Social mobility is a subject that’s very close to our heart which is why we're so excited to bring you this extra special roundtable episode of the 40 Minute Mentor.

In today’s episode you’ll hear from an expert panel, who are all committed to advancing social mobility

They are: Mandy Nyarko, Co-founder of Startup Discovery School; Lucy McCarthy-Christofides, Head of Proposition and Range at Tails.com; Ezechi Britton, Co-Founder of digital skills academy Code Untapped and Founding Member and Principal at Impact X Capital; Ruth Penfold, People Practice Lead at BP Launchpad and Euan Blair, Co-founder and CEO at WhiteHat.

Every single person on this panel is incredibly passionate about levelling the playing field and providing more opportunities to those from underrepresented communities.

It was so interesting to dive deeper into this important topic and we covered a lot of ground, including:

The numerous barriers people from underprivileged backgrounds must overcome as they attempt to build a career and we explored what steps business leaders can take to help level the playing field.

Why a degree isn’t the be all and end all, and how apprenticeships can play a key role in boosting social mobility.

The cultural shift many companies still need to make when it comes to recruiting people from different backgrounds, specifically people who have been on less traditional educational journeys.

Plus, why Black Founders are far less likely to gain venture capital funding and what can be done to rebalance this.

As you’ll hear, there was so much to discuss and we could easily have gone on for another hour, so we hope that there will be an opportunity for a round 2 soon!

Our panel shared personal stories, frustrations, many thought-provoking opinions and provided inspirational advice and ideas on how we can tangibly make a difference.

So if you are keen to do more to support those who are underrepresented in your industry or society at large, then this podcast will give you an insight into what can be done right now and what you can do to start making a difference.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Mandy, Lucy, Ezechi, Ruth and Euan check out their LinkedIn profiles:

Mandy Nyarko - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-nyarko

Lucy McCarthy-Christofides - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarthytails

Ezechi Britton - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezechi-britton-452a893/

Ruth Penfold - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthpenfold/

Euan Blair - https://www.linkedin.com/in/euan-blair-54a11925/

And take a look at the organisations they’re part of:

Startup Discovery School - https://startupdiscoveryschool.com/

Tails.com - https://tails.com/gb/

Code Untapped - https://codeuntapped.com/

BP Launchpad - https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/what-we-do/technology-at-bp/bp-launchpad.html

WhiteHat - https://whitehat.org.uk/

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