Men Doing Wonders Series - Stephen
This year, to celebrate Father’s Day, we asked men that running impactful enterprises and are part of our Ethical Lifestyle Hub Directory, what is driving them to lead a business with purpose. Those we highlight are men of strength, compassion, and resilience - working toward bettering the world around them as well as being a Father or mentor. This blog highlights Stephen Morse of Unchained Solutions
Unchained inspires Australian organisations to be leaders in making an impact on modern slavery through implementing the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). Through our full suite of services, we equip organisations to address the risk of modern slavery in their supply chains and operations. As a social enterprise, Unchained gives a portion of its profits to the Freedom Business Alliance who offer vocational training and meaningful employment to survivors of modern slavery globally.
Tell us about you and why you started your organisation
I started Unchained with my wife, Sarah, in 2018 after finishing up our work with International Teams in Madrid, Spain, where I completed my doctoral research into the push and pull factors underpinning human trafficking into the sex industry, and Sarah worked in a safe house for women who had been trafficked. After 5 years working with the survivors of modern slavery, we saw an opportunity to use our lived experience to inspire and assist Australian organisations to comply with the upcoming Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). Having worked at the grassroots level, we developed a strong conviction to carry on our work against modern slavery through an engagement with the demand-side of modern slavery; that being companies who were profiting from forced labour and related human rights violations through the supply of goods and services, mainly for South-East Asia.
Did fatherhood encourage you to set up an impactful business? Why?
I am a father of two children, but I can’t say that fatherhood directly impacted my decision to set up an impactful business. What I can say is that the choice to continue to live with great purpose and to follow my long-standing conviction to make an impact on the world of modern slavery, through my consultation work and expert speaking practice, plays into my purpose as a father. I want to encourage my children to live with purpose and conviction, and to make a mark on the world in whatever sphere of life they find themselves. I want them to dream big, think big, and to realise those dreams. I’m here to enable that.
What impact do you hope to achieve through your business?
In the short-term I want to make an impact on Australian organisations through helping them comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). Longer-term I want them to experience a culture change in the way they conduct business in the world so as to effect change in the world, and to root out exploitation. Unchained sits at the intersection of business, academia and civil society, and my purpose is to build bridges, connect the dots and to help organisations make a lasting impact as they collaborate with their peers and other sectors.
What legacy do you want to leave behind as a father to your children?
My legacy is to contribute to a shift in what it means to do business in the world; to make responsible and ethical business practices the new DNA of being in business, rather than the exception or a nice to have. I want to open the door for others to do great things in world of business and human rights, whether that is my clients, my team, my children, my strategic partners, or university students I engage with.
To learn more about Unchained Solutions, visit: https://www.moralfairground.com.au/unchained-solutions
Become an Ethical Lifestyle Hub Member today : https://www.moralfairground.com.au/ethical-lifestyle-hub-membership