Rachel and Simon polish off the twelve days of Christmas with their final six key issues of 2025. 

In place of geese, swans, maids, ladies, lords, pipers and drummers, they surprised themselves to discover nuance, ethical dilemmas, previously unthought thoughts and a continuation of their honest examinations rather than ideological assumptions.

Looking back over the issues that have touched people’s lives and lit our passions this year we explore assisted dying, academic freedom, data and privacy, impartiality and shifting media ownership and why we prefer politicians to be frank and straight-talking whatever party they come from. 

Exploring our uncertainties as much as our convictions, we continue to have the conversations you want to have. 

So, “Happy Christmas” to everyone who listens and we’ll see you in 2026. 

UK Government Data (Use and Access) Bill 2025: 

Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament

House of Lords debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill):

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2cbcf49e-9d0e-491d-a7e3-177077d403a0

Shabana Mahmood Speech and Question from the House of Commons on Asylum (minute 18:12 for the section referred to in Fearless Diversity)

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/78fe5a1e-493e-41a0-aa45-72036ba8434c?in=18:12:55

Kemi Badenoch Budget Response:

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/bd93fcba-e4f0-4175-b6ef-701621a2d6c2

‘I dared to question gender theory at Cambridge. Students carved Terf into my door’

https://archive.ph/mLJV3

Michelle Shipworth

UCL professor in academic freedom row speaks out on China

https://tinyurl.com/v6tj95as

Ofcom statement in response to High Court Judgment: GB News v Ofcom

https://tinyurl.com/3hsccp8a

Data Use & Access Act - Commentary by Pinsent Mason law firm

https://tinyurl.com/mryynhpn

GB News’ Martin Daubney salutes Trump’s cavalcade

https://tinyurl.com/hvn6rtwk

Saimo Chahal – Bindmans solicitor in a number of assisted dying cases – 

Info on the case of Omid

https://tinyurl.com/2tucfs9e

Transcript of Evidence from Jane Nicklinson and Saimo Chahal, on Behalf of Tony Nicklinson to the Commission on Assisted Dying – Canada - dated December 14,2010

https://tinyurl.com/3ntjcepr

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📌 The Employment Rights Bill

📌 The surge in ADHD, autism and wider mental health diagnoses

📌 What really happened to the so-called “diversity backlash”

📌 The national shame of violence against women – and what it means for workplaces

📌 Significant employment tribunals and the defence of lawful belief

📌 The aftermath of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland

Threaded through all six are a hard, practical set of questions:

• Is there a widening gap between ambitious language (on rights, inclusion, safety, mental health) and the real machinery of guidance, training and governance needed to deliver?
• Does our capacity, competence and confidence in people management lag what these pressures demand?
• Are law and policy being asked to settle deep social disagreements, leaving institutions exposed, anxious and unsure how to act without legal or reputational blowback?
• Are people simply tired of performative gestures and hungry for visible fairness, safety, and competence instead?

Amid culture-war noise and contested change, is there finally an appetite for more grown-up, practical responses in workplaces and in public life?

Join Simon and Rachel for this week’s Christmas special, and feel free to comment, share, disagree and enjoy.

RESOURCES:

Sir Charlie Mayfield interviewed by Anna Foster on Radio 4’s Today Program (05/12/2025)

https://tinyurl.com/3k6e2dht

Charlie Mayfield Review Keep Britain Working Review: Discovery - GOV.UK

Sarah Everard’s mother’s statement on her daughter’s murder

https://tinyurl.com/5amt8kux

Lady Elish Angiolini (former solicitor general for Scotland) on the release of The Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 First Report: Prevention of sexually motivated crimes against women in public

https://tinyurl.com/3u9yp656

Higgs v Farmor’s School – Appeal Court judgement

https://tinyurl.com/29sd8ayy

Miller v University of Bristol

The original judgement

https://tinyurl.com/49exnbjv

This is being appealed – the hearing was on 12-14th November 2025. Judgement not yet handed down

People Management

“UK companies abandon EDI initiatives in response to Trump’s anti-diversity rhetoric, survey finds” – Nov 3rd 2025 

https://tinyurl.com/3psxsmvu

Minister, Baroness Smith - Clarity on Supreme Court Judgement, November 2025

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-11-05/debates/33DF0162-75ED-447D-9384-EE32A6422193/details#contribution-1457B511-21E8-40D1-9391-FEE39EF8751E

The Prime Minister “the Supreme Court Judgement must be implemented in full and at all levels”, November 2025

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-11-12/debates/92F8A914-4D55-4672-A617-A8D393E3504F/details#contribution-38146318-67B4-4A4B-8836-5DE3503797FA

Supreme Court judgement in April

For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent)

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Three kids, a wall, and those famous different-sized “equity” boxes. Helpful metaphor or the reason that to so many leaders and colleagues think the boxes look like unfairness?

