Diversity

Meet Mel – Founder of This Mum Runs

This Mum Runs is the largest mobile, on and offline running community for Mums in the world, aiming to empower millions of women to feel great about themselves just through moving more and doing it using the power of community. Here we chat to Mel Bound, Founder and CEO of This Mum Runs, as part of our International Women’s Day celebrations.

This article is part 1 of 24 in the series IWD 2021
Calling for more diversity in the wellbeing space

Recently I’ve been wishing for more meetings with men. I spend a lot of time in meetings with women. And while I know my 20-something self would be puzzled by this statement (and would be delighted to chat regularly to women, albeit in a work capacity) let me explain…

Zoom identified as worst company for gender diversity in the boardroom

Bumble’s CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd, became the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire last week– a huge milestone for women in business everywhere. But how many female decision-makers are there in the boardrooms of some of the biggest companies in technology, entertainment and e-commerce?

ADHD employer guidance published to help address lack of neurodiversity in industry

The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has published new guidance, ‘DMA Talent: ADHD Employer Guide’, created using insights from neurodiversity consultants, brands/employers, and employees with ADHD working across the creative, data and marketing industries.

Mentoring and funding are only getting us so far

There’s one tool that’s underused to address the gender diversity gap in startups – education.

North American LGBTQIA+ founders explore business opportunities in London

London will host a group of North American LGBTQIA+ founders and entrepreneurs today for the start of a two-day virtual trade mission to explore London’s business ecosystem. The mission will see fourteen of North America’s fastest-growing LGBTQIA+ led tech companies ‘touch-down’ in London to meet with corporates and startups to discuss potential business opportunities in the UK capital.

What does being a woman in tech mean?

Although this may sound like one of the easier questions you have read this week, this question is so much more than these seven words primarily show.

How to support transgender people in the workplace

In June of 2020, the US Supreme Court handed down a ruling that barred employers from discriminating against queer and transgender employees. This was the latest of many fights happening worldwide to introduce or strengthen legislation to protect the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace.

Mind the gap

‘Why men shouldn’t be the only architects of our digital future’. In the tech world we’re always talking about solutions. You hear it all the time, in every pitch deck, on every panel, how if you want to build a successful startup you need to find a problem for consumers or businesses and solve it.

Smashing the glass ceiling for tech leadership diversity

University of Bristol multi-award-winning tech incubator, SETsquared Bristol, has seen its 80 startup and scaleup companies establish record leadership diversity.

Why supporting diverse founders is more important than ever

As the pandemic continues to impact businesses – both small and large – across the globe, I meet with four diverse founders based in the UK, who are taking part in WeWork’s Diverse Founders Programme in partnership with UK social enterprise, Foundervine.

The women behind some of the most innovative startups in the UK

With men being twice as likely to become entrepreneurs than women, the business world has a long way to go to address the barriers which stop women from starting companies, and help to create a more equal society.

Building diversity within venture capital

Included VC, the first-of-its-kind global initiative building diversity within venture capital, has in a collaborative partnership with 11 funds from around the world, kicked off its Fellowship II. It is the only offering on the market that offers a nine-month, fully funded Fellowship to diverse individuals globally who are looking to enter the VC ecosystem.

The importance of LGBT+ role models for organisations

You can’t be what you can’t see. This is a phrase that crops up time and time again. We often see organisations pledge to take action to boost the number of opportunities for LGBT+ professionals to take up leadership positions; however there is still a lack of visible LGBT+ role models across business.

Data & Marketing Association joins Race Equality Matters UK campaign

The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has announced a new partnership with not-for-profit organisation, Race Equality Matters, which will seek to achieve racial equality in the workplace.

How the boom in e-commerce is aiding diversity and inclusion in the logistics industry

Over the past few years, we have seen considerable progress on gender equality within the workplace, with logistics providers outlining their commitments to building a more diverse pipeline of talent across all levels.

Working mums have demanded flexibilty for decades
Working mums have demanded flexibilty for decades

As someone who once worked for big tech in corporate America, I can attest to the difficulties corporate environments impose on people as individuals, especially caregivers. I don’t limit my identities to only being a mother or only being a professional — I am, like so many things in 2020, complicated and I contain multitudes (thanks for that one, Walt Whitman).

Felicity Aston: The first woman to ski alone across Antarctica

British Polar explorer, Antarctic scientist and author, Felicity Aston is an established expedition leader who has successfully organised and led numerous global missions. As an ambassador for the First Women project, Felicity has led international teams of women to some of the most remote places around the world. Her expeditions have included the first British Women’s crossing of Greenland, The Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition and The Pole of Cold Expedition.

How can AI businesses tackle the diversity problem?

To date, the artificial intelligence (AI) industry has had quite a difficult history with diversity standards. Despite studies probing inclusivity and bias, statistics for gender and racial diversity in the sector are alarmingly low. And given that we are living in an age of strong activism in these spaces, it is high time that the tech industry follows suit with some practical steps.

Part two – It’s complicated…

In the first part of this series I looked specifically at why women aren’t investing. This time, I’m exploring what’s stopping everyone else.