The Belonging Project

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, we talk with Paula Tavares, Senior Legal and Gender Specialist at The World Bank, her work focuses on promoting gender-informed policy-making, improving the legal framework protecting women from discrimination, and gender-based violence, and enhancing women’s economic opportunity.

“Fortunately nowadays, with more visibility of the current reality, companies in the private and public sector are creating more laws and policies to support more women in the workplace”, says Paula. She shared her experience working with countries in Africa and South America supporting women's equality, and also how the pandemic has affected and exacerbated existing problems especially regarding gender-based violence and equality in the workplace and the needs for women who have been overburdened for many years.

Belonging to her is being accepted for who you are,  having the emotional and physical safety, feeling as equal. Accepting the differences and accepting the individuals for who they are. Belonging is feeling at ease and comfortable being yourself, wherever you are.

Follow Paula Tavares’s work on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulattavares/

World Bank  Group https://www.worldbank.org/en/home

World Bank Gender Equality https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/dime/brief/dime-gender-program

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, we chat with Alexandre Fleury, Global Human Talent Manager at Chiper. Alexandre has over 20 years of experience working in the Human Resources sector and is passionate about human connection and diversity and inclusion issues.

He shared with us his quest for belonging and independence, moving to another city to embrace his sexuality and relationship. He told us about challenges he had in the past like working in an organization where he felt he didn't belong because of his sexual orientation, and the joy and prejudice he is facing after he became the father of two black brothers.

Belonging to him is more than a feeling, belonging is being, uniting who I plan to be with who I believe to be. He also shared that true belonging is being WHO I am and not WHERE I am. For him, our legacy is ourselves, our own identity. Belonging is an evolving journey as we engage as a person and learn more about ourselves.

Follow Alexandre’s work on Linkedin Alexandre Fleury - Global Human Talent Manager - Chiper | LinkedIn

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This episode of The Belonging Project features a conversation between the two co-hosts: Fiorenza Rossini and Andrea Fleischfresser.

They talk about:

- How the Belonging Project Podcast came to life

- Personal experiences around Belonging

- Microagressions

-  The importance of who we are at our core

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!

Ahead of wrapping up the year and getting into the holiday season, we’d appreciate any shares, reviews or feedback if you listened to our podcast in 2021! Thank you!

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

In this episode of The Belonging  Project Podcast, we talk with Dylan Shimmon, D&I Project Coordinator  and Learning Experience Designer at Equality Leaders.

This episode is an open heart  conversation with our guest Dylan as he lets us in into his personal  journey exploring his identity as a queer person over the years. We  learn about the value of community in finding rootedness and belonging.

We also explore Dylan’s new professional path, at the intersection of meaningful work, passion and alignment.

Links from this episode:

• Alexander Leon’s quote: “Queer  people don't grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of  ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation &  prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts  of ourselves are truly us & which parts we've created to protect  us.”


• Tarana Burke (founder of the #metoo movement)’s take on overachievement as a trauma response in her recent memoir Unbound


• Yung Pueblo’s work


• Follow Dylan’s work on LinkedIn

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

In this episode of The Belonging  Project Podcast, we talk with Dr Jessica Jackson, licensed psychologist  and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Care Lead at Modern  Health and we loved to learn about her journey into her field and area  of expertise.

We explore:

• Mental health, Belonging and the intersection of culture and mental health.


• The foundational (yet often forgotten!) step to creating psychological safety in the workplace


• How our social identities impact our mental health


• The reasons why self-compassion is a needed pre-work to empathy and kindness.
  
  

We also deep dive into Jessica’s  latest research on Modern Belonging, particularly how a lack of sense of  belonging is correlated to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Links from this episode:

• Modern Belonging Playbook


• Self-compassion guided practices by Dr Kristen Neff


• Dr. Jessica Jackson’s article on culturally centered care


• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs


• Follow Jessica’s work on LinkedIn
  
  

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

NEW EPISODE of The Belonging Project Podcast with Ritika Wadhwa, Director of the UK Operation at The Cultural Intelligence Center.

Ritika shares her personal story of moving from a patriarchal family in India to live and study by herself in the UK, then Canada, then in the UK again. She tells us how her personal experience really shaped who she is now personally and professionally.