In this episode of Fearless Diversity, Rachel and Simon start with that much-used cartoon and end up somewhere much more interesting: how do we remove the barriers to people’s talent and empower them to achieve to the extent of their potential?  

Are those “equity” boxes giving people the perception of an unfair advantage? To create greater opportunity shouldn’t we be taking the wall down altogether? And what does that look like if you’re a CEO, HRD, regulator or team leader trying to recruit, promote and manage fairly without getting lost in culture-war noise?

Rachel brings her psychological-safety and trauma-informed leadership lens; Simon brings his unique approach to diversity rooted in goals and outcomes rather than gestures and politics. Together they unpack quotas, merit, the “tyranny of low expectations”, neurodiversity, and why pointing and punishing rarely changes anything.

We ask how we can (to quote the great black American profess Glen Loury “acknowledge racial disparities without invoking the language of white supremacy. And … pursue equality without promoting guilt or resentment”?

 If you’ve ever wondered:

• When does equity become unlawful?
• How do we support people who meet the skills threshold to succeed?
• How do we challenge racism and sexism without turning everything into oppressor vs oppressed?

…this one’s for you. Smart, practical, occasionally spicy and definitely more useful than another slogan on a slide.

How woke and anti-woke erase blackness We must see race, but not be ruled by it

By Glenn Loury

https://shorturl.at/78pWr

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Rachel and Simon are joined by Jacqui Gavin BEM, a trans woman, former civil servant and long-time equality campaigner, for a deeply human conversation about growing up as Scott in 1970s Scotland, beginning transition as a teenager, and what it means to describe being trans not as an identity but as a process.

Across the hour, they explore:

• The nine-year-old who “wanted to find the girl” and the 21-year-old stepping out with fear and liberation to live as a female.
• Why Jacqui calls herself “female with a trans history” and how she still lovingly carries Scott with her.
• What both sides of the sex and gender debate get wrong about each other, and why Jacqui sees herself not as a fighter but as a bridge-builder.
• Letting children be children, respecting women’s boundaries, and learning to “earn your place in the world” through mutual respect, not demands.

This is not a shouting match about policy. It’s three people, in a conversation, talking honestly about fear, dignity, belonging and how to stay human when the world is loud, angry, and certain.

If you’ve ever felt confused, anxious, or silenced by the noise around sex and gender, this gentle, thoughtful episode is an invitation: you’re allowed to just ask.

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The BBC is weathering one of the fiercest storms in its modern history. The now-infamous Prescott memo, an “egregious” Trump edit, open rows over coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict, and bitter battles about sex and gender have left Britain’s national broadcaster facing accusations of bias from every direction.

But is this just another skirmish in the Beeb’s long and noisy war with its critics – or has something deeper gone wrong inside the corporation once trusted above all others?

That’s the question explored in the latest episode of Fearless Diversity, where psychological safety specialist Rachel Cashman joins broadcaster, writer and veteran BBC contributor Simon Fanshawe to ask what the turmoil really reveals about power, leadership and culture inside Britain’s biggest media institution.

Drawing on Simon’s decades writing and presenting BBC programmes and Rachel’s work with leaders under intense scrutiny, the pair dissect the growing crisis from every angle.

They explore:

·      What the leaked Prescott memo uncovers – from the Trump editing debacle to the shifting coverage of Gaza, Israel, and the gender debate.

·      How cost-cutting, centralised editorial “hubs” and tight internal controls may have narrowed the breadth of voices and opinions on air.

·      Why two things can co-exist: that many have had fulfilling, proud careers inside the BBC while serious questions about its impartiality and internal culture remain unanswered.

·      The chilling effect of reported instructions not to question the board – and why any “don’t ask” culture is a red flag in modern leadership.

·      How institutions truly lose trust: not when they admit mistakes, but when they spin, minimise or defend instead of confronting uncomfortable truths.

Rachel unveils her FEARLESS crisis framework – a model for organisations in trouble – and applies it directly to the BBC, suggesting bold steps the broadcaster must take to rebuild its credibility.

Simon, meanwhile, delivers the uncomfortable verdict: that the deeper failure is one of journalism itself. The Director-General, he argues, must act first and foremost as editor-in-chief – and ensure editors lead with impartiality, serving the audience, not their own opinions.

Together they make the case for renewing the BBC’s founding purpose: that public service broadcasting still matters, that opinions should never become the story, and that courage and transparency are the lifeblood of any institution hoping to retain public trust.

