carbon intensity by 50% by 2030 from a 2016 baseline
๐๐พ The Portfolio Sustainability Framework aimed at increasing transparency to external stakeholders
๐๐พ Changing food preferences and growing trend for sustainably grown food
We also spoke about sustainability narratives, reporting, communications and much more.
Global non-profit EAT, โFood is the single strongest lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earthโ
To hear more, head to the podcast (Link in comments) ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Chris. It's wonderful to have you as a guest on The Elephant in the Room Podcast today. Thank you for being here.
Chris: Thanks very much Sudha for inviting me to join. Looking forward to the discussion.
Sudha: Brilliant. Let's start with a quick introduction. So, you've moved from politics to external affairs and then sustainability. How has the journey been?
Chris: That's a great question. Things have certainly evolved in terms of sustainability over that period. As you mentioned, I started my career in Australian politics working in various roles for about seven years before moving to the private sector. And certainly, in that early days of sustainability, it certainly wasn't high on corporate's agenda. But over that time it has very much come to the fore, which I think is great for the community, for business and also for the...
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Kavneet Dasra Shownotes:
In my second innings I have been intentional about working with the third sector. Through The Elephant in the Room, I am able to engage vicariously with the sector without being a part of it. To some extent I have been able deepen my understanding and engagement with the sector through PRADAN where I truly believe there is an alignment between my passion and their purpose. However, truth be told the sector is cliquey and closed like most sectors/industries the world over. A bit jarring considering they exist to make society more equitable and inclusive, to provide support to the most excluded.
In the Indian sub-continent where I have spent a lot of my time it is no different. A cursory look at leadership, boards and composition of teams can be revelatory. That they mirror society, and all its inequalities is a bit alarming? Is it possible for them to continue to work with the excluded and marginalised, and be effective in their current avatar? What does it mean for the sustainability of the social sector short term and long term?
To learn about what the sector is doing to change, I reached out to Dasra one of Indiaโs most respected and leading third sector organisation. Dasra evolved from being a philanthropy fund to a bridge between NGOs and funders. On their website they state that, โEquity is at the centre of everything we doโ. To kickstart my conversations with the sector I spoke with Kavneet Sahni, who anchors internal DEI efforts, spear heads the GEDI (Gender, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) initiative at Dasra and leads on their Social Impact Program. GEDI is a lens that not only guides Dasraโs internal inclusion strategy but also informs their funding and grant making strategy. For the uninitiated GEDI is commonly used amongst multilateral organisations including ILO, IRC, UN to frame conversations on diversity and inclusion.
In this freewheeling episode Kavneet and I spoke about her background, move to the third sector, faith, privilege, GEDI, the drivers for change in the social sector, representation, war for talent, barriers to change, best practice, inclusive campaigns and initiatives, successes and failuresโฆโฆโฆ
My one key takeaway, the road to inclusion is paved with failure and learningโฆโฆ..
To hear more, head to the podcastโฆ.
Episode Transcript
Sudha: Good morning, Kavneet. It's wonderful to have you as a guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast today. Thank you for being here and making time.
Kavneet: Thank you, Sudha. It's a pleasure to be here and I'm so delighted that you actually are interested in learning a bit more about my journey and the work that we do at Dasra around diversity and inclusion. So, thank you for having me.
Sudha: Letโs start with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Kavneet: So, I work as an Associate Director at Dasra and my role primarily is to design and implement capacity building programs for non-profits and other stakeholders in the sector. You may know this, but Dasra was formed on the basis that there is a lot of funding, a lot of focus that goes into supporting programs, on ground and very little focus on building stronger institutions like we often do in the corporate world. So, my role, my journey at Dasara has been, very old. I've spent close to 11 years at Dasara now and most of my time goes in building, designing programs, which will help nonprofit leaders, look...
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Shownotes
Nelson Mandela famously said, โSport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else doesโ. There are examples the world over whether it is Cricket, Football, Athletics, Tennis โฆโฆ. It brings together fans and inspires current and future generations. However, like the rest of our society and business racism and exclusion is rife in sports. The good news is that there has been a concerted effort by sportspersons, sports bodies, regulators address systemic issues in the past couple of years.
