“If all men and women could let men be more gentle, vulnerable and caring, that would be useful”.

What better way to kick-off my podcast series than talk to the articulate and inspirational Inclusion & Diversity thought leader, Brian Ballantyne. Brian is a Senior Program Manager for Inclusion & Diversity at Amazon, father of two and author of the book, Confessions of a Working Father. In this episode, Brian and I discuss the challenges of working from home and parenting from work or PFW, as Brian calls it – a concept that has come into its own following the Covid-19 lockdown (we didn't know this at the time!). We also discuss the notion of the ‘ideal worker’ and the what commitment means to employers today and how it manifests. Brian explains his strategy for work life balance and coping with the demands of being “Mr. Available”.

Brian gives us his personal and honest view on the consequences of gender stereotypes and the importance of psychological safety and a sense of belonging in an organisation. He also offers an insightful link between the climate crisis and an overheating at an individual level through an increase of psychological pressure and overtiredness as downsides of technology.

Together we explore the importance of a change of culture and Brian gives practical tips on how organisations can achieve a caring and inclusive culture as well as how men can be allies to gender equality.

Brian Ballantyne is father to two children (age 13 and 11), and like most working parents he is figuring out how to integrate work and family life. His career has been working for large multinational companies like Heinz, Vodafone and now Amazon, where he started off in Product Marketing and now is a Senior Program Manager for Inclusion & Diversity within the International Technology team. He is a long-time supporter of women’s advancement, and the inclusion of all people, e.g. LGBTQ+, accessibility, etc. With that aim in mind, he wrote a book “Confessions of a Working Father” to encourage more men to invest into active parenthood.

Please do be sure to check out Brian Ballantyne's book - Confessions of a Working Father. All proceeds go to charity.

Follow Brian on his Linkedin page.