Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is of crucial importance in the workplace. Interdisciplinary thinking focused on turning dialogue into action is more crucial than ever. But it takes awareness, sensitivity, and collaboration to improve structural and social impediments and achieve an enriching and humane working environment.
Meet Rachel “To me, sustainability means thinking about the long-term consequences of all that we do, on people and the planet. It’s easy to think that sustainability is a young people’s mission. I don’t think that’s the case. I have a part to play both domestically and professionally in making the transition to a low carbon economy.” – Rachel Delhaise, Head of Sustainability, Convex Insurance Climate change is now a firm fixture on board agendas. As businesses start recognizing the need to respond to global pressures such as resource scarcity and social inequalities, the responsibility of ‘sustainability’ is no longer confined to NGOs and activists. It’s integral to ensuring that businesses can continue to operate on a planet with finite resources. But addressing climate change takes corporate leadership and direction.
Growing up, Vuyile Mbatha had an inquisitive mind. The only sport she had an affinity for was chess. “I figured I’m more of a thinking person; let’s get into books, let’s understand things, let’s strategize,” she admits. As the corporate head of leadership and learning for a financial service firm, her natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge has propelled her career and expertise forward. Having completed not one, but 15 courses through GetSmarter – from the LSE Negotiation Programme, to High Impact Leadership from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), to MIT Sloan’s Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy – her learning journey has followed an exemplary trajectory.
We’re experiencing a fundamental shift in the way that we work. Times have changed and our approach to business and the workplace needs to change with it. Rapid advances in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to significantly disrupt labor markets, and will likely transform almost all occupations to some degree.¹
