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We’re pleased to share a new episode of our interview series, as part of the Tech Leaders Collective.

Hosted by iO Associates' Katelin Lovell, and featuring Gary Ford, Founder of Men for Inclusion and a seasoned IT leader with nearly four decades of experience, this episode takes an honest look at what it truly means to build inclusive workplaces in tech and beyond.

Gary reflects on how inclusion has evolved and where it still falls short. From his early days as a trainee programmer to becoming a leading voice on inclusive leadership, Gary has worked to bring senior men into the diversity conversation, not as bystanders, but as active contributors to lasting change.

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This conversation challenges the idea that diversity is a ‘women’s issue’. Katelin and Gary unpack the limitations of traditional approaches, particularly programmes focused solely on ‘fixing the women’ and make the case for mixed-gender dialogue, shared accountability, and genuinely balanced leadership conversations.

They explore unconscious biases such as affinity bias and how these subtly shape who gets promoted, heard, and included. Drawing on Gary’s book The Accidental Sexist, they reveal the small, everyday obstacles that still persist for women in meetings, hiring, and progression and what leaders can do differently.

Importantly, this episode goes beyond theory. Expect practical, no-nonsense advice: from distributing social capital more fairly, to setting expectations for inclusive meetings, to role-modelling fallibility as a strength in leadership. They also tackle why progress often stalls and how to bring sceptics on the journey by connecting inclusion to what matters to them.

At its heart, this is a conversation about creating cultures where everyone can thrive, not through perfection, but through openness, feedback, and continuous learning.

Explore more practical advice at Men for Inclusion, or dive deeper with Gary’s book The Accidental Sexist.

Listen to the full episode above and join us in rethinking what inclusive leadership really looks like in today’s tech landscape.

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