In this episode we welcome Christ Howard, a co-leader from Intertech LGBT+ Diversity Forum.

We have a fascinating discussion with Chris as he takes us through the work he and Intertech do and their specific approach to diversity, inclusion, and transformation.

We are also delighted to welcome back Erica Quessenberry as our co-host today.

One of the reasons and a major impetus to invite Chris to be a guest was the recent address he made at the Umbraco conference and he walks us through the enlightening exercise with which he opened that talk.

On the show today we welcome Elizabeth Gibbons, who is the Director of Client Services at Zeroseven in Brisbane, Australia.

Zeroseven is a digital development house in the heart of Brisbane that works in partnership with their clients on long term digital solutions that use best practice in design, development, and usability.

Elizabeth is here to tell us about her experiences and successes in creating a more gender diverse team at the company, and to discuss her greatest motivations for wanting to bridge the gender divide in tech and the practices she has seen as valuable in this pursuit.

Once again we are joined by Erica Quessenberry as our trusty co-host and we have a great conversation centering around web development, hiring and cultural practices that facilitate more inclusive work spaces.

Today on the show we get to speak to the amazing Molly Watt.

Molly is registered deaf blind due to a genetic condition called Usher Syndrome. She is a keynote speaker, usability and accessibility consultant, and a published author.

Molly uses her passion and experiences to specialize in accessibility and usability in the world of design.

Now, Molly’s story, presentation, and videos are truly inspiring and in this episode we have a fascinating and wide ranging conversation about inclusion and diversity.

On today’s show we welcome Kelly Mackenzie, the founder and CEO of White Bear Studios who is here to talk to us about her design company and their initiative called Shape.

After some years in the design field a number of things led Kelly to feel isolated and outnumbered as a woman in her line of work.

As her company grew she would attend design events and it felt like the norm was to have only a couple of women in the room. This prompted her and White Bear Studios to create Shape, a program aimed at promoting design and creative courses at schools.

With the help of our returning guest co-host, Kelly Molson, we unpack our guest Kelly Mackenzie’s history and current work with White Bear Studio, before getting down to what Shape is all about.

Today we are joined by April Wensel, the CEO and Founder of Compassionate Coding, who is here to tell us all about her company, why she started it, and the philosophical and practical ideas that are the foundation of what she does.

We are also happy to welcome back Erica Quessenberry to co-host this deeply interesting conversation, in which we cover compassion, emotional intelligence, empathy, and everything in between.

In this episode we welcome Dan Robertson to continue our dive into the topic of diversity. Dan is the President of Vercida Consulting and spends his working life helping organisations get up to speed with regards to diversity and inclusivity.

One of the first points Dan makes is the importance of the relationship and balance between these two terms, and how an overemphasis on diversity can lead to unfulfilled goals.

Our guest unpacks in an understandable manner, the basic reasons for addressing these issues in business and goes on to to cite some of the research that has propelled the field. We chat about obstacles and biases that have kept things a certain way for a long time and Dan gives us great insight into practical ways to go about dismantling these structures.

The conversation ends off considering the early roots that inform these biases and how we can go about reflecting on our own internal biases.

For an informative and actionable discussion, be sure to tune in!

During this season we will be focussing on diversity and specifically, gender diversity. We will have an array of co-hosts that will appear for a number of episodes each and in this first episode we are delighted to welcome Kelly Molson and Erica Quessenberry to get things started. In today’s episode we have a general and introductory conversation about the issues at hand and some of our hopes for this season’s discussions.

Vineeta and Tom Greenwood are the founders of Wholegrain Digital, a WordPress agency in London that are on a mission to create a more sustainable and equitable world. Learn more about the inner workings of Wholegrain Digital, how they screen their clients, recruit their team members, make decisions and how they aim to green the internet. We also discuss their fascinating journey to becoming a B Corp. If you are wondering how you can improve your ethical business standards and be a business that is accountable to the greater good – then this is one inspiring episode you must listen to! 

Kwame Ferreira is CEO of the innovation group Impossible, made up of people who have come together to help solve meaningful problems and guide global change. In our conversation, Kwame explains their culture and the approach that allows them to do some amazing work. We learn more about Impossible’s unique approach to health, happiness and their fundamental value of transparency. Kwame shares Impossible’s interesting co-creation methods. A fascinating episode where we also find out the story behind Kwame’s Ghanaian name and how recruiting great people sometimes means going to Mexican restaurants.

Matt Collins is the managing director of Platypus Digital, a London based digital marketing agency that helps great charities do great digital. Matt founded Platypus after working in the charity sector and then freelancing for charities. This episode is one of the most perfect examples of the power of agency specialization with a solid set of personal values. Matt describes the amazing benefits this brings for both his agency and his clients and he also does us the honour of not hiding the challenges. We dive into what it means to work in the charity sector and why Matt believes that a shared value is integral to serving your clients.