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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? Remember, 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.

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And today is episode 169 with the title Building Bridges in A Biassed World. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Sonia Perez. Sonia is an engineer and leader in the energy industry who has become a passionate DEI champion, advocating for inclusion, neurodiversity and psychological safety in the workplace. When I asked Sonia to describe her superpower, she said that it is to turning lived experiences into inclusive leadership and most importantly, action. Hello, Sonia, welcome to the show.

Hi, Joanne, thanks for having me.

Absolutely brilliant. So you're the opposite end of the UK to me. So I'm in Portsmouth and you're up in Aberdeen, is that right? So is it. I know us Brits, we like to talk about the weather. So what's the weather like up there at the moment? Is it. So we're in, what, middle of March?

Yeah, well, it's freezing cold.

It's kind of snow. Have you had some snow recently?

No, but the forecast says maybe. Again, we seemed like we were getting into spring and then it just went wrong again.

Yeah, it's down to the zeros here. So, yeah, I think it's an icy blast over the whole country. So, yeah, is what it is. So you've. You're an engineer by profession and obviously a leader as well. We talked about that. So how have you kind of lent into the DEI journey or the EDI journey, and what impact has your own lived experience and background? You know, we talked in the green rooms live about intersectionality or the depth of our personalities and our lived experience. How's that impacted you at work and in your life?

Well, I guess I came into DEI incidentally. It wasn't really thought of or on purpose, but. But it was more my Lift journeys. I became a mom six years ago and well, I guess my experience as an engineer and as a leader before was different to after. Suddenly you have to, well, I guess balance your work life with your family and your personal life. Well, there isn't much of personal life, to be honest, if you have to compensate work with children. And at that point we started suspecting that my daughter neurodivergent and. And then I hear, well, this is genetic.

It's like, oh, okay, well, I wonder if it's me too. So we start investigating. It's like, well, yeah, that's definitely me as well. And how. I guess I was going through a really difficult time as well personally. And how that kind of neurodiversity, my new ish identity as a mother, as a single mother actually, and, and the mental health and so on. Well, it basically just took me into a really steep learning curve about dei, but one that I actually am really proud of.

Wow. So you're. What's been the biggest challenge you faced, you know, as a, as a, a woman. Can I use the phrase a woman of colour? Because you're, you're not white British, are you? By, by, by, by background, has that impacted your experience in the workplace as well?

I wouldn't say so. I think even though my skin may be a little bit darker than the British. Well, not every British obviously, but just I would say it's still white in that, in that part. So I don't think I've had, if anything, people like the colour of my skin.