The Inclusion Exchange

Sanisha Wynter, TEDx Speaker and D&I Consultant talks about why intersectionality matters.

Sanisha Wynter talks about her experience with discrimination growing up, how to talk about intersectionality, the impact of covering, facing the barriers to health services, and actions that have either been beneficial or fallen short in the workplace.

Timestamp Segments

·        [09:53] A bit about Sanisha.

·        [19:05] Striving for belonging.

·        [22:26] Intersectionality.

·        [25:37] How to get to talking about intersectionality.

·        [31:40] Identity covering.

·        [39:26] Barriers to health services.

·        [49:08] Navigating maternity.

·        [51:31] Actions that have been beneficial and/or fallen short.

Notable Quotes

·        “The jacket has to fit us.”

·        “Oppression can exist separately, but it can also exist in combination.”

·        “We have to be very clear with who we’re talking about to ensure that we aren’t leaving anyone behind.”

·        “[Covering] is hard, and it’s draining, and it impacts people’s mental health.”

·        “It’s more helpful to demonstrate your allyship through consistent actions.”

·        “Education is up to you, and nobody else.”

Resources

Anoushé Husain, Guinness World Record-Holding paraclimber talks about the ways in which organisations are narrowing the disability employment gap.

Anoushé talks about the stigmatisation of disabilities, how the views of disability are changing, her experiences becoming a wheelchair user, defining disabilities, where to find support, how to create safety in the workplace, positive initiatives that everyone can learn from, and her journey into paraclimbing.

Timestamp Segments

· [04:36] Anoushé’s origin story.

· [09:02] Challenging the norm.

· [11:17] How the views of disability are changing.

· [15:50] New restrictions on Anoushé since becoming a wheelchair user.

· [18:06] The disability employment gap.

· [23:53] Intersectionality.

· [28:20] What support is out there?

· [30:46] Creating safety in a workplace.

· [36:33] Barriers to representation.

· [42:00] Positive initiatives.

· [45:23] Why many organisations are not implementing changes.

· [51:30] Anoushé’s paraclimbing.

Notable Quotes

· “The norm is wrong.”

· “I reckon declaration rates are really low because people are really uncomfortable declaring still.”

· “Often people don’t want to declare it because they don’t actually know what it means.”

· “You can be who you want to be. You just need the right tools to enable that.”

· “The wall remains the same. It’s only you who changes.”

Resources

We bring you Ayo Barley, MD of Bakare Barley, in an interview on The Culture Pot with Martin Morrison.

Ayo talks about her experiences growing up, the Bradford Race Riots, the New Leaders Network, the strong movement for changing the norms, breaking the cycle of under-representation, and the rise of the “woke” rhetoric against progress.

Timestamp Segments

· [01:15] A bit about Ayo.

· [03:05] Ayo’s background.

· [07:21] Ayo’s confidence.

· [14:47] After university.

· [17:28] Effective actions taken after the Bradford Race Riots.

· [23:42] New Leaders Network.

· [26:00] Changing the norms.

· [31:36] Early projects at New Leaders Network.

· [33:54] From New Leaders Network to Bakare Barley.

· [36:04] The spectrum of organisations.

· [39:52] Breaking the cycle.

· [44:04] Resistance to progress.

Notable Quotes

· “Being around people of different faiths, different cultures, different backgrounds from a young age really does benefit you in terms of empathising and understanding.”

· “Facts are powerful.”

· “Providing people with a platform to be able to promote themselves is a really good first step.”

· “It’s important that people in the workforce also know why they’re investing in doing this work.”

· “By putting off equality and diversity, we are spiting ourselves.”

Relevant Links

We bring you Mandeep Rupra, Head of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Citizens Advice, she talk about creating a culture of accountability.

Mandeep talks about taking responsibility for advancing EDI, influencing people to be more accountable, EDI and austerity, getting leaders to make change happen, EDI approaches that do not work, low representation and disclosure, and initiatives that allows Mandeep to continue doing this work.

Timestamp Segments

· [02:25] Mandeep’s origin story.

· [06:35] The most positive and most difficult parts of Mandeep’s story.

· [10:21] The importance of EDI accountability.

· [14:09] What can stop people from feeling accountable?

· [16:23] What influences people to be more accountable?

· [23:34] Initiatives that Mandeep is proud of.

· [30:55] Will EDI be able to thrive in the next few years?

· [36:50] How to get leaders to make change happen.

· [40:38] Approaches that Mandeep does not recommend.

· [46:19] Disclosure and low representation.

· [48:44] What Mandeep has created that allows her to continue doing this work.

Notable Quotes

· “We are all socialised to have a level of privilege and power depending on what our identities are.”

· “We all are accountable for advancing EDI.”

· “Joy is an act of resistance.”

· “If you are not feeling uncomfortable, you are not doing this work.”

· “You don’t want the number to undermine what you’re trying to change.”

· “We are all change agents because we all have a role to play.”

Relevant Links

We bring you Joseph Harker, Senior Editor of Diversity and Development at The Guardian, he talks about using positive action to transform workplace cultures.

Joseph talks about institutional racism, how he demonstrated to senior leadership that they were reenforcing institutional racism, the kinds of barriers that restrict diversity and inclusion, trans issues at The Guardian, The Guardian’s culture shift, and how to help support different sections if you have limited resources.

Timestamp Segments

· [01:58] Getting into what Joseph does.

· [08:40] The most positive moments.

· [11:54] The most difficult experiences on Joseph’s journey.

· [17:44] Demonstrating to senior leadership that they were reenforcing institutional racism?

· [24:17] Barriers and experiences that can restrict diversity and inclusion.

· [27:17] Factors that influence POC going into or leaving journalism.

· [32:08] Intersectionality and trans issues at The Guardian.

· [37:13] Key factors that contributed to culture change at The Guardian.

· [39:42] The most important actions that the media should introduce to create more balance.

· [44:30] Resources to help with EDI.

· [45:39] What needs to be done to help support different sections with limited resources?

Notable Quotes

· “You overcome one obstacle, and all you find is another obstacle.”

· “In order to make change, you can’t alienate the people at the top.”

· “Newness and different-ness rather than oldness and sameness.”

· “There’s a model of diversity as the difference that makes no difference, as the change that brings no change.”

· “Leaders have to reach out to people who are different.”

· “No matter how clever you are, you cannot know what’s going on in the world from your ivory towers.”

Resources