For anyone steering organisations through controversy, managing reputational risk, or simply trying to make sense of what’s happened to the nation’s broadcaster, this is an unmissable listen.

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This week Rachel and Simon unpack how fear, social media dynamics, and confirmation bias turn these tragedies into fuel on the fires of the culture-wars. How transparent should the police be about reporting the ethnicity of alleged perpetrators? Why do people prefer to confirm their own prejudices – literally to pre-judge – before waiting for the facts? What does academic research tell us about how easily swayed we are to see racism, sexism by or, in the other, view terrorism or issues with immigration and assumptions about race? How does jumping to those conclusions poison our ability at work to interrupt distorted narratives and creating the safety, clarity, and accountability that real dialogue requires form us to get along or work together.  And what can a chippy in North Leeds give us about how to do that? 

Advisory: contains discussion of racism and violent incidents. Ongoing legal proceedings are referenced without speculation.

Sonia Sodha’s column My column for @TheNewWorldmag on what lies behind the rise of racism in politics

https://shorturl.at/JpBWh

Simon’s article about Kate Clancy in the New Statesman

https://shorturl.at/wRqpC

Is Britain becoming more violent? - A look at the data

By Fraser Nelson

https://shorturl.at/MZHdL

Leeds chippy batters down faith barriers

https://shorturl.at/DEtE3

Kate Clanchy - Uncancelled at last Four years on, are we any wiser?

https://shorturl.at/0qNjO

Kids, critics and the courage of Kate Clanchy

By Victoria Smith

https://tinyurl.com/3e25u8ns

Rutgers research

Instructing Animosity: How DEI Pedagogy Produces The Hostile Attribution Bias

https://tinyurl.com/28hjwmp2

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In a post-pandemic world of blurred boundaries, rising neurodiversity needs and intensifying polarisation, HR leaders are being asked to carry it all: grief, grievance, and the governance. In this episode, we explore how to move from process-heavy firefighting to relational leadership and creating genuine psychological safety (not a “corporate cuddle”), maintaining accountability, and staying squarely within the law.

What do people want from their jobs in 2025 vs. what the job requires, we ask: how do leaders regulate fear, rebuild trust, and re-set the contract at work? If you’re holding pain, policy, and performance all at once, this one’s for you.

With deep respect for HR leaders and a mindset for legality, proportionality, and public interest. We separate psychological safety from well-being, agency from entitlement, and accountability from punishment. And we’ll offer practical moves to help HR step out of constant rescue mode and lead as strategic partners without become trapped in procedure. 

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Trust is in dangerously short supply these days. From politics to once-dependable institutions and even within close-knit teams, confidence is fast evaporating. Trust is easy to lose and hard to earn. It’s built over time but lost in an instant - whether in personal relationships, businesses or in the corridors of power.

In this week’s episode, Rachel and Simon discuss and debate how we built it, lose it, regain it and cope with it - starting with the individual. Want people to trust you? It’s all about being the same on the inside as you are on the outside. “Trust starts in the mirror, not in the memo,” as Rachel puts it.  When it comes to relationships is honesty is non-negotiable? Or can we carry a certain amount of mistrust? In business too, is trust all? Effective leaders know how to be straightforward with staff and the public, take personal responsibility for decisions and engage in authentic and transparent dialogue.​ Does building trust in teams or organisations demands honest self-assessment, clear purpose, and a willingness to engage constructively with conflict?

And when trust is lost in politics, rebuilding competence is what’s needed. Not to be confused with PR or reputation management. The public expects politicians to act not spin. From the Post Office scandal to grooming gangs, from Ratner calling products ‘crap’ to BP CEO pretending the spread of the oil spill is negligible, trust in public bodies crumbles when facts are swept under the carpet and victims’ voices are denied. Ordinary people can cope with uncertainty, but they won't stomach dishonesty or hypocrisy, and when leaders bury the truth, it's not just the direct victims who lose faith - the whole public suffers.​

Key takeaways 

·      Self before system: inner alignment beats performative signalling.

·      Rupture is inevitable; repair is a skill (truth + accountability + consistency).

·      Don’t confuse comms with credibility; behaviour is the message.

·      Values work only when tied to observable behaviours and consequences.

·      In high-stakes issues, be trauma-informed, not optics-led.

Practical actions for leaders 

·      Schedule one “repair conversation” you’ve been avoiding; name the rupture and propose a path back.

·      Replace one all-staff email with 10 targeted 1-1s that rebuild credibility.

·      Translate your values into two columns: “Looks like / Doesn’t look like” and use it in PDRs.

·      In contentious debates, separate transparency (honest facts) from disclosure-dumping (deflection).