Recently, I had a wonderful opportunity to engage with Jatin Patel, to learn more about what is being done by Rugby England to bring about change. We spoke at length about the four areas of focus including i) embedding inclusion in the life cycle of employees in the org; ii) gameplay; iii) game leadership and iv) fan, followers and partners. A huge and challenging remit by any standards.
We spoke about the importance of data for building a business case in organisations; his thoughts on whether DEIB/A is really slowing down/stalling; Social mobility as one of the biggest challenges facing English Rugby; Racism at the institutional level and steps being taken to tackle the behaviour of fans and influencers; Role models; accountability and much moreโฆโฆ.
Key takeaway, much needs to be done and nothing is going to change overnight but the collaborative approach by England Rugby, the two premierships (men's and women's premiership), as well as the rugby players association, to develop an elite game, inclusion diversity plan seems like a step in the right direction (to address root and branch).
Like to learn more, head to the links in the comments ๐๐พ๐๐พ
โUltimately being in this job is about influencing. And I think a lot of leaders have realised that EDI leaders are influencers, they use knowledge and expertise and data to drive suggested ways of change, but they understand they can't do it themselves.
And I think it's that layer below where people do need more help because perhaps they've been more stretched that we need to close that gap of understanding that EDI practitioners are not there to do the job, they're there to help you and enable you to do the job, to be more inclusive, and therefore see diversity foster and succeed as a result of it.โ Jatin Patel
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good afternoon, Jatin. Thank you for being a guest on the Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Jatin: My pleasure. And good morning to you Sudha good to see you.
Sudha: Good evening, actually.
Jatin: Oh, good evening. Of course, it's evening. I knew that. Good evening Sudha. Good to see you.
Sudha: Okay, so let's get started with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Jatin: Sure. So I'm Jatin Patel and I'm the Inclusion and Diversity Director at the RFU, which is the England Rugby Football Union. Been in post now just over two years and in terms of what I do, I think the simplest way of describing the way I do my role is across kind of four critical pillars.
We look at how we can build a more inclusive and diverse approach to employees on board. So the organisation, I describe that typically as your very...
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Shownotes
On The Elephant in the Room podcast it has been my endeavour to spotlight leaders from the global majority. I recently had the privilege to speak with Taisha Nurse, Global Senior Director, Diversity Equity and Inclusion at McDermott. As a senior HR practitioner she has been responsible for building Centreโs of Excellence across multiple geographies before moving to her current role in 2020. A role she loves the most and believes that her various experiences have prepared her to navigate the web of challenges and opportunities she faces in the course of her work.
The focus of the conversation was on an industry well known for its lack of diversity, and to her her views a female leader on all things DEIB/A. We covered many interesting topics including
๐๐พ The challenges to finding success in her DEIB/A role in an industry that isnโt traditionally recognised for gender diversity
๐๐พ Cultural intelligence and steps to building an inclusive culture (one culture) in a global organisation
๐๐พ The role of managers and leaders in building safe work spaces
๐๐พ Her definition of leadership
๐๐พ Measurement and evaluation of DEIB/A efforts in an organisation
I name checked @Pamay Bassey when Taisha spoke about being a learner for lifeโค๏ธโค๏ธ
โIt's probably my most favourite job in my 20 plus years is it definitely keeps me on my toes, but it allows me to stay in the sphere of being a learner for life. Every day, I'll have a conversation, I'll read something. I'll have an experience. And I think, wow, I didn't see it from that perspective. And so it's really putting me in a very open mindset. Even though I sometimes resist it, I want to be kind of in my comfort zone, but it puts me in this open mindset to see the world through someone else's eyes, when I'm thinking of a strategy, a campaign, the training that's required, being able to sit and think, okay, this is the audience, how are they going to receive it?โ
To listen to the episode, head to comments for Links ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript
Sudha: Thank you, Taisha, for being a guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast today. Wonderful to have you here.
Taisha: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm looking forward to today's dialogue with you.
Sudha: Brilliant. So to start with give us a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Taisha: So my name is Taisha Nurse.
