Thought Starters

​Two young women at the top of their game talk about junior-level staff – and how the creative industries don’t always encourage them to their full potential. ​Dior Bediako is the founder of Pepper Your Talk, a platform for young fashion creatives. Her new project The Junior Network has created a community of fashion professionals at the beginning of their careers, with events and resources to propel them forwards. ​Mercedes Benson is an independent social media marketing socialist, who has worked for Google, Adidas and Puma. Her community-based platform SocialFixt encourages entry-level black, Asian and minority talent into the creative industries. ​Also on the agenda: tokenism, the experience of recent graduates and why we should all be learning from our junior colleagues.