·      Adopt “listen to hear → reflect → respond” as your process for dialogue. 

BOSTON CONSULTING TRUST INDEX

https://shorturl.at/zmmzQ

REBUILDING TRUST

https://shorturl.at/XOVT7

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It’s a rollicking debate with sharp edges, full-throttle disagreement in part, and one very live question who’s it actually worth arguing with anymore?

Simon’s just back from the Battle of Ideas, where he shared space with people he vehemently disagrees with and has mixed feelings as a result. Rachel, on the other hand, reckons the whole thing’s just too right-wing for her vibe, recognising she may be reinforcing her own biases, and worries about the reputational risk of legitimising certain viewpoints. So, it’s a conversation of the wrestle with our own tensions about who to talk to about when and when. 

Is the real dividing line today Left versus Right or liberals versus authoritarians, on both sides?

And what if, whisper it, the Right might actually be right that Britain’s true clash is between the elite and the people?

New research from More in Common and Arch 10 reveals just how out of touch the progressive and public-sector “elites”, including many driving diversity and inclusion, have become from the wider public, especially on sex, gender, patriotism, and free speech.

Battle of Ideas had everything: a panel on the Supreme Court judgment, disbelief that trans people even exist, a tweet labelling DEI “a virus,” and yet a surprisingly diverse audience and a bromance brewing between Simon and Andrew Doyle in over Simon’s taste in coloured couture.

In the end, the duo agrees on one thing: it’s time to move past the culture wars.

What we need are Fearless Diversity gatherings with rosé, civility, and the courage to disagree well. Who wants to join us?

Fearless Diversity where nuance still has the mic.

RESOURCES

Arch10 “Two Britains”

https://shorturl.at/TC89q

More in Common – “Progressive Activists”

https://shorturl.at/eLwW6

Battle of Ideas

https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/

Ben Cooper (one of the KCs who represented in the Supreme Court) explainer on the Supreme Court judgement in For Women Scotland

https://shorturl.at/0QRCX

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At a time when public debate feels less like dialogue and more like a contest over whose feelings matter most, Simon and Rachel take a breath, and a stand, for nuance, empathy, and civility.

Because identity whether shaped by sex, gender, class, ethnicity, or belief has become both the lens through which we see the world and, too often, the wall that divides us.

In this episode, they explore what happens when politics becomes a battle of tribes rather than a search for solutions. From the far-reaching debates at the recent FiLiA conference, Europe’s largest feminist gathering, to boardrooms wrestling with diversity data, the same question runs through it all: how do we honour difference without hardening into division?

Rachel argues that class still defines how women experience both oppression and opportunity, and Simon challenges the orthodoxy of identity politics itself. Together, they unpack how leaders can use diversity data not as a flag to wave but as a lens for understanding asking, what are we really trying to learn here?

Because perhaps, in an age of permanent outrage, the most radical act isn’t shouting louder it’s listening better.

If you enjoy listening to us, please do like and share

Resources:

FILIA. https://www.filia.org.uk/

Fire Service Black Members - National Conference 2025 https://shorturl.at/A92tV

Black Excellence in Governance https://shorturl.at/lHFn3

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We don’t posture; we do the hard work of sense-making. We explore why silence from institutions and politicians corrodes trust, how slogan-chanting lands as eradication to Jewish citizens, and why leaders must support protest rights clearly and also enforce the law on incitement consistently, not selectively. We acknowledge parallel harms, including arson at a Sussex mosque and the daily experience of British Muslims facing prejudice. But we don’t take refuge in the false comfort of “whataboutery”.

This is a practical conversation for people who run things CEOs, headteachers, council leaders, community organisers. We offer three commitments you can enact now:

1.              Curiosity with backbone: seek understanding across difference without surrendering facts. Try to find agreement not just disagreement.

2.              Even-handed moral clarity: condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia without purity tests or exemptions.

3.              Local dialogue, real guardrails: create forums where disagreement is safe, and incitement is not.

4.              In everyday conversation commit to civility – only ever try to explore and at best convince but not to win. 

Not virtue. Not theatre. Leadership. We have the conversation you want to. Please do listen, like and share.

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From dinner parties to football terraces the argument is dividing Britain.  Are ID cards a slick, modern tool to cut red tape and to create a sense of Britishness - or the threat of Big Brother made real, of a society where our lives are one barcode away from state control and all-day surveillance. Is the BritCard a massive invasion of privacy or the key to our national identity? 

Although aren’t we being a bit hypocritical? Why are we so bothered about government having limited info on us so we can get benefits when we’ve already surrendered everything about ourselves to Google and Facebook? 