I am currently the global senior director of diversity and inclusion at McDermott. McDermott is a global engineering procurement construction and installation organisation. So we're in energy, let's say. But my background is I have over 25 years of HR experience. I am an American born, so I started my work experience in the US. However, only worked in the US for two years, I then transferred to London, still in investment banking. I've worked in the Caribbean in telecommunications and now at McDermott in energy for the last 10 years. I've worked across most of the centres of excellences in HR. So mobility, HRAS, compensation and benefits, recruitment, and also worked as an HR generalist.
So the scope of my HR experience is quite broad, but I would probably say I'm
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Shownotes:
People recruit people from the industry, but also people who look like them, behave like them, are from a similar background, use a similar language... Would you agree?
If this is the reality, the question is how important is inclusive recruitment for the PR industry or businesses in general? And what does 'inclusive' recruitment actually mean? What can organisations do to break the cycle of systemic exclusion and homophiliy? Move from being performative to truley transformative??
Rohan Shah, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Ruben Sinclair, and I had an interesting conversation about all things inclusive recruitment and more. We also spoke about ๐๐พ
๐๐พ The role of technology/Data in creating fairer and more inclusive recruitment processes
๐๐พ Inclusive job adverts, structured job interviews, pre-determined questions and clear evaluation critera
๐๐พ Ensuring candidates are evaluated on the basis of skill sets and competencies rather than personal information
๐๐พ Back to work, future of work
๐๐พ The Elephant in the room for the recruitment industry - that leaders don't really get involved with the recruitment process
๐๐พ His belief that to have a truly inclusive recruitment process, a company's employee value proposition (EVP) should allow for radical flexibility. What does radical flexibility mean?
"I think it's easy enough to have people acknowledge the importance of, strategic and inclusive approach to recruitment, but it can seem very difficult to actually get people to actually, genuinely adopt it. I think that's more so because when they realise the work, the time, but also the cost associated with it. You can slowly see this barrier going up between sort of saying it's important and actually doing something about it. Do people understand the importance? Yes, Are they always adopting it on the whole, I don't think they are, and if they do adopt it, do they generally get a specialist in to help them? I don't think that's always the case."
Rohan Shah
Head to the podcast to listen ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript
Sudha: Good morning, Rohan. Wonderful to meet you again after a couple of weeks
Rohan: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it, Sudha.
Sudha: So let's start with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Rohan: Sure. Okay. So I'm Rohan, I'm responsible along with my business partner for the overall growth and direction of Reuben Sinclair, which is your traditional recruitment consultancy. But also RS Engage, which is very much a HR and talent management consultancy on the recruitment agency side. We have a vision to introduce exceptional PR, marketing sales and digital professionals to businesses around the world, whilst also changing that sort of traditional recruitment practice.
And on the RS engage side we have specialist HR consultants go out and advise small to medium enterprises on their HR practices, but also put in place specific practical work for them, but also help a number of global clients transform their talent acquisition and sort of retention strategies with a particular focus on inclusive and accessible recruitment.
Sudha: That's interesting. So how did you get into recruitment?...
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Shownotes
The Elephant in the Room podcast was in hibernation in December and January. We are back this week with our first episode of the year with the indomitable Ritika Wadhwa. Ritika Wadhwa is a strategic advisory board member for British Transport Police, is a Fellow at the Society of Leadership Fellows, Windsor Castle, a Board Director and Trustee of the 5% club. But, above all of that she is an accomplished, kind and hugely generous person - opening up her networks to all who need it (including me). There is a beautiful story behind the name of her consultancy Prabhaav Global and also her brand colours (listen to the podcast to know more).
