Inspiring Women In CX

Have you ever felt excluded? Been interrupted? Or felt shamed?

 

We have all felt this way at one time or another. But for minorities, this can be a regular occurrence.

 

Thankfully businesses now recognise the value of diversity and inclusion.

 

❌ But inclusion isn't an HR policy, D&I training or a hiring initiative. 

❌ It isn’t flying rainbow flags during PRIDE.

 

✔️ Inclusion is creating a space and culture which enables all employees to feel safe to fully bring themselves to work. 

✔️ To be seen, heard and celebrated for our differences, and valued for who we are.

 

My awesome guest on the podcast this week, Lara Hussblebee, identifies as a Queer Woman in CX and came on the show to share how she is using Design Thinking and Human Centred Design to help companies understand and empathise with minority groups, on her mission to include the excluded.

 

This episode reminds us that the most powerful way to include others is to remember the feeling you experienced, at the moment you felt excluded, and connect with it. 

 

As the most fundamental capability needed to include others is quite simply, Empathy.

 

The biggest barrier to get over is often language. 

 

Not feeling awkward talking and avoiding conversations ‘just incase I say the wrong thing’

 

Lara talked passionately about the positive intent to include others being the most important thing.

 

We all feel awkward when we are more worried about what to say. So let’s lean into that feeling, start the conversation, feel for one another, ask questions and simply listen

 

Tune in to hear us geek out on CX Design, and talk about:

 

🌈 Finding our way into CX

🌈 Design Thinking and Human-Centred Design

🌈 The similarities and difference between design disciplines

🌈 The Future of CX

🌈 Being a proud queer woman in CX

🌈 Usability - serving practical needs

🌈 Empathy - serving emotional needs

🌈 Empathy and Gender

🌈 LGBTQ employee experience

🌈 Rainbow Youth

🌈 Co-creation with minority groups

🌈 Intersectional feminism 

🌈 Including the excluded through HCD

🌈 Using our skills to support charities

🌈 Maxing communities stronger through HCD

🌈 Helping minority groups feel heard, seen and celebrated

🌈 What it means to be a great ally

 

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Amanda Riches talking about CX tech and life lessons, including being a young gay woman in the 90's, succeeding in male dominated industries, and surviving cancer to become the UK’s #1 CX Professional.

‘Life is short and time is precious’

With the CRUK statistics that 1 in 2 people will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point in their lives, almost everybody's life will be or have been touched by it in some way.

My guest this week, Amanda Riches shared her personal story of surviving cancer 3.5 times and that amazingly, she is able to reflect on the positives of such a harrowing experience.

Her appreciation of just how precious our time on earth is, was so inspirational.

Especially how it has become the driving force behind her desire to make people’s lives better through her work in Customer Experience.

Tune in to hear more of Amanda’s story, including:

• The challenges she faced in the 90’s
• Coming out as a young gay woman working in a male dominated industry
• Her thoughts on the future of CX and tech
• Her insight into what lessons she learned along the way
• Her advice for women in CX

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‘There are no ‘women of colour’ in Africa’

 

This week’s Women in CX Podcast guest, The CX Queen of Nigeria, Debbie Akwara came on the show to share her career story and share the moments that shaped her into the formidable woman she is becoming.

 

Including her shocking recent and first ever experience of being referred to as a ‘woman of colour’ when she dared to challenge the status quo of how the CX community functions in the West.

 

Whilst being well known across her home continent for years, in the last 12 months she broke through to become globally recognised as a thought leader. And earned her place at the table.

 

Yet as a woman from Africa, she was made to feel her voice was deemed as less valuable.

 

More women all over the world are rising up to take their rightful place on global stages, being better enabled by the digital communications and collaboration revolution.

 

I’m proud the women in CX community is here to amplify the voices of women who are ready to be heard. And those who aren’t ready for us, best get set. As women like Debbie, will not be ignored.

 

Tune into the podcast to hear:

- More of Debbie's fascinating backstory

-The African CX perspective

-Technology and CX growing pains

-The similarities with Western CX challenges

-How she started her first CX projects

-The importance of business focus in CX

-Finding the right business metrics to aim for

-The lessons she learned from her mentors

-Finding your confidence -Owning your success

-Dealing with racism as she broke through in the West

-The secret to her unstoppable girl power!

 

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How Jeannie made her way into the world of CX

 

How she first discovered her ability to adapt to new situations.

 

Discussing the current climate and changes in the world of CX and business more broadly.

 

The growth of brand integrity and required congruence with customer experience.

 

How to adapt your life and business to meet challenges and change.

 

The pivot consultants are making into content creation and providing thought leadership outside of conferences and events.

 

The importance of inclusive design and representation in decision making groups.

 

Jeannie's advice for WICX to help us develop resilience and adaptability.

According to Huffington Post, it’s a sad reality that women have been harder hit by the coronavirus pandemic, whether that’s dealing with higher unemployment and job insecurity as a result or bearing the majority of the burden for childcare, homeschooling and other unpaid care work at home.

However, female entrepreneurs and women determined to be their own bosses and change the world around them with their businesses are a silver lining to emerge from the clouds of Covid-19.

That’s one of the reasons I was thrilled to have serial entrepreneur Lara Felix-Omonubi on the show, inspiring us with her latest new venture, starting a new product-led business during a pandemic.

I just loved the way she describes the side hustle… as a way for us to explore creative passions we might not otherwise had chance to, had we not experienced COVID-19.

Tune in to hear more about Lara’s story of becoming an independent black woman, side hustling, patriarchy and the resilience handed down through generations of Nigerian women and find out more about Women in CX by following the links below.

 

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It is a fact that the privilege we were born with affects our chances of success. Not just our socio-economic status, but the colour of our skin, our sexual orientation, and gender all have the potential to be benefitting or limiting factors, due to the oppressive systems that govern the world at large.

 

It’s interesting how some people manage to succeed no matter where they start in life, or what knocks them for six on their journey. Whilst others are beaten by the odds. But what is it about the individual that tips the scales?

 

Through my conversation with today’s inspiring Woman in CX, I was able to see clearly that one of the determining factors is the drive of the person, and their ability to use any limiting opinions from others as fuel to propel themselves and others towards betterment.

 

Listen in to the incredible Shameem Smillie and I discussing the feminist intersection between race and gender as she shares her journey to becoming her authentic self.

 

From a tough childhood being raised with an absent father and being one of the only mixed race-kids at her town, to dropping out of school at 15 in order to earn money Shameem didn’t let anyone or anything hold her back from building the life she wanted and a successful career as a woman in tech. Get ready to be inspired!

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