Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights while you join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in.

It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. And today is episode 130 with the title, from tech to d and I transformation. And I have the absolute honor and privilege to welcome Toby Mildon. Toby is a workplace inclusion specialist. And when I asked Toby to describe his superpower, he said that he takes the scariness out of EDI and makes it practical and easy to implement. Hello, Toby. Welcome to the show.

Hi, Joanne. Thanks for inviting me along. It's lovely to be with you today.

Yeah. We met. I think we met many years ago at the National Cybersecurity Centre near Victoria in London, didn't we? No. I think that's first time we actually met in person.

Yeah. It was donkeys years ago, and then I think I realized that we we're also both fellows of the Royal Society of Arts, so I spotted you on their website or that, you know, they've got a database don't they of

of Yeah.

Fellows and, yeah, and then we I know that we've had several cups of tea at RSA House in London.

We have. Yeah. We have. That was PC, wasn't it? Pre COVID, So back in the old days.

That that was pre COVID when it was perfectly acceptable to meet somebody for a cup of coffee.

Yeah. It was. Now we Yeah. Now we have to socially distance all. We do it online or do it on Zoom. Yeah. So, Toby, tech to DNI transformation. Tell me more about what you do and how you take the scariness out of EDI.

Yeah. So that scariness out of EDI actually was some feedback that we received recently from 1 of our clients. They said that we we take a lot of the the anxiety and the fear out of talking about EDI, which we see a lot with senior leaders and businesses. They're they're they're worried about saying the wrong thing, causing offense, causing embarrassment. They're concerned about a cancel culture, particularly if they're a senior leader where they where they have got status in the organization. But in terms of tech to DNI transformation, I think it's based on my personal experience, which is similar to yours, really, and that when I left university, I spent the first half of my career working in technology and working on tech transformation projects. So I was an IT consultant for Accenture. I then moved into health care technology, implementing software into hospitals, and ended up at the BBC as a technical project manager on the redevelopment of the news website, the development of what is now the BBC Sounds app, and lots of accessibility projects.

And then I pivoted my career when I was at the BBC. I mean, between you and me, I was I was getting a bit bored working on websites and apps, and I used to work really closely with the management team of our of our technology and engineering department. And they were concerned at the time about the gender imbalance that that we had in tech compared to the rest of the BBC where there was a a bit more of an even gender split. And they created a plan to get more women into technology, initially, and they needed a project manager to run that plan. And I put my hand up and volunteered to do that. It started off as a part time job, 1 day a week, and then I quickly realized it was actually a full time occupation. There were some really valuable lessons. I I quickly learned that diversity was was much bigger than women in engineering, that there are many other aspects to diversity that needed addressing in the corporation.

And, yeah, and so that that's how my transition happened.