Striving For Fairness

Joanne Lockwood speaks with EDI coach and consultant Pamela Permalloo Bass about what it really means to strive for fairness in workplaces and wider society.

Drawing on Pamela’s experience in NHS roles and consulting, they explore how inequity shows up through organisational structures, hierarchy, and decision-making, and why data alone (including workforce equality standards) is only a starting point unless organisations also listen to the lived realities behind the numbers. The conversation looks at barriers to progression, the “sticky floor,” and how fairness, trust, and psychological safety shape whether people feel able to speak up and thrive.

They also discuss how broader social narratives and policy debates influence workplace culture, and move into practical examples of inclusion in everyday working life: commuting and remote work, retention, and how social norms like alcohol-centred events or one-size-fits-all workplace expectations can unintentionally exclude people. The episode closes with reflections on fairness at a societal level, including wealth distribution and ideas such as universal basic income.

One-sentence summary

Pamela Permalloo Bass believes that fairness is a daily, practical commitment to sharing power and removing barriers so that no one is quietly left behind.

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Synopsis

Pamela Permalloo Bass describes her “superpower” as “the skill of intently listening with empathy”, and it shows. After more than 15 years working inside the NHS, she has sat with the weight of stories behind the statistics — the people who don’t get promoted, the voices that don’t get heard, the colleagues who stop speaking up because trust has thinned. Early in her career, she watched organisations treat inequality as an individual failure — people told to improve their CVs or try harder — until it became undeniable to her that the real issue sat in the structures. That shift shaped how she works: quietly persistent, system-focused, and deeply curious about what feels unfair to those living it.

What she is trying to change is not just policy, but perspective. She wants organisations — and society — to recognise that inequity in the workplace mirrors inequity outside it: poverty, privilege, postcode, public transport, childcare, alcohol-centred networking, class. She sees how easily systems are built for the comfortable and defended as “normal”. For Pamela, fairness matters because it preserves dignity. It determines who progresses, who feels safe to speak, who can afford to show up at all. Her commitment is steady and personal: “I have been living like this for a long time and I’ll still continue to be like this.”

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10 Small, digestible concepts for easy learning

1. Data shows you there’s a problem; stories tell you why it hurts.

Numbers highlight gaps, but only listening reveals the lived cost.

2. Inequality is rarely solved by telling individuals to try harder.

Barriers are usually structural, not personal failings.

3. Fairness feels different depending on where you stand.

Your experience of privilege shapes your definition of what’s fair.

4. Trust is the foundation of belonging.

If I don’t trust the system, I won’t bring myself into it fully.

5. Organisations mirror society.

Inequity at work reflects inequity in housing, transport, education and wealth.

6. Accessibility isn’t just about ramps.

It’s about travel costs, childcare, geography, time, culture and class.

7. Inclusion fails in the small details.

A Friday cocktail culture or inaccessible location quietly excludes.

8. Flexibility is not a perk — it’s an equaliser.

For many, remote or hybrid options reduce invisible burdens.

9. Wealth concentration is not neutral.

How resources are distributed shapes who has agency and who survives day to day.

10. Fairness is an ongoing practice, not a finished state.

It requires constant reflection and readjustment.

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The “why” in the story

What they believe is true about people

Pamela believes most people want to contribute, belong and do good work when given fair conditions and real opportunity.

What they cannot unsee

She cannot unsee the disproportionality in recruitment, retention and promotion data — nor the patterns of who is listened to and who isn’t.

What they are no longer willing to tolerate

She is no longer willing to accept narratives that place responsibility solely on individuals while systems remain untouched.

What they are trying to build instead

A society and workplace where wealth, opportunity and dignity are distributed more justly — not perfectly equal, but meaningfully fair.

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Narrative structure

1. The trigger:

Years inside hierarchical systems revealed patterns: people stuck on the “sticky floor”, disparities baked into promotion pathways, voices silenced because speaking up felt unsafe.

2. The tension:

Fairness is contested. Some feel threatened, some feel unseen, and structural critique can be uncomfortable. There is fatigue. There are political narratives that distract rather than solve.

3. The insight:

Inequity in organisations mirrors inequity in society. You cannot fix one in isolation from the other. Data exposes gaps, but empathy exposes impact.

4. The pivot:

She shifted from focusing on individual “fixes” to interrogating structures — examining workforce data, aligning organisations with community demographics, questioning norms that quietly exclude.

5. The destination:

A world where fairness is tangible: where opportunities are not predetermined by postcode, class or confidence — and where everyday working life feels dignified and possible.

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Five key takeaways and learning points

1. If someone cannot access an opportunity, it is not truly available.

So what: Remove hidden barriers like transport costs or inaccessible working patterns.

2. Statistical disproportionality is not coincidence.

So what: Patterns point to systems, not isolated incidents.

3. “That’s just how we do things” is often exclusion in disguise.

So what: Question traditions that centre one group’s comfort.

4. Fairness requires redistributing power and sometimes wealth.

So what: Equity may mean amplifying some without diminishing others.

5. Listening is a form of justice.

So what: When people feel heard, trust can begin to rebuild.

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Ten distinct ideas explained

1. The sticky floor

When capable people remain trapped in entry-level roles, it erodes confidence and signals that aspiration is futile.

2. Structural bias

Systems can disadvantage groups without anyone intending harm, creating cumulative emotional exhaustion.

3. Socioeconomic invisibility

Class often goes unnamed, yet it shapes who can commute, network or take risks.

4. Psychological safety

Without trust, people self-censor — creativity and honesty shrink.

5. Cultural default settings

Social rituals (like alcohol-focused events) reinforce who belongs and who is peripheral.

6. Travel as a barrier

The cost and time of commuting disproportionately burden low-paid workers.

7. Remote work as leveller

Flexibility can reduce hidden labour, especially for carers.

8. Wealth distribution

Extreme concentration of resources limits freedom and fuels structural inequity.

9. Tokenistic inclusion

Surface-level gestures without systemic change breed cynicism.

10. Empathy as strategy

Intently listening allows leaders to see what metrics alone cannot.

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How people should change as a result

1. Think

• Shift from “Why didn’t they progress?” to “What stopped them?”
• Recognise that fairness depends on vantage point.
• See systems, not just individuals.
• Understand that convenience for some can mean exclusion for others.
• Accept that equity may feel uncomfortable before it feels just.

2. Feel

• Move from defensiveness to curiosity.
• From guilt to responsibility.
• From indifference to attentiveness.
• From abstract concern to human empathy.
• From fear of loss to confidence in shared prosperity.

3. Act

• Ask underrepresented colleagues what barriers they face — and believe them.
• Audit travel, pay and flexibility policies for hidden inequities.
• Diversify social and networking formats beyond alcohol-centred spaces.
• Match workforce demographics to community demographics where possible.
• Share resources — time, visibility, money — more consciously.
• Build regular, protected listening spaces.
• Challenge structural explanations that blame individuals.

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One thing to remember

Fairness is not about treating everyone the same — it’s about removing the barriers that stop people from standing on equal ground.