She is one of the many people I follow on LinkedIn and early last year I invited her to be a guest on my podcast. By the time we actually recorded the podcast episode it was October (I think) - the timing was perfect though. She had taken a proverbial leap of faith and launched her consultancy Prabhaav Global - on a mission to cultivate cultural intelligence amongst individuals and organisations. When we finally caught up we spoke about cultural intelligence, her journey to entrepreneurship, working with a global brand like ASOS, intent and impact, culture and identity, leadership and much much moreโฆโฆ
โWhen I decided to call it Prabhaav Global, a lot of people were giving me their feedback to say, why make it difficult? And I said, difficult for who? Because Prabhaav speaks to me. Prabhav means impact in Hindi. And thatโs what I want to do. Thatโs me, thatโs my identity. Thatโs my language. And Iโm done with fitting in. Iโm done with trying to be someone Iโm not yet again. So I said, thatโs it. Iโm going to call it Prabhaav Global. The colours of the company are going to be turmeric because I love yellow. Itโs my favourite spice and turmeric is the spice that transforms everything that it touches, thats I want to achieve through Prabhaav Global, transformational leadership, transformational behavioursโ Ritika Wadhwa
Like to know more, head to the podcast ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode transcript
Sudha: Good afternoon, Ritika. Wonderful to have you as a guest today on The Elephant in the Room podcast. Thank you for being here.
Ritika: Youโre most welcome. Thank you for having me, Sudha. This has been something that I have been excited to be on for a while.
Sudha: Yeah, weโve been planning this for some time. So to start with can you give us a quick introduction to who you are and what you do?
Ritika: Sure. So I am Ritika Wadhwa. I am the CEO and founder of Prabhaav Global. Prabhaav means impact in Hindi and thatโs what Iโm here for, impact, impactful work and using the transformative power of cultural intelligence for impactful leadership.
Besides that, I also sit on the strategic advisory board of British Transport Police. Iโm a leadership fellow at Windsor Castle and also a trustee at the 5 percent Club. All of this to say that really grateful to be here on this conversation with you talking about everything that weโre going to talk about and Iโm excited about that.
Sudha: Brilliant. So how and when did you decide to focus on cultural intelligence? Was it, a natural pathway to the work that you were doing because Iโve seen youโve had varied experience or did you just wander into it, you know, and you were good at it.
Ritika: Oh, I donโt know about good. Itโs definitely been a journey.
So I was born and...
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Shownotes:
I talk a lot about women, mothers/carers, mid-career professionals, and leadership. Of course, these are intersecting identities that coalesce at different points in life to create additional barriers for working women. We are not even talking about race, disability, ethnicity, ageism etc. And I talk about these issues because I was squeezed out of what I thought should have been a fulfilling career. What happened to me, does not have to happen to others, and so the aspiration is to get women to understand where the barriers may lie and be more intentional about their journey. For my part, would it have helped if there were more women in leadership at the time, women for whom their careers were as important as their personal lives? I definitely think so.
I wish I had known a lot of the women, I know now - at that time. Amongst those who have been an inspiration for me in my second innings as the founder of a purpose led consultancy are Nicky Regazzoni and Georgina Blizzard ๐ฉโ๐ป of The PR Network. So, I was delighted when they agreed to be guests on The Elephant in the Room podcast.
Both, Nicky and George are trail blazers championing flexible, remote working and job shares when they set up The PR Network 18 years ago. That The PR Network is a B-Corp and thriving says something about the model (family first) - that it works. At a time when women are still struggling to find support and balance or make it to leadership positions - The PR Network is a testament to their belief in the model. In the world we inhabit today (back to controlling location and time), we definitely need more role models and allies who have the bravery and imagination to do things differently - if we want women to thrive.
Massive congratulations to both Georgina Blizzard ๐ฉโ๐ป and Nicky Regazzoni, for winning the inaugural Global Women in Public Relations and International Communications Consultancy Organisation Angela Oakes Award. For those who donโt know, the award recognises those who have smashed glass ceilings and changed the game for empowering female leadership, making a significant contribution to improving the landscape for women working in PR.
Their 18 year journey has been a journey of learning but also inspiring to say the least. Head to the podcast to hear Georgina Blizzard ๐ฉโ๐ป and Nicky Regazzoni talk about values, purpose, creating...
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Shownotes:
A couple of months back I spoke with Marcia La Rose, Group People and Diversity Director, Four Agency Worldwide. Her story is uplifting - she has been at the agency for over 2 decades with over a decade in leadership roles and has been heavily involved in the agencyโs acquisition of B-Corp status.
