Straight to the CORe

Is bringing an iced coffee to an interview unprofessional… or are we getting a little too hung up on the wrong things?

This week on Straight to the CORe, we get into the debate around interview etiquette, professionalism and all the unwritten rules candidates are somehow expected to know.

But there’s a much bigger question underneath it: who gets the opportunity to be in that interview in the first place?

Our guest shares her own journey into the industry — from joining UCL through the ACCESS scheme, to securing an internship through the 10,000 Black Interns programme, and eventually moving into an apprenticeship.

We talk about the real value of targeted DE&I initiatives, the opportunities they can create, and why there’s still much more we can do to make them visible and accessible to the people they’re designed to support — so discovering them doesn’t come down to a happy accident.

Plus, obviously, we settle the important question: are you taking the iced coffee into the interview or leaving it outside? 🌶️

🔗 Find out more about the 10,000 Black Interns programme here: https://10000internsfoundation.com

Got a hot take for us, want to nominate a guest, or interested in supporting Straight to the CORe? Get in touch at [email protected]

Links:

CORe: https://www.colourofresearch.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/colour-of-research-core/

If you’d still like to support our work and help us continue creating impact, you can support us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/colourofresearch

In this episode, Annabelle and Cathia get straight to the CORe on ESEA representation — and what happens when an entire community can feel simultaneously hyper-visible and overlooked.

Annabelle shares her own experiences as a mixed Filipino woman growing up and working in the UK: from experiencing racism, to navigating the expectation that ESEA people are a “model minority”, and discusses with Cathia, who is Malagasy but often assumed by others as South East Asian, the strange pressure to constantly explain, define and label exactly where you belong.

They explore why ESEA voices can so often be missing from conversations about ethnic diversity, what that looks like in the workplace, and how those blind spots carry over into market research — from who is represented in our industry to whose experiences we actively think about when designing research.

A conversation about visibility, belonging, representation and why “Asian” is nowhere near as simple a label as we sometimes make it.

🎙️ Straight to the CORe is the podcast from Colour of Research where we invite people from across the industry to share their hottest takes on inclusion - no corporate talking points required.

Think you have a hot take we need to hear? Nominate yourself or someone else at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

Links:

CORe: https://www.colourofresearch.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/colour-of-research-core/

If you’d still like to support our work and help us continue creating impact, you can support us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/colourofresearch

We work in an industry obsessed with understanding people. So why aren’t we always as good at looking after the people within it?

In this episode of Straight to the CORe, Annabelle and Cathia are joined by Dr Mark Thorpe FMRS for a wide-ranging conversation about what it really feels like to build a career in research - and where the industry is still falling short.

Mark reflects candidly on his own experiences of racism, the ageism that can quietly shape careers in our sector, and why too many people are expected to navigate difficult moments without the support, psychological safety or structures they need.

His hot take? For an industry that puts people at the heart of its work, we don’t put people at the heart of our industry nearly enough.

We also challenge Mark on what needs to change, why progress can feel so slow, and - from his position as a senior figure across both the agency world and the MRS - what actually gets in the way of turning good intentions into meaningful action.

🎙️ Straight to the CORe is the podcast from Colour of Research where we invite people from across the industry to share their hottest takes on inclusion - no corporate talking points required.

Think you have a hot take we need to hear? Nominate yourself or someone else at [email protected].

We’re also looking for a sponsor to help us keep Straight to the CORe growing. Interested? Get in touch at the same address.

Links:
CORe: https://www.colourofresearch.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/colour-of-research-core/
Dr Mark Thorpe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-mark-thorpe-fmrs-266a971/
If you’d still like to support our work and help us continue creating impact, you can support us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/colourofresearch

In this episode of Straight to the CORe, we’re joined by Christian Hurley and Rachel Ayeh-Datey from The Mix Global and Second Nature, who come armed with a hot take: Nike’s Nothing Beats a Londoner can get in the bin.

Not because the campaign itself wasn’t brilliant, but because of what came after it.

Since its launch, Nothing Beats a Londoner has become a creative reference point that brands and agencies return to again and again. But Christian and Rachel argue that too often, people try to recreate the energy, language and cultural cues of campaigns like this without doing the work to understand the communities and people that made them resonate in the first place.

We get into the difference between representing culture and borrowing from it, why surface-level “authenticity” is so easy to spot, and how better research, greater cultural curiosity and bringing the right people into the room can lead to work that feels genuinely rooted in its audience (rather than a copy of something that worked before). The lesson from Nothing Beats a Londoner shouldn’t be “make something that looks like this.” It should be “understand people this deeply.”

Want to come on Straight to the CORe?

We’re always looking for people with a bold hot take on inclusion in the research and insights industry. Nominate someone - or put yourself forward - by emailing [email protected].

Interested in sponsoring the podcast?

We’re currently looking for a sponsor to support Straight to the CORe and help us keep creating honest, challenging conversations about inclusion. Get in touch at [email protected].

Find out more

Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-hurley-47b31a87/

Rachel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-ayeh-datey-501005124/

CORe website: https://www.colourofresearch.org/

Support CORe via Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/colourofresearch

For our very first episode of Straight to the CORe, we're joined by Shazia Ginai - insights leader, long-time advocate for inclusion, and someone who has spent years challenging the market research industry to do better.

Shazia's hot take? Despite more DE&I initiatives than ever before, performative inclusion in our industry has only gotten worse.

Together, we explore why good intentions aren't always translating into meaningful change, how performative behaviours are showing up across the industry, and what we've lost by focusing on appearances over impact. We also discuss what genuine inclusion looks like and the practical steps that could move us forward.

If you've ever wondered whether the industry is making real progress (or simply getting better at talking about it), this conversation is for you.

You can find Shazia here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shazia-ginai/

Check out Colour of Research here: https://www.colourofresearch.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/colour-of-research-core/

If you’d still like to support our work and help us continue creating impact, you can support us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/colourofresearch