And can government actually pull it off? HS2 or the Edinburgh trams anyone? What will ID cards give us that we don’t already have? Ands what about Auty Betty who’ll never have an iphone so she’ll never go digital? If you’re an illegal immigrant you’ve already escaped the system so why will the BritCard stop you being in the UK? 

Will digital IDs streamline Britain’s services, build trust, cement values and create belonging or instead, in a country where only 12% of the population trust government, just be felt as another state overreach? Will the BritCard bind us closer - or drive us further apart?

Fearless Diversity doesn’t just chew over politics—it digs into how policies shape the lives we live, the work we do, and the society we want to be part of. Enjoy, listen and share. 

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At the moment flags are everywhere – at football matches, street parties, protests, Pride and, lately, at the heart of raging debate about what it means to be British. This week we try and understand the hope, the pride and the worry wrapped up in every St George’s Cross and Union Jack.

A flag isn’t just a flag. For some, it’s a badge of pride, shared in the roar of the crowd when England scores. For others, it brings darker memories and fears of division.

The left and right claim love and shame of country. But has the left abandoned patriotism, ceding the flag to extremists? And does the right use language of nationhood just to exclude? 

But we all know moments when flags precisely symbolise moments of joy and optimism - the Olympics, royal occasions, football and rugby - when the Union Jack and the St George’s flag unite communities of every colour, faith and background. Is it just lazy branding of ordinary flag-wavers to call them ‘racists’?  Have too many leaders in public institutions got it wrong when they shut down conversations instead of listening to the real emotions behind the flags? 

Instead of labelling we need to create space for talking, listening and understanding. We should take care not to jump to judgement but stay curious. Can we understand what flags mean to each of us and talk to the issues rather than demonising each other. If we get it right, can flags unite rather than divide us?

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Title: “Words, Violence, and the Tribe: Beyond the Workplace”

Series Two is here. Rachel Cashman, your Fearless Facilitator, and Simon Fanshawe, the Diversity Dissident, are back. This season we’re stepping past the office door. Fearless Diversity now lives in life and work because the tensions shaping our feeds, families, and friendships don’t clock off at 6pm. We’ll go where others swerve, holding space for difference without collapsing into silence or dogma. We have the conversations you want to have. 

Episode 1: “Words, Violence, and the Tribe”

We open with a hard conversation: the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the chaotic 48-hour whirlpool that followed. Not a hot-take; a cool-head. We examine why it’s crucial to condemn political violence without equivocation, the effect of social-media virality in real time (yes, teens seeing it minutes after it happened on TikTok), and how “words are violence” became a cultural reflex that is just a step away from meeting wordswith violence.  We probe Christian identity and movement-building, algorithmic tribalism, why the right lurches towards authoritarianism and the left embraces a fearsome illiberalism. And what it would mean to rebuild a norm where free speech is a value - not a thing we do but a way we do things.

Along the way: compassion that isn’t contingent, the difference between dialogue and conversion, Sister Helen Prejean’s radical humanism, MLK’s non-violence as both means and end, and the old-school discipline of checking sources before you hit “post.” We’re honest about the personal, too health scares, kids’ digital lives, and an insight for episode two on what leaders (in teams, communities, and homes) can do on Monday morning when rival protests meet around the same table.

Why listen (and why now):

• We refuse the false choice: safety or dissent. You get both.
• Practical takeaways for managers, parents, and community leaders who must host disagreement well.
• A season-long commitment: conversations that model the society we actually want to live in.

Join us: Follow, rate, and share. Drop us your “yes, but…” and we’ll feature sharp listener questions in upcoming Q&As and bring guests who disagree with us well. Fearless Diversity, Series Two: beyond work now—because culture happens everywhere, and so does courage

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Age is a minefield for managers and leaders. The young are idealised, patronised or indulged at work, while older people’s experience is either venerated or wasted and at worst consigned to the scrap heap. Some execs think their teenage children understand the world better than they do, young people reverse JFK’s exhortation and demand what the company can do for them and everybody disagrees about phone use, social media and how to communicate.

Rachel and Simon navigate the generational maze using their practical experience with clients and the latest scientific research. Neuroscience tells us that brains just aren’t fully cooked until at least 25. Executive function, the bit that helps you plot revolution or file taxes are still developing during your teens and early twenties. So, do children need parents, young people need older people and indignation need experience?

With age, discrimination goes both ways. In politics and workplaces, society is still wrestling with whose voice matters and whose is discounted. The generational divide is real, awkward, and much like our podcast, refuses to fit into a single, easy narrative.

So grab a cup of tea, an oat latte (God forbid), or just a tepid mug of nostalgia, and join us as we slice, dice, and deconstruct what age really means in a rapidly changing UK.