In our freewheeling conversation we spoke about her journey as a woman leader from the global majority, her learnings from the journey. We also spoke about๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ How the role of HR has transformed in the past couple of years, and the biggest challenges and opportunities
๐๐พ Post COVID workplace, the future of work for our industry - if remote/hybrid working is done for or here to stay
๐๐พ Her views on whether HR should drive purpose and culture in an organisation
๐๐พ Inclusive/equitable culture and steps to creating it
๐๐พ The importance of goal setting and measurement for culture change programme
๐๐พ What the industry can do to increase representation of the global majority in the C-Suite/Leadership teams
We also spoke about what the Elephant in the room is for her and much, more. I cannot thank Marcia enough for her generosity in making time from her busy schedule for this conversation.
To listen more, head to the podcast in the link below:
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning, Marcia. Wonderful to have you on The Elephant in the Room podcast today. I am tuning in from Gurgaon, India. So it's afternoon here.
Marcia: Great stuff. Brilliant. I'm in London, so it's morning here.
Sudha: So to get started, give us a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Marcia: Okay, so I'm Marcia LaRose. I am the head of HR at Four Agency Worldwide. I've been at Four for 20 years now. I am actually an accountant, so when I joined Four I was their accountant. Oh, well I was the whole finance team. And the company was very small then maybe 15 employees. So at that point, it was quite manageable to look after suppliers and clients and paying staff and the like, so that was all absolutely fine, but as the business grew, it was found that I had particularly good people skills by others, I must add.
Marcia: And so I moved into HR, and I've been in HR probably now for about... 12 or 15 years, and I still look after a lot of things to do with money. So I work really closely with the group finance director, and I still look after the salaries and tax issues, student loan issues, those sorts of things. Aside from that I was heavily involved in Four acquiring its B Corp status and I actively work to ensure we are continually improving on that. And separately again, I am a fellow at the PRCA and I am an immigration advisor at the Home Office. So that's what I do.
Sudha: Oh my God. Wow. You definitely have your plate full.
Marcia: Yeah. I like to be busy. Keeps me out of trouble, I think. Yeah.
Sudha: So as a woman leader from the global majority, how easy or difficult has career progression been for you? From the sound of it, it looks like you, managed to find some good people along the way, or?
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Shownotes
I recently spoke with Kirsty Leighton Founder and Managing Partner of award winning consultancy Milk & Honey PR, the highest scoring B Corp global communications agency in the world. As someone who speaks so much about purpose, it is always a great learning opportunity for me to engage with people/founders who believe in the power of purpose.
In this freewheeling chat with Kirsty Leighton we spoke about the meaning of purpose and how it manifests itself in business conduct, engagement with stakeholders and sustainable practices. We also spoke about bravery, setting up a business in her mid-40s, building an agency that behaved differently ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ The Elephant in the Room for the industry - poor diversity and social mobility
๐๐พ Addressing challenges facing the industry including the disruptions around new technology, upskilling the talent pool and also changing the traditional agency model
๐๐พ What comms professionals can do to maintain their seat at the table
๐๐พ The drivers for transitioning from LLP to an employee ownership trust
๐๐พ B-Corp certification, as a path to betterment, external validation and respect
๐๐พ What leaders are doing to prepare for the future of work - including dealing with hybrid, new technology, mental health, work life balance etcโฆ.
And much more.
Link to the podcast episode in comments ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript
Sudha: Good afternoon, Kirsty. Thank you for being a guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Kirsty: Lovely to be invited. Thank you so much.
Sudha: Okay, so let's jump right in. Give us a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Kirsty: So my name is Kirsty Leighton. I am the founder and I've given myself the very exalted title of Group CEO of Milk and Honey PR. An organisation that I set up six and a half years ago. So six and a half years ago, with just me, with my almost 30 years experience now we've been able to grow that from just me in six years to now 50 people in three continents and four offices.
Sudha: Wow. That's amazing. So when and why did you decide to launch your own consultancy? Did you have an aha moment? I know that women are fairly risk averse and often when they take that first step, it's because they're not satisfied with what is happening in the workplace, or there's some sense of dissatisfaction.
Kirsty: Well, that was absolutely the case. I was incredibly fortunate that in the last 25 years prior to starting Milk and Honey, I had worked for some amazing, always PR agencies. So I'd always been on the agency side. And I'd learned an awful lot during that time. I got the opportunity to work in lots of different types of PR, but what I found is that sometimes the intention of what an organisation's policy was looking to achieve was perhaps slightly missed in practice.
