The Diverse Minds Podcast

Welcome to the 242nd episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. This month’s podcast series is all about decolonisation. Today I am talking about decolonising the curriculum. 

• Definition of the curriculum. [01:34]
• Why diversifying is part of decolonisation. [02:56]
• How Decolonisation is integral to an inclusive curriculum. [04:20]
• The impact of white curricula [07:16]
• What can be done about decolonisation. [10:47]

• In some sense, decolonisation is flipping things on the head.
• Decolonisation is integral to an inclusive curriculum.
• Decolonisation is not about deleting existing knowledge or history.
• Decolonisation is about embracing knowledge systems
• Please give credit where credit is due

• Episode #233 What are white Dominant Norms?
• Episode #234 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• Episode #235 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• Episode #65 Why Training isn’t a Panacea
• Decolonising SOAS Learning and Teaching Toolkit 
• 8 Reasons the Curriculum is White
• Tokenism in teaching: why is my curriculum white?
• Decolonising the Curriculum
• Decolonising the curriculum toolkit
• Decolonizing the Curriculum
• Join my Mailing List and receive white paper on mental health and inclusion here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 241st episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. This month’s podcast series is all about decolonisation. Today I am talking about decolonising the workplace. 

• The apparent fatigue surrounding discussions on racial equity. [02:33]
• Life during the colonial era. [03:04]
• Strategies for decolonizing the workplace. [05:02]
• The importance of evaluating policies and ensuring flexibility. [12:48]
• Reasons why decolonisation cannot be achieved overnight. [15:13]

• Decolonisation offers a framework for those wanting to critique positions of power in the dominant culture.
• Colonialism is a historical and ongoing project.
• Decolonisation is about reversing the negative impact of colonialism.
• Decolonisation is about digging into the systems, the damage and making it right.
• The equivalent of $1 trillion was drained out of India by the British.

• Episode #233 What are white Dominant Norms?
• Episode #234 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• Episode #235 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• Episode #65 Why Training isn’t a Panacea
• How to start decolonising your business
• Glasgow University to pay £20m in slave trade reparations
• White Guilt in the Summer of Black Lives Matter
• Join my Mailing List and receive white paper on mental health and inclusion here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 240th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. Welcome to April. I hope you had a good Easter and Bank Holiday weekend. This month’s podcast series is all about decolonisation, beginning by exploring its meaning and significance in today's world.

• Why am I talking about decolonization? [1:15]
• Understanding colonisation: An overview [02:05]
• Decolonisation explained [03:08]
• Exploring various definitions of decolonisation [04:28]
• The importance of decolonisation: Why it matters today. [06:50]

• Decolonisation offers a framework for those wanting to critique positions of power in the dominant culture.
• Colonialism is a historical and ongoing project.
• Decolonisation is about reversing the negative impact of colonialism.
• Decolonisation is about digging into the systems, the damage and making it right.
• The equivalent of $1 trillion was drained out of India by the British.

• Episode #217 Colonial legacies and Climate Change
• Episode #233 What are white Dominant Norms?
• Episode #234 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• Episode #235 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• What is decolonization, why is it important, and how can we practice it?
• It’s Time to Decolonize the Decolonization Movement
• Why I Say ‘Decolonisation is Impossible
• Decolonization 101: Meaning, Facts and Examples
• Join my Mailing List and receive white paper on mental health and inclusion here
• Everywoman Handout on Women's Network activities
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 238th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. This week, we're diving into burnout and its impact on South Asian women.

To help us navigate this important topic is executive coach and keynote speaker, Neelu Kaur.

Neelu has some great insights to share, and if you'd like to learn more about burnout in general, be sure to check out episode #114, Identifying and Combatting Burnout.

Neelu is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and executive coach focusing on leadership development, self-advocacy, and burnout management for Fortune 500 Enterprises teams such as Sony Music, Google, Ernst & Young, RBC, and Jefferies to name a few. In 2023, Neelu published ‘Be Your Own Cheerleader,’ which focuses on self-advocacy for underrepresented voices in the workplace. 