Equality Act – age discrimination and exceptions 

https://shorturl.at/yolHi

Prof Sallie Baxendale - profile

https://shorturl.at/08fv7

Law Society of Scotland - Brain not fully developed until age 25, research reveals

https://shorturl.at/32aPn

Understanding the Teen Brain - University of Rochester

https://shorturl.at/uXvwK

The Power of Difference 

Pp 201 – 204 and p208

https://shorturl.at/hvrfm

John Allen / CBI

https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/article/carolyn-fairbairn-on-cbis-really-good-culture-despite-sex-allegations-qhcmzc75s

Resolution Foundation report on young people’s mental health

https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/weve-only-just-begun/

Harmful stereotypes of young people fuelling record numbers to fall out of work

https://shorturl.at/y6saT

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So in this episode, Rachel and Simon wade straight into the mess of history, aspiration, personal fear, good intentions and the fear of getting it wrong which make it so complicated.

Simon unpacks the historical waves of immigration since the War and the reaction which exposes public ambivalence and ingrained biases, caught between welcoming diversity and grappling with the underlying uncertainties which for so many reflects reality in UK workplaces. Born in Australia, Rachel tells how she was compelled every year to show up Britain’s intimidating immigration hub in Croydon, until she could finally become officially British in front of a cardboard cut-out of the Queen. Meanwhile,

The discussion challenges simplistic, binary views on race, identity, and integration. Behind every headline statistic and heated debate are real human stories, the personal experiences of immigrants. Central to the conversation is the crucial role that curiosity and language play in shaping inclusive workplaces.

As Simon explores the changes to Dagenham since his family owned it in the 16th and 17th centuries and the initial peculiarity of some loo signage at Edinburgh University, they confront serious questions: What role does language really play in integration? How do we move past simplistic narratives about race and identity to foster genuine workplace cohesion? Why questions of race may be morally black and white, but practically they are more complicated. And who wore Union Jack shoes at a citizenship ceremony?

The episode invites listeners to view immigration not as a monolithic policy matter but as a multifaceted human challenge requiring thoughtful integration over assimilation, inquiry over offence, and fact-driven conversations over fear-driven narratives.

Expect laughter and a healthy dose of fearless candour as they untangle myths, misconceptions, and the genuine anxieties that shape Britain’s diverse workplaces.

Official immigration stats

https://shorturl.at/Sw9W6

NHS staff stats

https://shorturl.at/SPNPB

King’s Fund reports on immigrants and health

https://shorturl.at/9flnL

Social Attitudes Survey

https://natcen.ac.uk/publications/british-social-attitudes-41-national-identity

Attitudes to race – IPSOS

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/attitudes-race-and-inequality-great-britain

EVENS (Evidence for Equality National Survey) 2023 (Guardian article)

https://shorturl.at/pAUyv

Tomiwa Owolade critique of the EVENS

https://shorturl.at/xvT5H

Instructing Animosity:  How DEI Pedagogy Produces The Hostile Attribution Bias (Rutgers 2024)

https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/Instructing-Animosity_11.13.24.pdf

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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Simon wrestles with whether there are any limits to what artists can say and whether Rod Stewart should just shut up about Gaza and Farage, and stick to singing “Maggie May”. Meanwhile Rachel tries (and fails) to keep the chat away from her beloved football, Edinburgh and her horror at the antisemitism at Glastonbury.

We’re not afraid to tackle the big issues:

·      Should Glastonbury—or any promoter—gag their artists?

·      Did the BBC go too far by airing those incendiary performances live to millions?

·      Should festival boss Emily Eavis have shown more caution in her line-up?

We explore the issues around those hounded out of publishing and the arts simply for voicing their views.  And we ask: Should museums tell us what to think, or should the public be trusted to make up their own minds?

From “Queers for Palestine” banners to Marilyn Manson’s headline-grabbing antics - and even the shocking appearance of a Hitler flag at Glasto - nothing is off limits as we explore the blurry line between free speech, the freedom of artists, outrage, hostility and moral responsibility or the law. Was Rushdie right when he said "The moment you limit free speech it's not free speech'.

Plus, find out why Simon’s mother protested at Scotland’s smartest retailer Jenner’s and how Rachel was brought up by an elephant.

This week’s show is bold, provocative and just serious enough to keep us on air. We hope this episode prompts us all to ask: what exactly is artistic freedom for?

Tune in, shout at your speaker or nod in agreement and let's thrash it out together. At Fearless Diversity we are always up for a difference of opinion. 

