The 4:30am Alarm: Reema Samuel-Lewis on D&I at Sky, Raising Money-Smart Kids & Making It Work

This week on The Parent Playbook, Nyah brings one of her oldest and most beloved friends onto the purple couch. They have known each other since they were 11 years old in their school uniforms — and it took this long to get Reema Samuel-Lewis in the chair. It was worth it. Reema is Head of Diversity and Inclusion Partnerships at Sky, where she oversees external partnerships, employee networks and community impact across the UK, Ireland, Italy and Germany. She is a wife, a daughter, a friend and a mum to two children aged 3 and 8 — and she somehow manages to get up at 4:30am twice a week to go to the gym, do the school run, build the shared calendar, earn the income, teach her children about Junior ISAs, and then come onto a podcast and make it all sound almost manageable. Almost. This conversation gets into the invisible load from the inside. Not just what it is, but what it actually looks like when you are the kind of person whose brain never stops — the lists, the columns, the shared calendar with everyone's names in it, the son who adds his birthday in six months in advance, the daughter who already understands what a bank card is at three years old. They talk about what it means to communicate your needs instead of burning out waiting for someone to notice, and why structure is not a control issue — it is how some of us survive. They also get into raising financially literate children in a household where money is talked about openly, investing in the things your kids already love, the Beyblade that costs £78 (and the investment conversation that followed), and what happens when you make your daughter buy her friend a marshmallow and watch the panic cross her face. Reema opens up about a pivotal career moment — a job she stayed in too long because someone kept telling her just do three more months — and what finally made her choose her own happiness. She talks about what it looks like to work in D&I, why she mentors young women, and what she would say to anyone trying to find their way into a meaningful career while raising children. Full of warmth, wisdom and the particular kind of honesty that only comes from two women who have known each other their whole lives. ⭐️ Follow Reema Samuel-Lewis: ⃗‣ Sky UK Instagram -   / sky_uk   ‣ LinkedIn -   / reemasl   💜 Join our Journey! ‣ Instagram -   / trybeuk   ‣ TikTok -   / trybeuk   ‣ Website - https://www.trybe.uk/ 📍Episode Chapters 00:00 Welcome to The Parent Playbook — introducing Reema Samuel-Lewis 01:45 What does Head of Diversity and Inclusion Partnerships at Sky actually mean? 02:42 The breadth of the role — from Black Equity Organisation to Mission 44 04:55 The invisible load — communication, the 4:30am gym alarm, and non-negotiables 09:47 Structure, planners, and the point system that turned chores into a game 13:24 Financial literacy at home — Junior ISAs, trading accounts and investing in what you love 15:44 The marshmallow moment — making your child spend their own money for the first time 16:29 Device management — using tech for learning, not just entertainment 18:22 Kizzy's Question — favourite hobby, dancing, and simple joys 20:22 Origami, Roblox and Tinkercad — finding the upside in screen time 23:19 Every child is different — peer pressure, comparison, and letting kids find their own way 27:16 Loving the process, not just the result — lessons from Carol Dweck's Mindset 29:35 What's next for Reema, and advice for parents building meaningful careers 34:00 Wrap-up — parents are killing it and deserve a pat on the back