Ed: "I am actually a very introverted person. I'm very fortunate to be here at Opencast because it welcomes everybody. I'm surrounded by introverts and extroverts. We also have a lot of neurodiversity here. I've also worked in a few other tech companies and they also had a variety of different personality types.

“It's definitely not true to say you have to be introverted and awkward to work in in technology. What's important is that we create spaces where people feel free to be themselves, that they feel safe to express themselves.”

Khaled: "Why is it important to bring your full self to work?

Ed: “When I came to Opencast, a key reason for joining was that it had a culture that encourages you to be yourself. You know you feel safe to talk to people about what's on your mind. We have people experience partners and mentors to support us and we have one to ones with managers. People here want you to express yourself and be open and honest. Fostering that kind of culture, letting you be yourself, is huge.

“There's a complex soup of what makes a person a person. There's lots to the mix of every person. We should approach everyone with the understanding that there are layers to them that are more than they may appear. Once you start to understand that you'll see the value that every single person around you can bring to the table, if they’re given the opportunity.”