RESOURCES:

Freedom In The Arts (FITA) report

https://shorturl.at/hs3UI

Every Day Cancellation in Publishing Report 

https://sex-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Everyday-cancellation-in-publishing-Sex-Matters.pdf

The First Writers' Congress of Donald Trump – David Aaronovitch

https://shorturl.at/Q5ZGO

Rachel Rooney - My Body Is Me – attacked

https://shorturl.at/HVjSV

Buy it:

https://shorturl.at/HyoT1

Letter to Sadler’s Well re Barclays sponsorship

https://shorturl.at/Sex2J

Letter re Manchester Royal Exchange’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

https://shorturl.at/tEl1H

Report on letter to PEN opposing the Award to Charlie Hebdo

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/29/writers-join-protest-charlie-hebdo-pen-award

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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Welcome to Fearless Diversity the podcast that tackles the tricky bits of life in work and has the conversation that you want to. This week Simon and Rachel dive into disability after the huge public, media and Parliamentary furore about welfare reform and the implications for disabled people receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP). In our conversation we unpick some of the biggest issues facing disabled people in the UK today, from societal stigma, employment and pay gaps to the ongoing complexity of reasonable adjustments, the increase in mental health issues and guess what? Donkeys, yes donkeys, play a starring role. 

Expect frank conversation as we explore the uncomfortable truths of workplace discrimination and the baffling obstacles of physical and digital accessibility. There’s plenty of laughter too, as Rachel recounts her uniquely blunt doctor's appointment, and Simon shares a surprisingly profound life lesson learned during a spirited game of croquet!

Follow our conversation moving beyond the importance of just considering the needs of people living with disability to seeing that as a crucial step in unlocking human potential at work and in life. 

Settle in and join us as we ask why we are still so hesitant to embrace the art of the possible when it comes to disability and how we can reframe the entire conversation into one that is human, and focuses on the potential of everyone.

How Kendall can stop this national sickness - Fraser Nelson (The Times)

https://shorturl.at/rFvnK

Professor Peter Fonagy - Understanding the crisis in young people’s mental health

https://www.health.org.uk/features-and-opinion/blogs/understanding-the-crisis-in-young-people-s-mental-health

Government advice on disability and employment

https://www.gov.uk/rights-disabled-person/employment

The employment of disabled people updated 20 June 2025

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2024/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2024

Team Domenica

https://teamdomenica.com/

The scenario

Sally has a diagnosis of autism. But she has not told anyone. Not her colleagues, not her manager, not HR. She is a high performer. 

Colleagues have noticed that she can take statements very literally which can cause problems or that she sometimes appears to struggle to figure out when it’s her turn to talk or listen during a conversation. As a result, she sometimes talks for an excessive period of time or at others seems disinterested in what colleagues are saying.

Quite often people in the team will joke that: “Oh, I park my car in the same spot every day … I must be a bit autistic” or “I’m super OCD about my desk being tidy”. Finally one day having coffee with her team in the canteen her frustration boils over.  “Well I am autistic”, she says. Two of her colleagues say, trying to be sympathetic, “Gosh, well we’re all a bit on the spectrum”. And Sally leaves.

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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Prompted to record this episode by the publication of Baroness Casey's 'National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse' and the associated headlines -defensive and offensive - Simon and Rachel felt it was time to talk about race. 

Ever found yourself tippexing out uncomfortable truths, dodging controversy, or simply holding back from fear of saying the unsayable? You’re not alone. Simon and Rachel unravel why so many of us, particularly well-intentioned liberals, get tied in knots over race. From performance management gone wrong to navigating everyday interactions loaded with uncertainty, they explore why good intentions too often lead to bad outcomes.

Expect honest reflections, laugh-out-loud insights, and some genuinely uncomfortable moments (yes, they’re going there). But above all, prepare for a much-needed call to courage because if we don’t fill the conversational vacuum, someone far less helpful certainly will.

Baroness Casey 'National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse': 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse

Baroness Casey Newsnight Interview: https://youtu.be/_1u7-dXwhs0

People Management: https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1919974/black-employees-disproportionately-subjected-worker-surveillance-report-finds

Ten Years of Snowy White Peaks, Workforce Race Equality in the NHS: https://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/9/2/178

Nazir Afzal Comment Piece in Observer: https://observer.co.uk/news/opinion-and-ideas/article/cowardice-and-inaction-left-children-to-be-abused

The Good Ally by Nova Reid: https://amzn.eu/d/1l72wVl

The Power of Difference – Simon Fanshawe (stereotypes pp 114-115) 

https://shorturl.at/eiBgb

What Casey Did - The real report, not the one in the papers by David Aaronovitch

https://davidaaronovitch.substack.com/p/what-casey-did?utm_campaign=email-post&r=u6e8&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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From Edison’s famous quip about discovering "10,000 ways not to do it," to dramatic real-world examples including nuclear reactors and Broadway producers, Simon and Rachel explore how embracing failure can become a powerful force for learning and innovation.

