Blended

This is the second episode of Let's Talk Supply Chain's brand-new show, Blended.

Blended is all about opening up conversations and giving the mic to all of the underrepresented voices in our industry – women, the LGBTQIA community, people of color, those with disabilities, whether they're visible or hidden, and many more.

Today in Episode 2, 'Story of my Life,' we're going to be delving into our guest's personal stories: the experiences that made them who they are today and the impact, both positive and negative, that those experiences have had on their lives and careers.

[03.23] Introductions to our Blended panelists.

• Madison Mobley – Senior Account Executive at Fairmarkit
• Lamont Robinson – President and CEO at Robinson LaRueCo Consulting, LLC
• Claudia Freed – CEO and President at EALgreen
• Martin Stark – IT Strategic Sourcing Lead at University of Sydney and Founder and CEO World Gay Boxing Championships
• Angie Reno – Director of Procurement, Government Services at Crowley

[09.35] Martin's story; from serious ill health to harnessing his courage, finding his voice and following his own path.

"Our experiences propel us forward." Martin

[12.18] How minorities can find themselves the butt of the joke and often find themselves joining in, in order to fit in and not rock the boat.

• Why we need to keep sharing in order to move the dial of what's appropriate.
• How inappropriate humor, and using jokes to demean, is not particular to one community.
• How we can use these incidents as opportunities to educate and ask questions.
• How jokes can often be a repeated turn of phrase, learned from previous generations, used without truly thinking about or understanding the meaning.

"I'm a black Mormon (which is rare!) so I'd get a lot of those 'jokes;' and if I don't stand up and speak out, I'm doing not only myself a disservice but also anybody else that's at a disadvantage." Lamont

[17.40] Madison's experience as a black woman growing up in the suburbs, and the panelists reflections on language.

"Forums such as this, where we're telling stories and educating each other around all the different flavors of humanity, are so important. And the more we do this, the more visibility we have into one another's real life experiences - and then you can begin to adjust how we speak to one another." Madison

[19.37] Claudia's story, the boardroom experience that opened her eyes and the groups reflections on the power of words.

"It said to me that women are not valued in financial transactions." Claudia

• The implications of words, and the intent behind them.
• The proliferation of casual discrimination in the workplace.
• English as a second language, and understanding nuance and phraseology.

[30.03] Madison's story, how it led to her passion for humanitarianism and the panelists reflections on background, privilege and self-improvement.

• Taking a hard line vs a soft line.
• Using your privilege for good.
• Being an example to others.
• Calling each other out when you need to.
• What it means to fit in, or not fit in.
• The danger of labels and assumptions based on issues like gender, race, religion or sexuality.

[51.55] Angie's story, facing misogyny in the workplace and the groups reflections on behaviors and encouraging change.

• How do you take your experience and learn from it or change it?
• How do we think about gender bias?
• How our experiences impact us and/or change our behavior.
• Our reactions to our experiences, and other people's perceptions of those reactions.

"As women we're in a dichotomy: on one side we have to be assertive and confident, and on the other side we have to be very mindful that we're being watched, in terms of our reactions." Claudia

[70.13] The one piece of advice the panelists would share from their personal stories:

• If you're not aligning, get out! – Angie
• Follow your passion – Lamont
• See color, and seek to understand – Madison
• Have courage, fear nothing and live your life for yourself – Martin
• Believe in yourself – Claudia

You can connect with all of our amazing panelists on LinkedIn - Madison, Claudia, Lamont, Martin and Angie - if you'd like to find out more.

Welcome to Blended! This is a brand new show for Let's Talk Supply Chain and it's going to be a little bit different to what you've heard before.

We talk a lot about the challenges facing our industry as a whole – changing technology, network complexity, surprises like COVID-19 – but what we don't talk as much about is the people. The people that really drive our industry forward. And specifically, the under-represented people in our industry.