She holds a bachelor's from NYU Stern School of Business, a master's degree in social & organizational psychology from Columbia University, and she is a certified NLP Master Practitioner and Coach from the NLP Center of New York.

• About Neelu and what she’s working on. [02:19]
• Her Journey to becoming an executive coach [03:49]
• What the term “burnout” means to her. [05:24]
• Actionable strategies to reduce employee burnout in the workplace. [08:52]
• Neelu's top three tips for good mental health. [11:24]

• I like to stay in my lane, and my lane is in the workplace.
• I find that South Asians have a very hard time sharing their concerns and needs, and that can lead to burnout.
• Burnout is managing the day-to-day stresses of life.
• When we get overwhelmed and can’t focus, that’s an indication of burnout.
• Do not reach for your phone for the first hour of your morning.

• Listen to Episode #114: Identifying and Combatting Burnout
• Visit her website
• Check out her book Be Your Own Cheerleader
• Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 238th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. It’s International Women’s History Month. So, this month’s series is about bringing women away from the stereotypes and masks.

• About my TEDx Wolverhampton talk. [00:41]
• Why I decided to make an episode on this topic [01:18]
• What can be done to create systemic change. [04:16]
• Points to consider when trying to create systemic change. [05:24]

• You have to think about the bigger picture.
• Try to be as inclusive as possible.
• Think about core hours.
• I really think that women’s networks are super important.
• Having a lovely lunch event doesn’t really move the dial in the right way

• Episode #217 Facing Difficult Conversations
• Episode #185 Imposter Syndrome vs Frustration Phenomenon
• Episode #205 Cultural Perspectives on Imposter Syndrome
• Everywomen handout
• Canada Gender Equity Systemic Change Tip Sheet
• The National Center for Women & Information Technology Systemic Change Models
• What is feminist systems change? by Tatiana Fraser on Medium
• Hear my opinion about Imposter Syndrome here
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 237th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. In last week's episode, I discussed the need for systemic change to truly inspire and encourage inclusion.

Today, we're exploring the concept of "unmasking the mask" with my fellow coaching colleague, Marie Loney.

Marie is a Wellbeing Executive Coach, who employs a person-centred approach to her practice. With over 20 years of experience in facilitation, training, and executive coaching, she specialises in enhancing mental fitness, productivity, stress management, resilience, and psychological safety.

This focus fosters highly collaborative environments, building trust across teams, businesses, clients, and markets.

Having personally faced stress, anxiety, exhaustion, and burnout in prior roles, Marie decided to specialise in wellbeing. She supports her clients in developing the mental fitness and wellbeing skills necessary for a sustainable work/life balance.

Her proficiency lies in dissecting situations and guiding clients to develop tools that enable them to navigate their journeys in a healthy manner.

Marie places wellbeing at the core of her coaching, recognising its pivotal role in improving employee engagement, performance, and overall business success. Her coaching methodology is tailored to support professionals to evolve their mental fitness and foster a culture of wellbeing within their organisations.

Her extensive expertise spans leadership, wellbeing, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) across diverse sectors, including beauty, fashion, education, medical communications, pharma, charity, art, banking, and media with a global reach, 

Marie recently spearheaded an initiative in collaboration with the British Beauty Council for British Beauty Week 2023. The initiative aimed to guide consumers on a transformative journey of self-discovery by prompting them to contemplate the significance of inner beauty.

Encouraging individuals to unmask their faces and turn their focus inward, the initiative sparked engaging discussions on the profound connection between inner beauty, outer appearance, and broader aspects of personal identity.

• About Marie and what she’s working on at the moment. [03:12]
• What the term "inner beauty" means to her [07:32]
• Challenges global majority women face at work in being true to themselves. [09:11]
• How workplaces can support the idea of inner beauty. [15:53]
• Marie's top three tips for good mental health. [19:17]

• The challenge that we have is that we have these norms of what beauty looks like.
• I always start my day well.
• Women of colour are a spectrum of shades, and we should be accommodated.
• We are all beautiful.
• External beauty we praise. Internal beauty, not so much.

