Combatting Tech’s Diversity Deficit with Melinda Briana Epler

As we are all aware, there is a vast lack of diversity in the tech industry.

Today’s guest, Melinda Briana Eppler, is trying to change this through her company Change Catalyst.

Melinda started her career as an award-winning documentary filmmaker with a passion for social change. She is now channeling her passion into solving the diversity issue in tech (and tech-adjacent fields) through her work as a strategic advisor to tech companies and startups, venture capital firms, innovation hubs, and governments around the world.

In this episode, you’ll hear about how Melinda left filmmaking for tech, how the tech industry came to be this way, and how we can change it. She explains the challenges and biases embedded within the venture capital model and how underrepresented identities are still being held to much higher standards.

Learn about the importance of hiring outside of your network, what solopreneurs can do to become allies, and practical advice for diversifying your team from the beginning while Melinda also weighs in on what happened at Basecamp.

More than ever, our world is shaped by technology, so it is crucial that technology is envisioned and built from more than one point of view.

Here’s a peek at what else we discuss:

• An introduction to Melinda and her business Change Catalyst. 
• Melinda explains why she chose the tech industry for her work in diversity and inclusion.
• Practices and advice for building a diverse team. 
• How solopreneurs can be allies by incorporating diversity into their supply chains. 
• Melinda shares her view on the employee exodus that happened at Basecamp.  
• How the tech industry came to be this way: people hiring people who look like them. 
• The importance of looking outside of your network.
• How these ideas are received in the venture capital and startup worlds. 
• Why VCs are more likely to diversify their portfolios than diversify within their own firms. 
• Why people with underrepresented identities are still being held to higher standards.
• How the level of bias is more extreme in the tech industry than in other industries.
• How Melinda’s passion for motorcycles fits into her brand.

This week’s Joy: 
Melinda’s joys are motorcycle riding and nature. She believes getting out into nature is really important.

This week’s Hustle: 

Melinda’s hustle is Evernote. She finds Evernote a more convenient and efficient way to write notes compared to paper notebooks.

Resources

• Change Catalyst
• Evernote
• Melinda Briana Epler Podcast
• Melinda Briana Epler on Instagram 
• Melinda Briana Epler on LinkedIn 
• Melinda Briana Epler on Twitter
• Marvelous, our online teaching & coaching platform
• Marvelous on Instagram
• Marvelous on Twitter

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