Racism at Work Podcast

Football and racism have been making headlines lately, and thanks to social media, players are beginning to speak up against racism. Is football just another workplace where modern racism is prevalent? How can we make sure that this discussion doesn’t end up as meaningless hashtags and campaigns, but translate into action? Vivienne Aiyela, Tajean Hutton and John Barnes all join me for this passionate and fascinating discussion. “Pivotal parts of history have never been addressed, never been answered. People are expected to just move on with it.” – Tajean Hutton Vivienne Aiyela is a diversity & inclusion consultant and Non Executive Director at the London Football Association. Tajean Hutton is the grassroots manager at the anti-discrimination campaign and charity Kick it Out, and the president of the local grassroots club AFC London. John Barnes MBE, a Former England international, joined me for the second part of the podcast. We cover a wide range of topics, including: How much sport mirrors society Is t

Harry and I discussed the role AI has to play in the future of our workplaces and how our bias (conscious or unconscious) can be directly transferred into its algorithms. We also asked how, in order to combat this growing threat, we can all improve our knowledge of the issue and reduce the likelihood of these biases taking hold. "We’ve got to ensure that when we’re training algorithms to make decisions on our behalf that we’re not giving it biased training that we can’t undo. " - Harry Gaskell Harry Gaskell is the Chief Innovation Officer and a Partner at EY UK&I. He is also a Chair at the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei). You can follow Harry on LinkedIn. We cover a wide range of topics, including: How AI can be used to empower our workplace. Could be AI be fairer than humans? Sources of bias for AI we need to combat What is required to properly train unbiased AI Challenges of undoing bias in AI Can AI facilitate a fair selection of senior leaders? Examples of how AI can fail to tel

Jason and I discussed how racism is still shockingly prevalent on university campuses and is keenly felt by both students and staff. Increased reporting and social media access may even make it feel as though it's getting worse. With simple, clear steps towards progress, funding in the right areas, collective awakening to the extent of the problems, it's something that can be addressed in an intersectional way. "You're asking the oppressed to relieve themselves of their own burden. It doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever." - Dr. Jason Arday Dr Jason Arday is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Roehampton University, School of Education, a Visiting Research Fellow at The Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading Race Equality Thinktank. We cover a wide range of topics, including: Why is racism at universities still so prevalent, what are the conditions that allow this to happen? What's the impact of racism on BAME students? The role

When should we start teaching children about racism, is it ever too early? Young people are living in the same world; they learn about racial difference regardless. Is proper education about racism and its origins the key to unpicking it? Karen Murphy and I discussed how racism shaped history and how it permeates our lives as adults. "In history there are victims, there are perpetrators, and there are people who don’t do anything. Bystanders have shaped history by their inaction." - Karen Murhpy Karen Murphy is the Director of International Strategy for Facing History and Ourselves. Karen is immersed in a longitudinal study of adolescents from divided societies with identity-based conflicts (South Africa, Northern Ireland, and the United States), and the ways these young people develop as civic actors, including the factors that impede and support their development. We cover a wide range of topics, including: Identity and belonging: the role they play in the development of societies. The idea of racism throu

In the second episode of the Racism at Work podcast we discussed the qualities, stereotypes and accountability associated with leadership, before delving into the lack of BAME representation at senior level. The role organisations need their leaders to play to drive the vital change we need to have the right conversations, treat diversity as a priority and how effective things like mentorships, sponsorship and networks can be in accelerating development. “Stereotypical image of a leader? We call them ‘snowy white peaks’. People working in that organisation must see those images and think one has to be like that to make it.” – Tola Ayoola Tola Ayoola, is the META Programme Lead at the Cabinet Office. You can connect with Tola on LinkedIn. Chika Aghadiuno, Group Risk Strategy & Analysis Director at Aviva and you can follow her updates on LinkedIn as well. We cover a wide range of topics, including: “Leadership prototypes: how they shape our expectations and assumptions in terms of how leaders should be rol

Micro-incivilities by their name are small but have a cumulative effect on the individual. Kiran, Rob and I talk about and how they affect self-esteem, how perpetrators may not even realise they're doing it, making them problematic to identify, report and address. Is the workplace ready - equipped with the knowledge, understanding and language - to even have this conversation yet? "Until we regard our BAME staff networks as business-critical entities, we will fall short of what our business is capable of." - Rob Neil OBE Kiran Daurka is a Discrimination & employment lawyer and Partner at Leigh Day. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. Rob Neil OBE is the Chair of the Ministry of Justice UK Diverse Leaders Taskforce. Rob is present on LinkedIn. We cover a wide range of topics, including: Kiran and Rob's witnessing or experiencing this type of behaviour in and outside the workplace. How aware people in the workplace usually are about micro-incivilities. Are BAME people more likely to be aware of them? Are