Race Forward Pod

Join us as Charlene Oke, a champion for diversity and inclusion at LexisNexis, shares her journey in trailblazing D&I initiatives. Discover her strategies for creating an inclusive culture, implementing psychological safety measures, and fostering diverse talent acquisition. Explore the successes of ERGs and programmes like Ignite and Accelerate. Gain valuable insights on the challenges faced by D&I leaders and the importance of mental health in this impactful work. Charlene pulls back the curtain on her personal and professional journey in shaping an inclusive culture that spans a workforce of over 10,000 employees. Don't miss this enlightening conversation with Charlene!

In this episode, Lydiah Igweh talks to Greg Turner who shares insights about Rolls Royce and their efforts to improve gender balance and creating welcoming environments for LGBTQ+ employees.

Greg graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering before achieving an MSc in Engineering Management. He joined Rolls-Royce in 2006, working initially within Civil Aerospace, and in 2015 he was instrumental in launching Prism, the Rolls-Royce LGBTQ+ employee network, which he led until 2021. Following the success of Prism, and combined with his passion for inclusion and belonging, Greg accepted the role of Group Inclusion Lead in 2020, allowing him to support the global Rolls-Royce inclusion strategy. He was shortlisted for Exceptional Inclusion at the 2021 British LGBT Awards and led Rolls-Royce to become a Stonewall Top 100 Employer.

Want to use apprenticeships to make a difference in terms of diversity and inclusion in your organisation, but don't know where to begin?

Join Lydiah Igweh today for episode 30 of the Race Foward Pod: Featuring Isa Mutlib, the CEO of the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance. Isa Mutlib is the CEO of the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance, whose mission is to promote apprenticeship diversity and increase access to high-quality opportunities for underrepresented talent. He has been actively involved in the apprenticeship space for over five years, working with some of the UK's biggest brands and actively engaging with senior stakeholders to increase workforce diversity.

How do we move from being a passive ally to an engaged force for global change?

In this episode, Lydiah Igweh speaks with Jessica Rogers about achieving equity through actionable allyship, defining leadership vision, and how to articulate leadership USP. Jessica is a Certified Leadership and Business Coach who, over the last 13 years has worked with business leaders and entrepreneurs, helping them to find more purpose and joy in their work and in their lives.

She has an Economics BA (Hons) and Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma.  She started her career in marketing, working for international media and publishing organisations including Dorling Kindersley, Egmont Publishing, and Hasbro toys managing large budgets and diverse teams.

She now combines practical business savvy with deep coaching skills to provide a safe space for her clients to explore possibilities to be bolder, braver, and successful in life.

In this episode 28, Henrique Zanin explains how to cultivate a diverse and inclusive culture that considers individual differences of employees and strives to make all feel welcome and accepted.

Henrique is a Brazilian diversity and inclusion professional, lawyer, and researcher based in Berlin, Germany. Henrique is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager for Europe & Asia at Wayfair and a faculty member in a Postgraduate program in Diversity and Inclusion.

His papers on diversity and inclusion, human rights, and labour law have already been published in over 12 journals and his past endeavours include working with NGOs in Uganda and Canada and founding one in Brazil, DEI consulting firms, and the Brazilian Bar Association Commission of Diversity.

In this episode, Sanchia Alasia shares her insights about advancing diversity and inclusion in the higher education sector and how to engage staff and students with EDI strategies and initiatives. In this episode, Sanchia shares some insights about advancing diversity and inclusion in the Higher education sector and how to engage staff and students with EDI strategies and initiatives.

Sanchia is a multi-award-winning specialist in equality, diversity, and human

resources and has over 15 years experience working in this field across the public sector. She has worked across the public sector to help move organisations towards being truly inclusive, valuing their staff, and creating a culture where staff feels supported, appreciated, and respected.

She currently works as the Acting Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at

London Southbank University. She is a member of the CIPD and a fellow of the

Chartered Management Institute.

Sanchia has won numerous awards including, being highly commended as a political figure in the Baton awards in 2020 and winner as an outstanding public sector figure at the Precious awards in 2020. She was also named as one of 50 most inspirational Black women in the UK during Black history month in 2019.

In this episode, Lydiah Igweh talks to Rachel Billington, who sheds some light on the importance of walking before you can, setting up governance for EDI and creating an inclusive culture so that when a strategy is developed it can be sustained. Additionally - the participation of white men in the DE&I agenda is imperative for change to take place. Rachel is the Head of ED&I, Europe and India at AECOM

She has developed an ambitious ED&I strategy, delivery plan and governance structure to make sure the region delivers on its aims and vision for change, partnering closely with the Executive and Employee Resource Groups.

She is also a chartered CIPD member and MBTI practitioner. She is also an ILM7 advanced Executive coach and mentor who specialises in mentoring underrepresented groups including maternity and career returnees as well as positive action schemes.

In the music industry, gender inequality is a prominent topic. It cuts across all sectors, from artists to behind-the-scenes executives, and unites the music industry with other industries around the world suffering the same problem. Lack of inclusion for minority groups is also a problem that stifles the development of talented people.

In this episode, Lydiah Igweh talks to Ammo Talwar, who shares insights about increasing diversity and inclusion in the music industry. Ammo Talwar started life selling vinyl at his specialist record shop, which became a local hub for DJs and artists - His leadership and vision built the company into an award-winning music agency; working internationally and in partnership with leading private and public sector companies to support music and innovation. He received an MBE for contributions to music and young people.

A recipient of the International Cultural leadership award, Ammo’s professional acumen is in demand by organisations facing both new business opportunities and challenges. Currently Chairman of UK Music Diversity Taskforce and BPI board member, he leads on charting Punch’s future.