Break the Bias

In this episode, we’ll hear from Phillip Collins, the visionary founder & CEO of Good Black Art. This episode is packed with insights about the world of young Black artists and how Phillip’s organization is making waves to support and amplify their voices by providing support and exposure. You’ll hear how Good Black Art emphasizes geographic diversity and various art forms with accessible price points to make art more inclusive. The episode touches on the importance of daily commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, emphasizing continuous conversations beyond major cultural events. Lastly, you’ll want to hear Phillip talk through his five key values for his org: creativity, accessibility, never-seen-before, education, and authenticity.

In this episode, we dive into the world of fashion, beauty and inclusion with our guest, Megan Ixim, also known as “Ms. Gigggles”—she is a Marketing Director and the founder of Socially Deviant Media and Plus Size Thrift. Evolution of the Fashion Industry We journey through the shifting sands of beauty standards in America from the Marilyn-Monroe-1950s, to the rise of the Kardashian era, exploring how national economic conditions have sculpted society’s view of the ideal body type. Megan shares her own battles with body image and the harsh realities of 'body privilege’ in healthcare and the workforce. Breaking Rigid Beauty Standards As we move into the broader implications of these beauty norms, we discuss how New Jersey and New York lead the way with new anti-discrimination laws. We’ll also touch upon the growing concern of eating disorders and the essence of self-acceptance. Championing Diversity and Inclusion Inspirational and brave, Megan recounts her life's journey and how she became a driven entrepreneur and a vocal fat activist. And our host, Bindu, also shares some of her own personal cultural encounters with beauty standards. Together, they advocate for room-making in leadership for marginalized voices in the fashion industry, grapple with the power of personal branding and the imperative of clothing as empowerment. This episode is a juicy one, so tune in, and share with those who you think may learn something!

In this episode, we're excited to share a conversation I had with Daisha McDaniel—Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Talent Acquisition Advisor at Activision Blizzard, one of the world’s most successful standalone interactive entertainment and gaming corporations, delighting hundreds of millions of monthly active user with games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Tony Hawke, Candy Crush, and more. She shares her story—how her softspoken start in life as a self-described introvert evolved into finding her voice through her passion for DEI, and advocating for a sense of belonging. Tune in to hear her valuable insights on dealing with nerves surrounding public speaking, embarking on difficult conversations, and her unique approach to a respectful, empathetic, and inclusive workplace. Further, she describes how Consciously Unbiased DEIB learning experiences have helped her grow her DEIB efforts at her company and sparked change for the better. To learn more about our custom learning experiences you can check out our page here or send us a note here!

In today's episode, we are privileged to have Dee Poku, the founder, and CEO of The WIE Suite, a marketer, community builder, and communication leader. Dee, who was born in the UK, but raised in London and Ghana, now raises her son in New York. She shares with us how the experience of straddling two different cultures growing up has significantly shaped her work today. Dee discusses the unique challenges women face in business, from feeling insecure as an entrepreneur to dealing with fewer opportunities and a perception of competition. She shares her personal journey and the mindset shift she had to make. From microaggressions in a predominantly white school to facing challenges as a woman of color in the fundraising process, Dee's experiences are undeniably valuable. She emphasizes the importance of women supporting each other in business, the power of personal stories in creating change, and the need to use one's platforms to uplift other women. So buckle up for this inspiring conversation with Dee Poku, whose story will have a profound impact on us all.

Host, Bindu Lokre, sits down with ⁠Reshma Saujani⁠, activist, author and movement builder. Reshma is the CEO and Founder of ⁠Moms First⁠, a national movement to expand choices for women, value mothers’ labor, and to remove barriers to equality. She is also the founder of ⁠Girls Who Code⁠, which aims to close the gender gap in tech. Reshma is a powerful mobilizer, and, in this conversation, she shares how being bullied as a child because of the color of her skin was a catalyst for her to find her true calling of fighting for equality for all.

In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Consciously Unbiased co-founder Bindu Lokre sat down in a studio in New York with special guest Aliza Licht, founder of Leave Your Mark and author of the amazing book On Brand: Shape Your Narrative. Share Your Vision. Shift Their Perception. They dive deep into the world of personal branding and overcoming fears. They also cover how to keep your job title from becoming your identity, why a career change starts with changing the way you think about yourself, and how identifying and understanding our fears is the first step to breaking through them to help grow your confidence at work. Get show notes at ConsciouslyUnbiased.com.

What does it mean to be a white ally? What are microaggressions exactly? What can I do to help create an inclusive culture? To get deeper insights into these questions and more, check out this episode of Breaking the Bias with Mita Mallick, co-host of the Brown Table Talk podcast, author of the upcoming book, Reimagine Inclusion and head of equity, impact and inclusion at Carta. Mita is saying all the quiet parts out loud of what holds us back from building real inclusion at work. Mita’s candid conversation with Holly Corbett, VP of Content for Consciously Unbiased, dives into: How being bullied as a child led to her lifelong search for inclusion. The most common myths about inclusion we tell ourselves that stop us from making meaningful progress. How to meet people with kindness and grace when they make mistakes.