Kirsty: And there was just these little niggly bits where I could see what the intention was, but the practical delivery wasn't quite delivering it. So my last role, which was at Hudson Sandler before I'd set up Milk and Honey, they were actually coming out, they were doing a management buyout from Huntsworth, and I just thought actually, do you know what? Do I really want to wed my future to this organisation as brilliant as it was? I was there as MD for five years and thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought, actually, do you know what now is the time, if I'm going to do something on my own, to do it.
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SHOWNOTES:
How does context help up define and be comfortable with who we are?
In a recent conversation with Akin Thomas we spoke the role of context and how it helps us define our identity. We also spoke about his entrepreneurial streak, how the Johnson and Johnson credo inspired him to define it for his business. In this very thought provoking and sometimes difficult conversation we also spoke about ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ Organisational consciousness - the sweet spot, where an organisationโs intention and impact goes beyond their need
๐๐พ Leadership - as an energy and force for change and the need for leaders to have long term vision as opposed to a tactical approach
๐๐พ His optimism about progress on DEI in the UK, and belief that senior leaders are more authentic and genuine than ever before about the desire for change. The recognition of the existing fear (resistance to change) within active resistors
๐๐พ #Tell your story project that was commissioned by UK Sport, Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Northern and Sport Scotland to research Race and Racism in Sport
๐๐พ The terrible reality that there are more alternative structures in sports now than in the 1950s when our forefathers came to the country.
๐๐พ That nobody, absolutely nobody feels that it is worth investing in the cost of discrimination, the cost of belittling people, the cost of crushing peopleโs lives.
๐๐พ His advice to organisations seeking to be more authentic โstop looking at what others are doing, look within and get a real sense of what it means to you as an organisation.
If you would like to listen more, head to the podcastโฆ.๐๐พ๐๐พ
โAnd if you don't have context, it's very easy to be pulled in so many different directions. So as a child, I grew up in a place called xxxxxxxx, which was the largest council estate in Europe. I was one of very few black kids. I was the only black kid that went to school from 5 to 16. I didn't see anybody else other than myself. And I was void of context because I was fostered from six weeks old. And therefore I am this black child in the middle of this extremely white space. I knew I was different. I felt different. I didn't get a sense of belonging, but I didn't know what the context was because I just knew I was not within the right context.โ
PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Sudha: Good afternoon, Akin. Thank you for being a guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Akin: Yeah. Hi, how you doing?
Sudha: I'm fine. Thank you. Okay. Let's get started with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Akin: Okay. So my name is Akin Thomas. I am the founder and CEO of AKD Solutions. We are an organisation of change consultancy.
Akin: So we focus on three areas of business, which is research, learning and development, which is our core and consultancy services. We have evolved over the years and I've gone from a local brand to an international brand and the planet's become our global brand.
Sudha: That's amazing. So have you always been entrepreneurial? And what made you get on that journey?
Akin: Okay. I think the answer is, it was there. I used to...
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Shownotes
A while ago I invited Samantha Ndiwalana, a Senior Researcher at World Benchmarking Alliance to talk about the pivotal role of the private sector in meeting the SDGs. The WBA maps 2000 of the worlds most influential companies. The influence is staggering, the companies have over $36.5 trillion in revenue and employ more than 97 million people across 85 countries.
How are these companies identified? It starts with looking at the seven transformations needed to meet UN SDGs: Social, Food and Agriculture, Decarbonisation and Energy, Nature, Digital, Urban and Financial. The WBA then go on to identify the 2000 keystone companies within these industries based on 5 principles that goes beyond just size and also looks at impact and influence
It is a tall order to challenging the prevailing bias that leading companies are based only in Western countries or the global north to ensure that the right companies are included in that list. Samantha and I discussed this and more in our conversation
๐๐พ Why is there less representation from the global south? Is it because we equate size with influence
๐๐พ Engaging with the power and influence of state owned entities
๐๐พ We discussed a recent report that spoke about โemerging markets have longer runaway and steeper slope for SDG improvementโ (according to an American PE firm)?
