A Dog Called Diversity

So yes you might be wondering what I’m doing with a woman in this series.....after all it was supposed to be all men!

I actually had planned a pretty special and personal episode planned for the last episode of this series with men, but after I heard this persons story I wanted them to go away and think about what they want to share and maybe what they don’t want to share. I know this sounds mysterious but I want to make sure all my guests feel safe when they tell their story and I wasn’t sure if this guest was going to feel this way when the episode was realeased. 

I hope to bring you this story a little later….maybe in series 3, but for the time being I decided I couldn’t wait to introduce you to Lisa Cox.

She’s Australian, smart, articulate and attractive. She’s a writer and content creator, and a model (she actually models for one of my favourite bloggers Nikki Parkinson who has the fashion label Styling You. Lisa is also an educator and advocate for people with disabilities, having acquired physical and invisible disabilities herself. 

We talked about her story, about covid, inspiration porn (I learnt a new term), about dating, travel and about being grateful.  You can get in contact with her for work here or check out her instagram here.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

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Sudesh Thevasenabathy is the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Asia at Manulife based in Hong Kong. He is a true believer and advocate of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and with customers, and has been actively works and speaks in supporting inclusion of all forms be it disability, race, gender, sexuality and multigenerational employees. 

In 2019 he won the Hong Kong LGBT+ Ally Award and then was named as part of the 2019 Global Top 50 OUTstanding Ally Executive Role Models and he only started working in a diversity and inclusion role 6 months ago. 

While diversity and inclusion roles have been around for a while, particularly in the United States, there hasn’t been a massive number of people doing these roles in Asia. Now in the wake of Black Lives Matter, George Floyd’s death and Covid-19 we have seen a massive shift towards organisations realising they haven’t done enough and scrambling to employ leadership roles in this space.

Sudesh is a great example of how you can take the leadership and other skills you have learnt throughout your career and apply them to something new that has purpose and meaning.  If you too are thinking you would like to work in Diversity and Inclusion, you will learn lots from my conversation with Sudesh.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

I had the most fun speaking with Jaco van der Merwe. I wished I could meet him in person and share a bottle of wine with him and his husband. Both from South Africa, they decided a few years ago they wanted to move countries for a better life and more opportunities. But to where?

From that point they worked up the criteria, set up a spreadsheet and got to reviewing countries for their next home. An important consideration was a place that is safe for LGBTIQ+ people and a place where they could have a family.  I loved learning about their decision process, but also how they met each other and got married, how they have worked together, and how they set goals each year for their life together. So where did they end up moving to? Dive in and listen.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

2020 taught us a lot of things. Predominantly I think we learnt how important health is and what we need to prioritise in life. In fact while Covid-19 was a serious physical health issue, it was our mental health that truly came into the spotlight as being under threat. 

My guest this episode Nicholas Patrick has his own successful podcast where he talks to all sorts of people about what it takes to be resilient. It was great to turn the tables and learn his story. 

He talks to me about his mental health, the depression he has suffered, how he considered suicide, the importance of being in control of your own destiny and how workplaces can make adjustments to help people suffering from mental health issues. 

His recovery led him to be part of a nationwide Singapore government campaign promoting and supporting mental health. He was famous across billboards and bus stops!

It's my hope that his openness to sharing his story will help many others, particularly as the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic continues. His journey to stronger mental health led him to start Ekho Academy to help organizations approach the topic of mental health and wellness with care. Nicholas has the most beautiful soul and I think this comes through in our conversation.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

Sometimes your career takes you to places you never expected, like Uganda, where Ross Burrage found himself visiting often as the Finance and Sustainability Manager at the Cotton On Foundation. Based from Australia the Cotton On Foundation funds projects to empower youth globally through the delivery of quality educational projects.

If you have ever been in a Cotton On store (or one of their other brands; Cotton On Body, Cotton On Kids, Typo or Rubi), you will be familiar with the staff asking if you would like to buy a bottle of water, or maybe a bag to support the Cotton On Foundation when making a purchase.  In the past I have always refused because I didn’t need more “stuff”. But after learning about the incredible work the Cotton On Foundation does I will always buy something to support their efforts. Recently the Cotton on Foundation raised AUD 10 million dollars from the sale of masks  which will support kids to stay healthy and remain in school.

Watch the fantastic videos showcasing the incredible work they are doing.

When travelling to Uganda, Ross a self confessed cycling nut, would take his bicycle to get out on the weekends. When he noticed he was being overtaken by talented local cyclists on much heavier and much more basic bikes he wondered what he could do.   He started out by asking his cycling mates back in Melboure if they had any bikes lying around that they would be willing to donate, and started muling* these to Uganda on his trips……next think you know he has founded the Masaka Cycling Club in southern Uganda. And now he is building a clubhouse and needs your support. Humans can do amazing things can’t they?

If that wasn’t enough Ross has his own podcast called The Hidden Athlete if you’d like to hear more from him.

*A mule or courier is someone who personally smuggles contraband across a border (as opposed to sending by mail, etc.). In this case Ross was using his business class luggage allowance to transport bikes into Uganda for talented local cyclists.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

So I’m going to be honest. I kinda stalked Andee Chua late in 2020 to be a guest on my podcast. There aren’t too many “out” gay men in Singapore and I saw him as a bit of an activist* due to a joyous photo of Andee and his boyfriend.  The photo was for a campaign for the W hotel to promote staycations and support the queer community in September 2020. The campaign went viral on social media and we saw the good and the bad of Singapore society.