• Visit Marie's website
• Follow her on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
• Follow Glow Consultancy London on Linkedin and Facebook
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 236th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. It’s International Women’s History Month. So this month’s series is about bringing women away from the stereotypes and masks.

• About my TEDx Wolverhampton talk. [00:44]
• One of the key challenges of advancing gender equality. [01:23]
• The second theme for International Women’s Day. [01:50]
• One thing we can do to shift patriarchal systems. [04:11]
• The need to amplify the voices of feminist change-makers. [05:40]

• We have to think systematically about change.
• We need to go a lot deeper to shift patriarchal systems.
• We have to tackle social injustice.
• Systemic change needs to address and improve social and cultural systems
• We need to have these constant conversations about power.

• Episode #177 Poverty and Mental Health 
• Episode #178 Tackling Social Injustice
• Episode #179 Campaigning against Poverty to support Mental Health
• Episode #193 Anxiety Linked to the Climate Crisis
• Episode #194 Parents for Future
• Episode #195 Colonial Legacies and Climate Change
• Episode #196 How Divestment Links to Mental Health
• Episode #206 Making Climate Justice Accessible
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 235th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. Building on last week's discussion on identifying white dominant norms and their impact, this week's episode delves into how we can challenge and shift these norms.

• About my TEDx Wolverhampton talk. [00:45]
• Exploring Antidotes to White Dominant Norms. [01:43]
• The Antidote to Power Hoarding. [03:36]
• Countering Individualism and Separatism. [06:00]
• Moving Beyond White Dominant Norms. [14:42]

• Racism has many faces
• There needs to be this understanding between interdependence and responsibility.
• I think change is too mild a word.
• It’s about building relationships both internally and externally.
• The antidote to power-holding is power-sharing

• Episode #234 Identifying white Dominant Norms
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health
• The PDF for more information on white Dominant Norms

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 233rd episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. In our last episode, we introduced the topic of white dominant norms and their significance.

This week, we will expand upon that foundation by offering a detailed guide on how to discern and identify these prevailing norms in various contexts.

• About my TEDx Wolverhampton talk. [00:49]
• Explaining what white dominant norms entail. [01:38]
• Methods for measuring and assessing white dominant norms. [02:19]
• Discussing an email I received that exemplifies white dominant norms. [12:30]
• Reflecting on my emotional response to the email. [15:34]

• It’s a work-based community and sharing is viewed as weak
• Politeness is valued over genuine honesty
• Useful feedback is often not provided promptly.
• There’s also superiority to the written word.
• Focus is placed on protecting power instead of addressing harms.

• Episode #233 What are white Dominant Norms?
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC

Welcome to the 233rd episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast. Last week marked Race Equality Week, and I had the privilege of speaking with Nzinga Orgill from Avi-Solutions about fostering equity within the aviation industry.

In today's episode, we'll delve into the pervasive influence of white dominant norms and their impact on workplace dynamics and culture.

• About my TedX Wolverhampton talk. [00:55]
• The Inspiration Behind This Episode [01:32]
• Exploring White Dominant Culture [02:39]
• Some influential Figures in White Dominant Culture [04:27]
• Beyond Race Equality Week: Four Essential Episodes [06:40]

• When we tackle or think about one issue, it’s never really in isolation
• We know that women’s pain isn’t taken seriously.
• White dominant culture is not harmful in itself.
• Conversations about race equality have petered out.
• Race equality is not just for one week.

• Episode #68 Still to Scared to Talk about Race?
• Episode #60 To BAME or not to BAME?
• Episode #94 Making Change and not Jumping on the Bandwagon
• Episode #41 Racism and Genuine Allyship
• Join my Mailing List and receive my free e-book here
• Check out my TEDx talk: The Connection between Culture, Race and Mental Health

Have a look at my online work-life balance course on Thinkific. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/DMMHPONC