Race Reflections AT WORK

In this re-released episode first published on 7th October 2024, Guilaine reflects on White Liberals, and on her past inclination to take people straightforwardly based on the words they write and the face they present to the world. She considers how experiencing the duality and complexity of people presenting as anti-racist publicly who in their personal interactions reveal themselves to be anti-black, has led to her trying to be ...

In today's episode Guilaine, who is in the writing up stage of her PHD thesis, reflects on her journey and the reasons why she is launching a new Race Reflections space to explore racial trauma and decolonial thinking. This will be a semi open monthly meeting that takes place online, the current start date planned for it will be 28th September at 6.30-8pm UK time.

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In this re-released episode first published on 6th May 2024, Guilaine reflects on her (then) recent trip to the Congo. This topic was asked for when she polled people on twitter/x to find out what they wanted her to speak on for this episode.

She begins with some context, first for her and then for the country and region in general. Covering how she was born in Bastille and grew up in inner city Paris and is of Congolese descent, sp...

In this re-released episode first published on 1st June 2024, Guilaine reflects on extraction, the process of which touches on ancestral vulnerability, blackness, colonial dialectics and coloniality in the workplace and generally racialised dynamics, and echoes her (then) recent trip to the Congo.

She offers an aside on how plagiarism as an accusation can be weaponised and racialised against people of colour, particularly women of c...

In today's episode Simone reflects on the findings of three surveys on racism in the UK that were released in 2025:  

Workforce Race Equality Standard Report 2025 from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/media/fdajabjz/workforce-race-equality-standard-report-2025.pdf  

Racism and bigotry - the modern migrant experience in the UK a survey from Unite the Union https://www.unitetheunion....

In today's episode Simone reflects on the aftermath of the intersection of disability and race/racism at the BAFTA awards 2026. Specifically the institutional choice to air the involuntary words shouted by John Davidson, a white Tourette's syndrome campaigner, towards two Black actors, the lack of accommodations and planning around the event, the lack of accountability and adequate apology around the impact of racism from both BAFT...

In today's episode Simone reflects on some issues surrounding the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), its employees, its roll-back of food safety surveillance  and that decisions inherent racism.

They begin with this article as a jumping off point: The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for food-borne illnesses by Aria Bendix https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-quietly-scaled-back-surveillance-program-f...

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on her experience of community engagement, development and research, building on a post she wrote about this topic on Race Reflections. She particularly considers her earliest experiences in terms of her engagement with race, mental health, race inequality and racial trauma comparing them to a conversation she had with an early career community worker at a conference last year.

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In today's episode Guilaine reflects on what she calls White Women Gaze. This is a topic she has thought about before in her work on Race Reflections and in her book White Minds. She was inspired to speak on this by watching a tictok video of an African woman talking about cross-cultural friendships and relationships between Black and White women. She discusses the video in question, and then shares some of her own experiences of t...

In today's episode Guilaine responds to a question about her updated biography, specifically her interest in fashion, beauty and aesthetics  and how that informs or relates her academic and clinical work. 

She goes over the personal history of her passion for fashion, considers the relation between Black Feminist thinking and joy, the erotic, desire, self authorship and survival, thinks about how when you look at injustice...

In today's episode Simone reflects on the “brand driven culture war” supposedly ignited by Sydney Sweeney’s racist advertising campaign with American Eagle. They also look at the flip-flopping on Cracker Barrel’s choice of logo. They consider how when a companies commitment to diversity is shallow it is very easily dismantled, especially when aided by the media and the American President.

Articles referred to...

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on the first 100 episodes(!) of Race Reflections AT WORK. She talks about what she’s learned from the process, considers some areas to develop, and picks out her top three episodes using the criteria of which episodes resonated with her the most.

The episodes Guilaine picks out:

Episode 61:  Reflections on a trip to the Congo: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/14947769

Episode ...

In today's episode Guilaine talks about Race Reflection’s Large Group on Whiteness At Work that starts in February. She reflects on the groups aim to help understand the impact of Whiteness, race discrimination and race inequality on wellbeing, mental health, team dynamics and institutional functioning. Starting by considering how Whiteness functions and impacts the workplace, grounding the theory with some examples, and then...

It’s nearly the end of 2025 so with Christmas and New Years Eve coming up soon what better moment than to think about things that glitter, and what goes in to making them? 

In today's episode Simone does a deep-dive into Taylor Swift’s engagement ring and it’s connection to mining and colonialism. Although it’s not really about the ring but about what it and “American royalty” represent withi...

In today's episode Guilaine responds to an email sent to her about the differential treatment of people of colour in the workplace, and why Black people are treated more harshly. This question was a response to a thread she made about the idealisation of Black people, and so this episode is also a follow up to the last episode where she spoke on that topic.

She begins with an aside considering hierarchies of Racism under White Supre...

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on how, seemingly paradoxically, when Black people (and other marginalised groups) are idealised in the workplace it can put them at risk, and result in their denigration and/or devaluation.

She begins by looking an an example, a Black doctor mentioned in Black Skin, White Masks by Franz Fanon: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313127/black-skin-white-masks-by-fanon-frantz/9780241396667

She expands ...

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on what she has learnt from the first year of this course and offers some advice for how people might prepare for the course, particularly for people who are new to analytic thinking and practice.

She hadn’t necessarily anticipated that such a broad range of people that would be attracted to applying, which enriches the conversation and the group for all parties, but also brings some challe...

In today's episode Simone continues on their reflections around Black Maternal Health Week which took place in April earlier this year, organised by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance: https://blackmamasmatter.org/

The first episode covering this topic can be found here: How Black women and others experience discrimination at work while pregnant https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/17304518

Simone considers this years theme Heali...