After working in different corporate sectors, she discovered her purpose which is making a difference and impact from her own experiences. As Director of UK Operations at the Cultural Intelligence Center, Ritika mentions the importance of developing self awareness in the CQ journey, which is the biggest single change a leader can make within themselves, to foster a culture of acceptance and respect for differences that will lead to belonging which will then lead to innovation, creativity and happiness.

Her definition of Belonging really resonated with us "belonging is when you are wholly and completely yourself and know that you're wholly and completely accepted for being yourself when your difference is celebrated. That to me is belonging which really is the most basic human needs it drives our actions and motivations in every way in an every day"

Links from this episode:The Allyship Bookclub 

Learn more about Cultural Intelligence (or CQ®) and the Cultural Intelligence Center  

Follow Ritika’s work on LinkedIn 

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, we talk with Sydney Coleman, Product Inclusion & Equity Program Manager, at Google.

We explore the different facets of data from the pros and cons of self-labelling our race and ethnicity, to its purpose in the identification of differences in how people are treated in the workplace, and beyond.

Sydney explains what Product Inclusion is all about in the tech industry and she shares examples of the dimensions to be found in a product-inclusive model (race, gender, geo, language, body size, criminal history, ability/disability, and more).

We talk about Sydney’s journey into Product Inclusion, and how she was able to fully integrate her passion into her work at Google. Finally, we discuss the role Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) can play in driving change and the factors needed for their success.

“Belonging has a lot to do with psychological safety. Feeling that you can be your true self and not gonna be penalised or in jeopardy to be shamed, harmed or losing your job. Feeling like I belong allows me not to put on an act or a specific version of myself. Showing up as I am takes away the emotional labour of overthinking. I don’t need other people to like me, I need them to be accepting and empathetic, not enforce their own values” says Sydney.

Links from this episode:

• Follow Sydney’s work on LinkedIn

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, we talk with Audry Bron, Diversity & Inclusion Expert and Global Communication Expert at Bontekoning & Bron

At the age of 5, Audry migrated with her family from their birth country Suriname to the Netherlands as political asylum seekers, where she has been living ever since. She draws her inspiration in D&I from her lived experiences and 15 years of experience working in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.

She shared with us her testimony being a woman of color in the corporate world and some examples of microaggression that she experienced in the past. These experiences make her even stronger and passionate about supporting organizations to create diverse and inclusive environments.

Microaggressions are really things that people need to be taught about, especially if companies want to invest in Diversity and Inclusion, they need to make people aware of the bias they hold, says Audry.

Links from this episode:

• Follow Audry’s work on LinkedIn


• Bontekoning-Bron

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, we talk with Cory Stewart, integrative counsellor, with an interest on the topic of identity.

We talk about Cory’s belonging  journey over time, going back to childhood and teenage years with  moments of fitting in instead of bringing his whole self and identity,  later experiencing a shift in his relationship with his cultural  heritage, to his now deeply embodied definition of Belonging.

As young parents, Cory and Fiorenza  talk about the importance in providing their children understanding and  education, in a way that is fully inclusive and representative, starting  in early years education.

Fiorenza and Cory openly discuss the feelings when asked THE question - where are you from?

Mental health can very much be  impacted when reflecting or being in the midst of an identity crisis or  even when feeling that we don’t fit in. Cory offers insightful  reflections from his counselling room.

Fiorenza and Cory also talk about  Racial Trauma and its cross-generational dimension: there may be a  generational burden from a trauma one hasn’t directly experienced, but  their parents, grandparents or ancestors have. This can be very  challenging to unpack, especially as it may not feel ours at first. Cory  shares as this is becoming more and more common and how one’s attempt  to heal may antagonize others, that aren't ready yet.

Links from this episode:

• Follow Cory’s work on LinkedIn and Instagram


• The book  Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, by Afua Hirsch

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, we talk with Lorrena Black, Vice-President of Leadership Development at Inforum.

Talking with Lorrena Black for The Belonging Project Podcast was inspiring and grounding: her long-serving US Army experience, giving life and raising 2 kids while still serving in the Army across the world, and her transition into Women’s Leadership Development working with Inforum.

We also explored her experiences of being bi-racial in life and in the Army: finding a sense of belonging wasn’t always easy and the willingness to fit in was real.

Links from this episode:

• Inforum


• Follow Lorrena Black here

Click here to connect with Andrea and Fiorenza!