This episode unpacks practical questions leaders often wrestle with: How much failure is acceptable? What's our real tolerance for risk? And how can leaders build cultures where failure doesn't trigger shame, but instead sparks collective insight and adaptation?

Expect laughter, levity, and serious wisdom as Rachel and Simon reveal why "Failure Fridays" could become your organisation's most valuable weekly meeting—and how learning to pivot well can transform setbacks into breakthroughs.

Turn your failures into food for thought with Simon and Rachel, listen in and learn how falling flat on your face might just be the best thing you do all day!

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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From academic freedom and artistic expression to controversial workplace debates and social media snafus, Rachel and Simon fearlessly (and humorously) navigate the delicate dance of speaking your mind without breaking the office etiquette. Simon boldly explores how free speech can quickly turn chaotic without clear boundaries, while Rachel brings her trademark clarity, unpacking the mechanics and dynamics behind workplace conduct, speech, and silence, she has talked before about measuring it and today she majors on leveraging it and lessons from a silent retreat! 

Expect sharp wit, real-life scenarios (awkward comedy clubs, anyone?), and insightful tips as they tackle whether expressing your "authentic self" at work is a freedom or a potential landmine. With stories ranging from protest encampments to inappropriate office outfits, Simon and Rachel offer practical wisdom and plenty of laughs on managing tricky conversations, setting boundaries, and embracing the essential art of disagreeing well.

Join Simon and Rachel as they redefine free speech at work where sometimes the bravest thing you can say is nothing at all!

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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Find out why Rachel was kettled by the Metropolitan Police outside Miss World in her younger years, while Simon fondly remembers being “bullied” by bolshy feminists into joining activism life-changing, he insists! Together they dive headfirst into the messy business of workplace activism, staff networks, and how companies are struggling to balance societal debates with core business objectives.

Expect insightful banter, playful disagreement, and a healthy dose of practical wisdom as they explore whether activism at work builds belonging or creates division, and why some issues spark genuine progress while others ignite polarisation. Is your CEO secretly terrified of town halls? Could your company accidentally silence the majority while amplifying a few loud voices? And just why are women’s networks sometimes named so awkwardly?

Join Rachel and Simon as they fearlessly unpack this sensitive, complex topic with humour, empathy, and (of course!) courageous candour.

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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Links:

Joanne Moseley - Irwin Mitchell

Do retailers have to provide single sex toilets and changing rooms for their customers and staff?

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/expert-comment/post/102kb9l/do-retailers-have-to-provide-single-sex-toilets-and-changing-rooms-for-their-cust

Strathclyde Uni Law Blog

https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/lawschool/blog/genderdoesntmatter/

https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/lawschool/blog/gendermatters/

Times Editorial: Opponents of trans ruling should put pragmatism over ideology

Supreme Court judgement: For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent)

EHRC Statement: An interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment | EHRC

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

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The Supreme Court judgement of April 16th has sent shockwaves through the national conversation about women's rights, where trans people stand, what single sex services and sports mean and what are the actual obligations for employers and organisations to their staff and the public. The noise is incredibly loud… So, if you need some calm about all this, listen to Rachel and Simon’s first of two episodes on the judgement where we will explore what the judgment actually said - and of course what it didn’t (beware of what you read and hear in all media), how we got here and what it means in practice. 

Simon, one of the co founders of Stonewall, tells the story of their significant role and tells of his sadness about how they’ve turned their back on the legacy of how they achieved equality for lesbians and gay men up to 2014. And how leaders need to look to the law not lobby groups to ensure rights for their staff to protect their organisation.

Rachel explores what "woman” means in policy making, politics and organisational leadership and what it means to her personally through her deeply personal account from her recent medical experience and where she draws the lines around biological men and trans-women involved in her care. 

Listen, like and share

https://supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc_2024_0042_judgment_aea6c48cee.pdf Yes it is long, but for a Court Judgement it is well written in terms of clarity for those of us who are not lawyers.

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/clarifying-definition-of-woman-in-the-equality-act/5123032.article Article worth reading. Particularly around the implications for trans men and women historically and now in relation to equal pay claims.

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/interim-update-practical-implications-uk-supreme-court-judgment Interim update from the U.K. Equality and Human Rights Commission 

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For more about Rachel: Who Is The Fearless Facilitator? - Fearless Facilitator

For more about Simon: Who We Are – Diversity by Design

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.