I've been flying the flag for women in supply chain for a few years now, through the podcast and some of my other endeavors, but Blended is going to go much further than that. Because it's not just women who are a minority – we need to be thinking about the LGBTQIA community, people of color, those with disabilities, whether they're visible or hidden.

As minorities, we need to join together to support each other and be each other's allies - to ensure we ALL have a seat at the table to make our industry the absolute best it can be.

Today in Episode 1, 'What's in a Name,' we're going to be talking all about the language we use when discussing minorities – what do these words mean to us, and to others; are there right or wrong words to use, and what are the subtexts of those words; and what does diversity, inclusion and identity mean to us.

IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:

[03.29] Introductions to our Blended panelists.

• Prakash M Radhakrishnan – Courier Operations at Toll and award-winning YouTube producer with a focus on disability and mental health.
• Holly Qualman – VP of Marketing and Client Solutions America for Apex Logistics and adopted Korean-American woman, flying the flag for multi-racial unity.
• Matthew Hernandez – General Manger for North America at Xenata and representative of both the LatinX and LGBTQIA communities.
• Hope White – Founder and CEO of HD White Logistics, Founder of Hope White Consulting and Logistically Speaking Online and proud black woman.
• Greg White – Founder of Blue Ridge Global, host of Supply Chain Now and father of daughters, with native American heritage.

[11.23] The word 'minority' and its connotations.

"It's time to think about the world on a global scale." Greg.

• Is it a beneficial or derogatory term?
• Does it perpetuate the feeling of being 'other' or 'less than,' since its technical definition is less than half the whole?
• How does the insistence on labelling people affect mental health and self-esteem?
• How does being a minority affect your goals and ambitions – are they personal to you, or are they developed so you can conform to a societal norm?
• Are we designed to keep each other at arm's length; is the tendency towards segregation a result of evolution – how do we push the reset button on human nature?
• Are labels necessary at all, or are we all just people?

"It's another stage of evolution – before we develop the language for it, we need to understand how we got here." Matthew.

[33.20] What words should we be using specifically for the disability community?

"There's no rulebook – and the disability community feel the same." Prakash

[36.10] The impact of upbringing.

• Why the way that we're raised is so vital – prejudice is learnt, or tackled, at an early age.
• Why we need to support everyone to succeed, and make sure that those at a disadvantage get equal if not greater support.
• The danger in not taking on board peoples experiences and viewpoints because of preconceptions.
• How the use of incorrect labels muddies the water and creates confusion.
• Assumption is ignorance: the importance of being able to continue to interpret and learn.

[44.12] What words should we be using specifically for the LGBTQIA community and people of color?

• Why it's important to take the time to listen.
• How some words have traditionally been used to separate minorities and make them 'an other.'
• Why education is so important.

[55.28] The importance of identity.

"It's not what you're called, it's what you answer to." Hope

• Why we all need to be in charge of our own identities.
• How descriptors have changed over time and the impact that those changes have had.
• Why it's OK to ask, as long as you're asking for the right reason.
• Why we need to pay attention to the nuances of individual identities.
• The responsibility of minorities to educate others.
• The importance of open and honest conversations, that come from a place of empathy and understanding.

[69.09] Today's buzzwords: diversity and inclusion.

So many of us minorities have to jump through so many hoops just to get a small slither of the pie." Hope

• What do these words mean to us?
• Can you have one without the other?
• How the meaning of diversity and inclusion can be influenced by how we're raised, or what we're exposed to on a long-term basis.
• Why diversity and inclusion also need to include processes to build the foundations for education and understanding and promoting acceptance.

Often in the corporate world, we know there's a problem, but we very seldom have the opportunity to talk about it openly." Matthew

[80.16] Our summaries of 'what's in a name.'

• Keep an open mind – Holly
• Everyone has a story – Hope
• Don't be scared to ask the question – Prakash
• Take some time to self-reflect – Matthew
• Seek first to understand – Greg