Gender Bias, Misogyny and Backlash: What Did the Six Stages Framework See?
In 2022, the Six Stages Framework was already exploring gender bias as a dynamic and fluid process involving silence, dismissal, blame, entrenchment and extreme advocacy. Four years later, Dr Shungu M’gadzah revisits that work to ask what stood up, what became more complex and what the SSF has learned.
What Dolly Parton Taught Us About Belonging Across Difference
Why did Dolly Parton seem to connect with people across race, class, faith, sexuality and politics? This SSF Weekly Reflection explores childhood memory, music, poverty, Whitney Houston, allyship and what it means to create belonging without requiring sameness.
My Dear White Friend – Letter Three: When Bias Arrives Before You Do
What happens when a story about you reaches the workplace before you do? In Letter Three of My Dear White Friend, Dr Shungu M’gadzah reflects on how labels such as “difficult” and “intimidating” can travel through professional networks, how repetition can be mistaken for objectivity, and what White colleagues and leaders can do to interrupt racial bias rather than becoming the next domino.
Accountability and Certainty: When the Evidence Is Never Enough
How much certainty do we require before taking action — and is that threshold the same for every issue? This week’s SSF reflection explores the accountability spotlight, unequal roads to certainty and whether accountability should begin before certainty ends.
My Dear White Friend – Letter Two: The Discomfort of Looking Within
What happens when friendship, allyship and inclusion no longer reassure us, but ask us to examine ourselves? Letter Two explores racial bias, institutional silence and the difficult work of looking within.
My Dear White Friend: A Note Between Letters – Are My Letters Reaching You?
Before writing Letter Two of My Dear White Friend, I find myself needing to pause. Reflections on belonging and the public discussion surrounding Professor Arday have resurfaced memories, emotions and questions I thought I had put away. This is a note from the space between the letters.
Belonging, Fitting In and the Psychological Cost of Assimilation
What do we ask people to give up in order to belong? This SSF Weekly Reflection explores the psychological cost of assimilation, conditional belonging and what happens when adaptation flows primarily in one direction.
My Dear White Friend
Understanding racism intellectually is one thing. Sitting with it when it becomes personal is something else. In Letter One of My Dear White Friend, I reflect on friendship, White privilege, bias, belonging and what happens when the lens turns inward.
What Are Our Environments Creating?
What are our environments creating? This SSF Weekly Reflection explores how narrow ideals of perfection may shape our responses to difference, vulnerability and the early warning signs appearing in our relationships and communities.
Can People Really Change?
The Six Stages Framework says movement is possible—but movement is not self-certified. This reflection explores how we distinguish rehabilitation from forgiveness, restored trust and suitability for public office.