You see same-sex sexual activity between males is illegal in Singapore, even if it is consensual and takes place in private. This law is generally not well enforced however because same-sex relationships are not recognized under the law, there are many challenges for LGBTIQ+ people including not being able to marry, not being able to adopt children as a couple and not having anti-discrimination protection under law.

We started the conversation by talking about this law and then went on to the challenges of growing up gay when there isn’t many role models around, coming out to your family, being out and proud on social media and why representation matters.

Andee is passionate about building and supporting culture and community, and so created Kampung Collective to be a platform for learning, and sharing of knowledge and to embrace diversity.  

 *side note: I have since learnt that Andee refers to himself as a representative, not an activist and we talk about the difference in our conversation….

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

Many people have said to me, Black Lives Matter is just a US thing. It doesn’t affect me. The thing is that racism is a global problem for many people, no matter where they live or what their race or ethnicity is.

Michael Lints grew up in the Netherlands, was educated in the US and lives in Singapore. He has not been immune to the racism targeted at Black people.  In 2020 Michael wrote a blog post called “I am exhausted and want you to know why” where he explains his families and his own experience with racism.

 As a result of that blog post many people asked him “what can I do” and in response to that he is producing a documentary called “Broken Chains” Broken chains will provide insight into one of the larger issues amongst people of color: access to opportunity and the generation of wealth.

 Michael is an example of how we can all be leaders and make a contribution and a difference in the world. I was so grateful to have this conversation with Michael, and I hope that it helps go some way to build understanding around the impacts of racism.           

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

I had the best time chatting to Scott Stuart. His energy and enthusiasm for his work is infectious and this comes through in our discussion. It’s rare to meet a man who has immersed himself so fully into the  world of gender stereotypes and helping kids, especially boys, to be confident to be themselves.

It all started when he took his son Colin to see Frozen II (the movie), both wearing Elsa dresses. Who doesn’t want to be Elsa? A photo of father and son went viral and inspired a purpose and a passion, and a real life connection with Kristen Bell, who plays Anna in the Frozen movies.  Cool right?

Scott is now a best selling author of children’s books and wrote My Shadow is Pink in response to his son liking things  “not for boys”.  How to be a Real Man is his latest book dismantling the typical stereotypes for what is means to be a man. He encourages boys to embrace who they truly are in this empowering and funny story, smashing age-old assumptions about what it means to be a man. 

Apart from gender stereotypes we talked male toxicity, dealing with kids in the playground, building confident kids and our own biases. I just know you are going to love this episode. 

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

Welcome to the second series of A Dog Called Diversity. A podcast where we explore the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion through sharing stories of personal and powerful lived experiences. 

Before I tell you what’s coming up, I wanted to thank everyone for your amazing support for my first series. During the eight episodes we learnt about:

• having a child with dwarfism
• race and raising bi-racial children in the wake of the events of 2020
• equality in marriage and in careers
• raising twins, moving countries and being a female breadwinner
• the first Malay to attend Harvard Law School 
• the different experiences of immigrants versus expats, and finished with 
• a parents worst fear coming true which led to a different career

My first series was filled with an incredible group of women who were willing to open up and talk to me about their experiences. Thank you all. 

 In my second series I’m talking to just men. Amazing and incredible men, doing amazing and incredible things to help make the world a more inclusive place.

I’m kicking off with children’s book author and gender stereotype activist Scott Stuart. He has a fantastic Frozen (the movie) story which led him to be on a first name basis with Kristen Bell. I mean can you even?

I loved my discussion with Venture Capitalist Michael Lints, who’s journey with racism and the events of 2020 led him to produce a documentary called Broken Chains.

I felt privileged that Andee Chua was willing to share with me what it was like growing up gay in Singapore,  where same-sex relationships are not recognised under law, and where sex between men is illegal.

Aussie Ross Burrage started a cycling club in Uganda to support and encourage talented cyclists to compete on the world stage, while undertaking his job as the Finance and Sustainability Manager of The Cotton On Foundation.

Nicholas Patrick featured in a Singapore government campaign to support Singaporeans with mental health issues,  and told me his own story about his experience with depression.

And I spoke with the wonderfully entertaining Jaco van der Merwe about how he and his husband choose to move to

Thanks for listening. Follow up on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did recording it. I met Toni Catton a little while ago, actually back in 2006 when we both worked at Coca-Cola Amatil. We have kept in touch through Facebook, which is how I knew that last year, on the 27th September, Toni’s youngest daughter Alana passed away from mitochondrial disease, at 7 years of age.

I have recorded a unique introduction so I could tell you how this conversation came about. 

This episode is about Alana, mitochondrial disease and how your career can take you in a direction you never expected. If you would like to know more about the Mito Foundation click here and if you would like to donate click here.

My family and I are doing the Bloody Long Virtual Walk 1 - 10th March 2021 for Act for Alana raising money for the Mito Foundation. Our team goal is $3,000 I would love your support. 

Please enjoy this very special episode.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...