KnowThyBrand - Championing gender inclusion in business

In this episode, we talk with Maria Elo, an associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark and an immigration fellow at the Institute of Migration. Drawing from her academic expertise and personal experiences, Maria sheds light on the challenges encountered by spousal migrants and provides insights into this crucial topic. With a particular focus on women, Maria also highlights the alarming consequences of losing valuable talent due to inadequate support systems.
In this episode, we cover:
Different types of challenges faced by migrants, including institutional challenges related to formal identity and private business challenges related to social and work-life contexts

• The challenge of language barriers faced by migrants and the difficulties of investing in language learning while balancing other responsibilities
• The importance of long-term planning and strategic engagement with one's own talent and future development
• The need for multi-stakeholder engagement to discuss how to put different resources into use and create innovation and development
• The importance of doing a personal analysis of potential pathways before making decisions

Join us as we explore the barriers faced by women in particular, the impact on individuals, companies, and society at large, and potential solutions to address this issue.
FInd out more about Maria here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-elo-593579a2/

In the dynamic world of startups, securing venture capital is often a critical step towards scaling a business. However, for female founders, this journey can be fraught with additional challenges due to biases and stereotypes.

Our guests in this episode are Tülin Tokatli and Hale Yildiz from Pitch Me First and they discussed the challenges faced by female founders in the venture capital industry. They highlighted the low percentage of funding received by female-led startups and the biases and cultural barriers they encounter during the fundraising process. They also explained the importance of increasing diversity in VC teams and suggested measures such as prioritizing female-led teams and promoting visibility for female founders.

Click here for show notes and resources mentioned in this episode.

In this episode, we talk with Kate Monserrate, co-founder and director of Simplify Consulting.
Kate, together with her business partner Carl and their team decided to invest substantial resources, in terms of financial, personnel, and time resources, to create a seriously impressive whitepaper on a topic that could make us wonder: gender equality. What does gender equality have to do with financial consulting? It turns up, a lot.
Listen to Kate as she runs us through the 3 areas of their whitepaper:
- Education and fighting stereotypes about gender roles from a very young age
- Women's life stages (particularly the effects of motherhood and menopause on career)
- Internal barriers like impostor syndrome.
Kate shares very useful insights on how to address these matters, never expecting "women to fix themselves" but advocating for change inside companies like hers to foster a more inclusive future.
Download read the whitepaper here: https://www.simplifyconsulting.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Gender-Gap-White-Paper.pdf
Discover Kate here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katemonserrate/

In this episode, we host an old friend of our podcast, Felicity Hassan.
Not only Felicity is the found of The Find, a recruitment agency the focus on diverse recruiting, but she is also the co-author with Suki Sandhu of an incredibly inspiring book called 'How To Get Your Act Together: A Judgement-Free Guide to Diversity and Inclusion for Straight White Men'
As the name implies, the book offers a very straightforward approach to diversity, providing clear explanations for concepts we might not be so familiar with (like gender identity vs sexual orientation just to cite one), real examples of changes companies implemented to support diversity, and practical suggestions for all of us to learn and become truly inclusive.
During our conversation, we focused in particular on:
- Diversity fatigue, why people are tired of hearing about the need for diversity and what we can do about it
- The misleading concept of meritocracy
- Motivators for the C suite and middle management to embrace and promote diversity that go beyond the business case.
- Allies and the difference between being not discriminatory vs being against discrimination.
- the importance of active curiosity to change and inspire change.
Find out more about Felicity here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicitybt/
Find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Your-Together-Judgement-Free/dp/0241485215

In this impactful episode, we dive into the critical issue of sexual and gender-based violence, featuring special guests Maria Grazia Surace and Stéphanie Makoumbou from LA VOIX DES SURVIVANT(E)S, an advocacy association supporting survivors of violence. Founded by survivor Ana Pinto, the organization is committed to assisting victims and amplifying their voices in society and within the legislative process in Luxembourg. Maria and Stéphanie, both lawyers, share their personal motivations for joining the association and discuss their efforts to strengthen support systems for survivors.

Together, they outline LA VOIX DES SURVIVANT(E)S' mission and the pressing need for reform in Luxembourg’s legal framework to better protect victims. Their conversation provides a deep look at how societal attitudes and legal systems must evolve to address both overt and subtle forms of violence effectively.

Click here for show notes and resources mentioned in this episode.