"We need to make it easier to do the right thing". Diversity in companies with Martin Mason, CEO of Unleashed

Karmic Capitalist - businesses with purpose

I remember in the early 90s being told to staple my photograph to any CVs I sent out applying for work. I'm no George Clooney, so I wondered why. I later found out it was so that people who only had my name to go on would see that I wasn't Pakistani!
So offensive at so many levels. If I were Pakistani, why would that be a problem? What if I were a white Pakistani? How about that I'm not Pakistani, but my name is still a Muslim name?
We've come a LONG way since. But we're still in the foothills.
And companies like Unleashed, founded by Martin Mason, are taking firm aim at equalising the playing field.
Martin is my guest on this episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, and he tells his own story of how he came to set the company up. His shock at finding the change in attitudes around him within the workplace to his coming out as gay, and his questioning as to why that should matter.
His trajectory on helping companies genuinely grow their talent, regardless of background, led to his being prompted to set up his own company focussed explicitly on this issue.
This is a fascinating episode, as we discuss what was happening in parallel in society at large which has increased realisation and response to the various bit of explicit and implicit discrimination that sit in companies.
We touch on the moral case and the business case for diversity, and the importance of where the motivation comes from.
And on how if you have the courage to embrace diversity, it adds beauty to the workplace.
We talk about the actual steps to look at in order to create a more diverse workplace, and critically a more diverse talent pipeline. And obviously, about how Unleashed helps by making it easier to do the right thing and support companies to become fairer and more accessible.
This is a fantastic episode, touching on the personal, the corporate and the societal in the evolution of a company that's aiming to "change the talent profile in organisations across the globe”.
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