In The ZOUD
In The ZOUD is where we stop avoiding the hard conversations about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion - and start saying the things people usually whisper, avoid, or soften.
Hosted by Sylvia Stevenson, this podcast takes you into the Zone of Uncomfortable Debate - the place where real learning happens, assumptions get exposed, and leadership is tested. No sugar-coating. No corporate gloss. Just direct, meaningful conversations with people who are willing to name the truth about culture, power, race, identity and inequality.
If you’re tired of performative statements, tick-box strategies and safe conversations that change nothing, this is your space. Here, we ask the questions that make people shift in their seats — because that’s where change begins.
Welcome to In The ZOUD — if it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change anything.
In The ZOUD
7 Things My Mother Gave Me: Day 4 - Guidance
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n Day 4 of the 7 Things My Mother Gave Me series, I reflect on a Jamaican proverb my mother often used - one that took on deeper meaning when I became a mother myself.
Growing up as the youngest of five children in a family spanning five generations, I heard this saying many times. But only later did I understand its meaning.
The proverb speaks to the importance of shaping values early—while character and habits are still forming.
In this reflection, I explore the responsibility we have in guiding the next generation and instilling the values they will carry throughout their lives.
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Until next time, keep leaning into the conversations that matter.
Welcome to day four of this seven-day series, Seven Things My Mother Gave Me. Today's reflection is about guidance. You know, as the youngest of 13 children in a family that spans five generations, I'd heard this saying many times before. But it wasn't until I became a mother myself that I truly understood what my mother meant. She would often say, bendem when dem green, as in bend them when they are green. She would explain that when something is young and still growing, it's flexible. You can bend it, shape it, and guide it. But if you try to bend it once it has matured, it's far more likely to break. What she was really talking about was the responsibility we have in shaping our children early by instilling values, teaching respect, integrity, compassion, and a sense of responsibility for others. You see, the lessons we pass on in those early years often become the foundation our children carry with them throughout their lives. It reminded me that raising the next generation is not only about care and protection, but about giving them the values and guidance they need to grow into people who will contribute positively to the world around them. And in many ways, that speaks directly to this year's theme for International Women's Day, give to gain. Because when we give the next generation strong values, guidance, and be an example, we help shape a future where everyone benefits. But it does require doing what my mother would say we have to bend them wend them green. Come on, let's give to gain.