Episode 37 – Liv Little

This Way Up

For this episode, I recorded Liv Little, the founder and CEO of gal-dem -an award-winning online and print publication committed to sharing perspectives from women and non-binary people of colour.
Here is a scary stat for you - the current journalistic landscape is 94% white and 55% male. What I love so much about gal-dem is that they are actively trying to redress this imbalance through both their editorial and commercial work.
And in this interview, I got a real understanding of the magazine and how Liv came to start it at the age of just 21! We chart the different influences in her life from how her mum’s social enterprise work influenced her growing up to going to Bristol Uni and how hard she found it not seeing people like herself with the same background and experiences. It is through this isolating experience that Gal Dem was born – a chance for Liv to carve out her space and create a community.
She credits her ambition and sheer determination for making it all possible. She talks about the many skill sets she had to develop quickly to become CEO and the importance of surrounding yourself with experienced mentors that can help you with all the different aspects of your business. It’s not about following in their footsteps but instead have access to a pool of knowledge that can help you make better decisions.
There is a huge amount we can all learn from Liv’s amazing story.