It’s 2023, and still only 33% of women are in tech positions—with representation for women in leadership being much lower. In this episode of the Breaking the Bias podcast, Holly Corbett, VP of Content for Consciously Unbiased, speaks with Jill Stelfox, CEO of Panzura—the only woman CEO in data management. Jill stepped into this top leadership position during the pandemic when the company suddenly went remote. In this conversation, Jill shares how she successfully navigated pulling her new team together during a crisis and turned the company around, why she encourages her employees to “bring your weird” to work, and why she thinks companies who lack radical transparency are set up to fail. RELATED: How Technology Can Help Us Close The Gender Gap At Work Beyond The Numbers: A DEI Leader On How To Create a More Inclusive Workplace How To Diversify Your Network, According To A Super Connector

Did you know the U.S. incarcerates Black people at a nearly five times higher rate than white people?  This is part two in our Breaking the Bias series for Black History Month, where we are highlighting people and organizations who are creating alternatives to incarceration. Today we’re speaking to Brian Stanley, Court Advocate for Avenues for Justice, an organization that’s been around for more than 40 years and that has successfully kept thousands of African American and Hispanic youth and young adults in New York City out of the criminal justice system. In New York City, it costs about $450,000 to incarcerate a young person for a year, but to put them through Avenues For Justice’s program, it costs about $6,000. Brian Stanley has some fascinating insights about this. In addition to serving as a court advocate, he  also works with youth as  a writing tutor, basketball coach, and art teacher with a focus on hip hop. Here is what he has to say about lowering incarceration rates, and new paths forward.

As we kick off 2023, many of us may be reflecting on the past year and thinking ahead about how we want to show up and who we want to connect with in the new year. This topic may be especially important, given that research shows that loneliness increased for Americans during the pandemic. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Holly Corbett, VP of Content for Consciously Unbiased,  spoke to Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships, to find out how we can use technology for good to reverse the growing trend of disconnection, build more meaningful relationships and authentically diversify our networks and overcome similarity bias. Relationship building takes time, but Susan shares practical advice for how we can focus on making connections and expand our networks without feeling overwhelmed.

We are almost to 2023, and we’re still having conversations about how to make gender equity happen. In the U.S., women represent 48% of the entry-level workforce; but only 24% of C-suite executives. Men are promoted at a rate of 21% more than women. We still have a gender and racial pay gap and a motherhood penalty. Yet closing the gender gap is not only the right thing to do; it’s good for the economy and would increase the U.S. GDP by $3.1 trillion. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Consciously Unbiased founder Ashish Kaushal sits down with Katica Roy, a gender economist and founder of Pipeline, a company that uses analytics to quantify unconscious bias within an organization. Katica also has an extraordinary story as the daughter of a refugee and immigrant on why she is so passionate about advancing equity. They cover everything from the difference between equality and equity, how gender equity helps men too, and whether salary transparency policies are truly effective.

It’s been five years since #MeToo went viral after actress Alyssa Milano tweeted “me too” and encouraged others who had experienced sexual harassment to do the same, though activist Tarana Burke originally coined the phrase “me too” in 2006. The #MeToo movement sparked a societal reckoning as thousands of women’s voices about the sexual violence they’d experienced at the hands of powerful men put a spotlight on gender inequities and power dynamics. No longer silent, this collective of voices resulted in real-world consequences that spread around the world, with heads of companies being fired and public figures being held accountable. As #MeToo was gaining momentum and the Harvey Weinsten scandal was dominating the news, the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund was launched to offer legal assistance to survivors of harassment and assault.  In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Holly Corbett, VP of Content for Consciously Unbiased, speaks with Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center and co-founder of Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. This episode covers: How the National Women’s Law Center started the Time’s Up legal Defense Fund as the Harvey Weinstein case broke. Today 6,000 people have gone to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund for help, and they have a network of 400 attorneys. What the #MeToo movement means today, and a growing awareness of Black survivors of sexual violence and other people with marginalized identities, and how they see themselves as part of this movement. What needs to happen next to help keep fighting sexual harassment in the workplace and protect against retaliation for those who report it.

The ongoing pandemic and social unrest in the aftermath of George Floyd sparked a greater emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training within organizations. As the demand for DEI trainers continues to rise, many lack a clear path for making progress and must learn on their own without clear guidelines. Maria Morukian, President of MSM Global Consulting,  authored the new book Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Trainers: Fostering DEI in the Workplace, to create a guide for trainers to develop the skills needed to deliver sustainable change and unpack their own biases. For Maria, DEI is personal and is largely influenced by her upbringing as a first-generation American: Maria’s father, Val Morukian, had a bi-cultural identity. He was an Armenian whose family fled Istanbul during the Armenian diaspora and he was born in Cuba to a single mother of three. Maria opens her book by sharing how her father embodied the old adage, ‘looks can be deceiving.’ “I would say people looked at my dad as this small in stature, older, hard-of-hearing guy with kind of a funny accent who always looked a little disheveled and like he was lost,” says Maria.“But the truth was that he had had this incredible life and so many rich and sometimes hard- to-imagine stories…looking at what was on the surface, if people just saw him or knew this one little bit of the story, they would never know all of the richness that was underneath.” As a young man, her father was enlisted in the U.S. Army, during which he was shot in the line of duty. Val was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for saving members of his battalion. He went to college after the army and became a Detroit public school teacher for nearly 40 years, and at various times was a bartender, a carni, and even a security guard for Jimmy Hoffa.  Maria’s father’s life inspired her to become a diversity trainer and educator. In this episode of Breaking the Bias, Consciously Unbiased founder Ashish Kaushal (virtually) sits down with Maria, to talk about her journey and the power that DEI training, when done right, can have in the workplace. They cover: Why blame and shame aren’t effective for creating change—and what is How to encourage people to look at the world from others’ perspectives The most essential skills diversity, equity and inclusion trainers should have in order to make a real impact The next frontier of DEI training in the workplace, and much more.