Climbing The Rungs Gary Izunwa

In today’s episode I sit down with Sophie Pender, the Founder and CEO of the 93% Club. 

Before training as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, Sophie grew up in a single parent household on a council estate in North London and balanced two jobs in McDonalds and John Lewis alongside her schoolwork. After becoming the first student in her school to achieve straight A*s at A level, Sophie left for the University of Bristol to study English. In her second year, Sophie founded The 93% Club, a society dedicated to improving the experience of state school students at university. Since then, The 93% Club has become a nationwide charity and is the largest network of state educated students in the UK.
Sophie was recently named a finalist in the 'Rising Star' category of the UK Social Mobility Awards and has been profiled in the BBC, ITV, LBC, The Guardian and the Telegraph for her work in this space.
In our conversation we discuss her challenging upbringing, which included her fathers battle with alcoholism and drug addiction, the class-based issues she experienced whilst at university and why she founded the 93% Club.
This is a super inspirational episode with an unequivocal future leader so be sure to listen to this episode in full!

***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***

In today’s episode I sit down with Sam Friedman, Professor of Sociology at the LSE. Graduating with degrees from both the University of Edinburgh and the LSE, Sam has spent his academic career specializing in class and inequality, particularly focusing on the cultural dimensions of contemporary class division. After publishing his preeminent book “The Class Ceiling – Why It Pays To Be Privileged” Sam has quickly become one of the most well-known academics in the UK featuring in BBC documentaries, commissioning reports for the UK government and most recently being appointed to ITV’s Cultural Advisory Council.
 In our conversation we discuss a litany of topics such as Sam’s privileged upbringing and how this motivated him to explore class inequality, the differences in risk-taking between privileged and less-privileged professionals and what can be done to promote more social mobility in the UK  .
This is a really informative episode with a key social mobility influencer so I know you’ll enjoy this one.

***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***

In today’s episode I sit down with Joe Seddon. Joe is the Founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, a tech startup which mentors students from low-income backgrounds into the UK’s best universities and careers. Launched from his bedroom in West Yorkshire, Joe has grown Zero Gravity from a student bedroom startup into one of the UK’s leading social mobility organisations. In 2020, Zero Gravity mentored 1000+ low-income students into highly-selective universities, including 151 students into Oxbridge. Last year, Joe was named as one of the Top 10 Young Digital Leaders in the UK by Lloyd’s Bank, and his work with Zero Gravity has been recognised with a social impact award from the Prime Minister.
In our conversation we discuss a range of topics such as the north/south divide in opportunities in the UK, why so few students from the poorest households get into top universities and how Zero Gravity is disrupting the social mobility space. This is a really informative episode so lets get straight into it!

Check out Zero Gravity here:
Website: https://www.zerogravity.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinzg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinzg/

***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***

In today’s episode I sit down with Tony Hursey. Tony is a Planning Manager at Zenith, which is a part of the wider Publicis Groupe, one of the largest marketing and communications networks in the world. In his role, he has worked on award-winning industry campaigns with brands such as Ray Ban, Carling, & Rekorderlig, acting as a key client partner delivering media campaigns and cross-agency presentations. For his standout work, Tony has been identified as standout agency talent having been recognised as Highly Commended at the 2020 Zenith Annual Awards.
 In our conversation we discuss a range of topics such as how your socio-economic background can be used against you, why privileged professionals are overrepresented across industries and how young people from less privileged backgrounds can enter the advertising industry.
***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***

In today’s episode I sit down with David McIntosh. David is a Management Consultant at KPMG based in Scotland having started his career as an Apprentice on the KPMG360 Programme. Whilst at KPMG, David founded the companies Social Mobility Scotland Network and now Chairs the wider UK Social Mobility Network. For his efforts advocating for social mobility, David was recognised as the BPP UK Apprentice of the Year 2020 and was also invited to meet and speak with Her Majesty the Queen.
In our conversation we discuss a range of topics such as the link between financial hardship and mental health, how work relocation allowances can effect job opportunities for less privileged professionals and the value of owning your low socio-economic background. David is super transparent and open in this episode which makes for a very engaging discussion. I know you’ll enjoy listening to it!

***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***

In today’s episode I sit down with Rene Germain. Rene is a 28-year-old Digital Product Manager, writer, speaker and champion of the Black community. She has worked at leading investment banks, professional services firms and media companies. Rene has been writing about careers and navigating the workplace since 2016 to help fellow black students and graduates. This year her debut book, Black and Great, the career manifesto will be published by Coronet Books on the 19th August. Rene is also a prolific writer, having written for HuffPost, Fortune.com, Stylist Magazine and Buzzfeed news.

Rene and I discuss a number of things such as her experience growing up without a computer at home, how she became a published author and the power of being bold and asking for what you want. This episode is equally as engaging as it is humourous so you’ll want to listen to it in full!

***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***