๐๐พ The big emerging challenge: the sustainability information gap
๐๐พ The reality that companies from developing markets generally receive limited funding to support SDG focused investments
๐๐พ Are companies from developing countries less sustainable or is it a measurement issue?
We also discussed why achieving SDGs in emerging markets is set to become more important going forward - it is fairly straightforward actuallyโฆโฆโฆ..
To listen to the episode head to the link in the comments ๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good morning Samantha. Thank you for being a guest on The Elephant in the room Podcast today.
Samantha: Good morning, Sudha. It's great to be here. Thank you for having me.
Sudha: Let's just get started with the questions. Give us a quick introduction to who you are and what you do at the WBA.
Samantha: Yes, gladly.
Samantha: So I work as a senior researcher and company engagement lead at the WBA. My focuses are digital inclusion and that's looking at some of the world's most influential tech companies, how well, or maybe not so well they're doing in terms of making sure technology is ethical, fair, safe, sustainable for everyone.
My other focus is the SDG 2000, and we'll speak a bit about that today. And that is the universe of companies that we look at, at the WBA. So, managing that list, putting it together, and just making sure it's representative of an ever changing world.
Sudha: How critical is the private sector to meeting the SDGs? We are now in the decade of reporting so to speak and there are not too many years before we get to 2030. How critical is the private sector to meeting the SDGs?
Samantha: Oh, I would say they're quite pivotal. So if the central promise of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, around which the Sustainable Development Goals are planned, if the central promise of that is to leave no one behind, then one of the ways we get there is by leaving no company...
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Shownotes:
As a podcast host I meet so many inspiring people - I recently met with Neha Arora, who quit her job after working for nearly a decade in the private sector to set up Planet Abled (2016) with a vision to make travel/tourism accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. Today, Planet Abled has grown to become a destination developer and ecosystem enabler.
Her business is rooted in authenticity, a gap in the market identified because of her lived experience. As a child she and parents (her mother is a wheel chair user and her father is blind) did not go on holidays or travel, she naively attributed it to not having enough money. Travelling with her parents when she started working opened her eyes to the reality - they chose not to travel due to the societal stigmas around disability and also inaccessibility at every stage of the travel journey.
In this eye opening episode we spoke about the series of side hustles Neha had before Planet Abled, the Indian travel and tourism landscape (from an accessibility lens), societal prejudice, assumptions that people with disabilities do not work or have money, that it is ok for make decisions on their behalf, lack of vision by investorsโฆโฆ.๐๐พ๐๐พ๐๐พ
๐๐พ Quitting her job and becoming an entrepreneur
๐๐พ The need to mainstream accessible and inclusive travel, and not create a parallel industry
๐๐พ Census data and the reality that people with disabilities are hidden in Indian society
๐๐พ The demand and actual numbers of people with disabilities travelling
๐๐พ Awareness, attitudes and affordability - the three Aโs that influence travel decision
๐๐พ The biggest challenges facing the industry
๐๐พ Policy and legislation
๐๐พ What accessible and inclusive travel/tourism would look like in an ideal world.
We also spoke about travel and tourism industry workforce training and sensitisation, the challenges she facing running her business, role models and what drives her.
To listen to the episode head to Apple podcasts or any other podcasting platform.
Episode Transcript:
Sudha: Good afternoon, Neha. Thank you for making time to be a guest on The Elephant in The Room podcast today.
Neha: Thank you so much Sudha for inviting me and I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Sudha: Brilliant, To get started, let's start with a quick introduction. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Neha: Well, I'm Neha Arora and I'm the founder of Planet Abled, which makes tourism accessible and inclusive for persons with disabilities and the elderly. And I started because of my own personal experiences, because I never travelled as a child. And my parents who are now in their seventies and eighties, they never travelled until a few years ago. So after I started earning, the first thing I did was to save some money and travel, only to be disappointed by the inaccessibility and the societal stigmas related to it.
Neha: So we started off as a travel service provider and gradually grew up into a destination developer and an ecosystem enabler where we help businesses as well to become accessible and inclusive.
Sudha: Okay, that's very interesting. So you've said a bit about what PlanetAbled is. So it's very difficult, I understand when you start on your professional journey to actually quit a good job...
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