Unlocking Hidden Talent. Accelerating Performance.
We believe your starting point shouldn’t dictate your future.
That’s why we help organisations build cultures where talent from low income backgrounds can progress, lead and thrive - powered by research, story-led learning and practical consultancy that strengthens inclusion and performance.
Sign up for Social Mobility Matters – your monthly digest of research, insights, and leadership tips for building equitable workplaces.
If you’re ready to explore how social mobility could drive real impact in your organisation.
You are losing leaders before they are even seen.
Let’s be honest. You’re investing in diversity. You’re bringing in new talent. But your leadership team still looks the same.
The reason? High-potential professionals from low-income backgrounds aren’t progressing. They’re overlooked, stalled, or quietly sidelined - not because they lack capability, but because they lack access, visibility, and support.
- Great people leaving before they’re recognised - creating skills gaps and delivery risk.
- Diversity targets with no matching leadership representation.
- Disengagement, quiet quitting, and burnout.
- ESG goals approaching without a strong internal pipeline.
39%
of the UK workforce comes from low-income households.
10%
or less make it into higher skilled or professional roles.
12%
class pay gap for the same work.
£30k+
cost to replace one mid-level leaver.
Strategic Equity Advantage
Practical Consultancy for Lasting Change.
Future-proofing your workforce takes more than good intentions, it takes strategy that sticks.
I work alongside HR leaders and executives to design workplace systems that work for everyone, turning equity into a measurable business advantage.
From social mobility audits and inclusive policy design to leadership coaching and data-driven roadmaps, my consultancy blends insight, lived experience and practical action.
The result? A workplace where equity fuels performance, culture drives retention, and inclusion isn’t a side project, it’s a strategic edge.
Our Services
How we support organisations and leaders.
Red Lotus Consultancy specialises in social mobility and leadership development, tackling the class barriers that restrict UK talent.
Drawing on lived experience and 20 years of leadership expertise, we help employers unlock internal potential and deliver measurable performance gains.
Jo speaks from her own experience of growing up in poverty, overcoming adversity and navigating a career into senior leadership. Her keynotes are honest, raw, and designed to make people feel something before they're asked to do anything. Good for conferences, leadership events and DEI awareness.
Leadership Workshops
Sessions that help leaders recognise class-based barriers and build the inclusive skills to address them. Hands-on, practical, and aimed at changing behaviour, not just raising awareness.
A 12-month programme for high-potential talent from low-income backgrounds already in your business. Coaching, mentoring and tailored modules to build confidence, career capital and visibility, while strengthening your leadership pipeline.
Strategic Consultancy
We diagnose the progression risks holding your people back and build an evidence-led strategy to address them, with a commercial case you can take to ExCo and embed as lasting change.
Why Choose Us.
Testimonials
What our clients have to say.
Jo is a tenacious leader with a strong desire to delivery great outcomes, as a leader she leads from the front helping to dive teams towards shared successes but is brilliant at lifting herself out of the detail when she needs to so she can put the work she does in context and demonstrate how it will make a difference for the individual, group, organisation and society.
Programme Director | Nationwide Building Society
Jo is a phenomenal leader who always seeks to uplift and empower those around her. Within the time I've worked with her, she has been instrumental in breaking down barriers and forging a pathway for colleagues to connect over a shared cause. Jo would be a valued asset to any company.
Business Support Manager | Nationwide Building Society
Jo is a hero. Hiring Jo will be the equivalent of having Michelle Obama in your team. Through Jo, I had the confidence to put myself forward for an acceleration programme Jo helped create, to help middle managers from lower socio-economic backgrounds progress to senior positions. I also applied for a promotion (and got it) which I wouldn't have done without her.
Jo is a formidable leader and has had a significant role in changing a culture of a large organisation.
UHS Reconciliations Delivery Manager | Nationwide Building Society
The Team
Meet the founders.
Jo Whight
Multi-award-winning senior leader with 20+ years in financial services, specialising in commercial roles, DEI and culture.
From a low-income background and homeless at 18, Jo built a career leading high-performing teams and delivering large-scale transformation.
She founded Red Lotus to help organisations support the talent they’re missing, equipping professionals to rise with confidence. Jo partners with executives to uncover hidden talent, strengthen leadership pipelines, and embed inclusion as a proven driver of business performance.
“Missed talent is missed profit. I help leaders find, sponsor, and create opportunities for talent to become extraordinary.”
Her work has been recognised with awards including Leader of the Year, Significant Contributions to the Industry, and Social Mobility Employee Network of the Year, as well as finalist honours for Social Mobility Champion of the Year and HR Leader of the Year.
Paul Scadding
An accomplished coach, speaker, trainer, and programme creator with over 15 years of experience across public, private, and third sectors.
Paul helps individuals and organisations navigate change, unlock potential, and build inclusive, high-performing cultures. Drawing on his own lived experience and academic grounding, he creates inclusive spaces where leaders can explore identity, challenge imposter beliefs, and lead with authenticity, purpose, and integrity. His work enhances talent retention, strengthens working practices, and shapes leaders who lift others as they rise.
Clients consistently praise Paul for his ability to foster trust, challenge limiting beliefs, and champion people to succeed. He brings a rare balance of empathy and edge. His relational, pragmatic, and impact-focused approach helps organisations see real results.
“This is not about tick-box inclusion; it’s about helping people tap into potential they didn’t even realise they have.”
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Sign up for Social Mobility Matters – your monthly digest of research, insights, and leadership tips for building equitable workplaces.
Want to know more about how I can bring impact to your next event?
Impactful Keynote Speaker
Real Stories. Raw Truths. Lasting Change.
Looking for a speaker who will do more than inspire for an hour and then disappear from memory?
I bring courage, clarity and impact to every stage, speaking openly about;
- social mobility,
- inclusive leadership,
- and the untapped talent that’s too often overlooked.
My talks are raw, real and human, designed to spark action and give leaders tools they can use the very next day.
If you want hearts opened, minds challenged and change that lasts, I’m your speaker.
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to partner?
Stop waiting for the “right” talent to appear. Start investing in the leaders already inside your organisation.
