It's been a challenging time for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and for the professionals working in this space.

In the US, backlash and polarization has resulted in several well know organizations reducing or eliminating their DEI teams and programs. The Society of Human Resources Management recently made the decision to "rebrand" DEI despite the loud outcry from their members. Those who feel the most passionate about this work are now exploring avenues like consulting and public speaking after years of working in resource deprived corporate environments.

Regardless of how you feel about DEI, it's clear that something isn't working. However that doesn't change the fact that we all have bias, our biases can negatively impact our place of work (culturally, legally, financially, etc.), and the only way to address that is to talk about it.

This is a delicate and often controversial subject, one we wanted to look at from outside the American lens, which has resulted in what might be one of our most 'unfiltered' conversations to date.

Our guest this week is Heeral Gudka, an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion consultant in the UK who's been working with organizations since 2014.

Her 10 years of experience in EDI spans across private, public and third-sector organizations, delivering consultancy to People Teams and Executive Boards, stand-alone workshops and also curating 6 to 12 month employee learning journeys. The support she provides to senior leadership teams is an essential part of the success they have created internally in building inclusive cultures – everyone needs a safe space to talk about difficult subjects, but they also need to understand where risks lie when it comes to workforces that don't understand minimum expectations.

Heeral is a former actuary and risk professional, she is trained to coach from a trauma-informed perspective, has a diploma in counselling skills and a deep interest in philosophy and consistent thinking – the ideal blend of skills for providing this support to senior leaders.

She also wishes she could see more of the night sky, but London is her home and that just doesn't happen there!

Obvious trigger warning as we dig into some sticky conversations around trauma and identity that may be upsetting to some listeners. However, we hope our listeners will walk away with a new perspective and inspiration to be the change they want to see in their workplace.

Is DEI 'business critical'? We'll let you decide.

Resources from this episode:

To get in touch with Heeral about EDI or dark sky recommendations you can find her on LinkedIn.

Changes Coming Soon to Offline & Unfiltered!

Dear listeners, we have had so much fun bringing you unfiltered conversations and finding our home in the podcast ecosystem. We have learned so much and are committed to bringing you the best quality content. In 2025, you'll see some refinement to our format, sustained activity on the socials, and much more. To achieve these goals, we're slowing down a bit. Through the end of 2024 O&L will release one episode a month, rather than two. Don't worry, we'll be back to two episodes per month in 2025.

Thank you for your continued support. Please don't forget to like, subscribe, give us 5 stars, tell all your friends, and all that good stuff.

More to come.

How should we be treating each other on the internet?

Who is responsible for deciding what is or isn't allowed on any given platform? What happens when you hit that little "report" button? Moreover, what is it like to be the professional that might see the worst of the worst on the internet?

In today's episode, we give our listeners a view into the world of platform Trust & Safety with our guest, Alice Hunsberger. Alice is Vice President of Trust & Safety and Content Moderation at PartnerHero, with wide experience across the Trust and Safety ecosystem. She's the founder of the Trust in Tech podcast, which addresses Trust & Safety issues in tech, and writes the Trust & Safety Insider Newsletter with Everything in Moderation. Previously, Alice was VP of CX and T&S at Grindr for 3 years, and also led the CX / T&S team at OkCupid/ Match Group for 10 years. She is passionate about ethical tech policy, believing that dating apps, and indeed the whole internet, should be welcoming, equitable, and inclusive for everyone.

In our conversation, we discuss Alice's unique career journey and how she found herself battling internet bad actors for the greater good. Alice also outlines ways T&S professionals (or any professional) can safeguard their mental health, how the T&S industry is evolving, and how we can all be better stewards of the internet.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

Learn More about Alice and access her T&S resources here.

Read Alice's Newsletter - Everything In Moderation

Listen to Alice on the Trust In Tech Podcast

Attend TrustCon or Marketplace Risk

Learn more about Alice's current company - PartnerHero

"No brilliant jerks"

Netflix thrusted this phrase into the corporate vernacular in 2009, proudly asserting that they would not retain employees who were high performers but difficult to work with. Other companies followed suit, and the "no brilliant jerks" moniker remains a steadfast value many companies claim to adhere to in their hiring and cultural practices.

Seems like a noble but simple concept to adhere to, right?

But...

What happens when you 'brilliant jerk" is locked into a high profile, multi-million dollar contract?

What happens when your "brilliant jerk" accounts for almost 8% of your company revenue?

What happens when your "brilliant jerk" is a global superstar teetering on the edge of an epic PR implosion?

In 2022 the Rolling Stone published Inside Kanye West's Yeezy: Abrupt Firings, Alleged Nazi Inspiration, and 'Pure Chaos' The article painted a bleak and scathing portrait of what life was like for the many current and former employees working for the Yeezy brand, and how leadership seemly turned a blind eye. Similar stories would follow, and both internal and external pressure would result in Adidas dissolving their partnership with the controversial artist.

Our hosts were so captivated by this story as it unfolded, so much so that it was the inspiration for this podcast. In this episode, our hosts dive into this complicated story to ask what really happened at Adidas? How bad was it to work for the Yeezy brand? What should have been done for Adidas employees? Did Adidas choose to put profits over people?

This is a spicy conversation that had our hosts contemplating the ethics of brilliance, corporate accountability, and idol worship.

Disclaimer: Our views expressed on this episode are based on our personal opinions, experiences, and the various articles that are available publicly. We do our best to reflect events accurately, but also acknowledge that there are many sides to this complex story.

Articles Mentioned In This Episode:

Inside Kanye West’s Yeezy: Abrupt Firings, Alleged Nazi Inspiration and ‘Pure Chaos' - Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone

Kanye and Adidas: Money, Misconduct and the Price of Appeasement - Megan Twohey, New York Times