Leading With Empathy & Allyship - Interrupting Microaggressions For LGBTQIA+ Colleagues

Interrupting Microaggressions For LGBTQIA+ Colleagues

12/08/22 • 37 min

In Episode 107, Melinda Briana Epler, Founder & CEO of Empovia, shares a short talk based on her Out & Equal Workplace Summit session with our friends at Qualcomm on “Interrupting Microaggressions: Workplace Interventions for Calling People In.” In this workshop, Melinda shares how we can call each other in to interrupt microaggressions experienced by LGBTQIA+ folks in the workplace. She guides us through microintervention processes and scripts we can use to address common verbal, nonverbal, and environmental microaggressions. She also shares how managers and team members can take action to create a call-in culture together.
About Melinda Briana Epler (she/her)
Melinda Briana Epler has more than 25 years of experience elevating brands and developing business innovation strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global NGOs.
As CEO of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), Melinda is a strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion advisor for executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and activists around the world. As part of her changemaking work, she is an inclusive leadership coach, trains executive and management teams, and builds learning and development solutions for clients.
Melinda is the author of How to Be an Ally (McGraw-Hill) and the host of the popular "Leading With Empathy & Allyship" podcast. She is also a TED speaker, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and former marketing and culture executive. She speaks, mentors, and writes about diversity and inclusion, empathy, and entrepreneurship.
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For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.
Connect With Melinda Briana Epler On Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindaepler
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melindabrianaepler
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbrianaepler
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changecatalysts
Connect With Us On Social
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles
[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and a photo of host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and a black shirt; beside her is the orange book cover of How to Be an Ally (McGraw-Hill).]

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Previous Episode

Ways To Address Interpersonal Conflict At Work With Lisa Gelobter

In Episode 106, Lisa Gelobter, CEO of tEQuitable, joins Melinda in a discussion on ways to address interpersonal conflict in the workplace. They discuss the true costs and consequences of interpersonal conflicts for an organization. Lisa shares an open-ended question framework tEQuitable uses in their process that can help us all create constructive conversations at work and shift team cultures. They also look into the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for managing workplace conflict to improve business outcomes.
About Lisa Gelobter (she/her)
Lisa Gelobter is the CEO and Founder of tEQuitable. Using technology to make workplaces more equitable, tEQuitable provides a confidential platform to address bias, discrimination, and harassment.
Lisa has worked on products that have been used by billions of people and pioneered several Internet technologies, including Shockwave, Hulu, and the ascent of online video.
Previously, at the Obama White House, Lisa was the Chief Digital Service Officer for the Department of Education, and prior to that, she served as the Chief Digital Officer for BET Networks at Viacom.
Lisa has been named one of Inc.'s 100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses, Fast Company’s Most Creative People, and serves on the boards for: the Obama Foundation, Times Up, and The Education Trust.
Lisa is one of the first 40 Black women ever to have raised over $1 million in VC funding.
She is also proud to be a Black woman with a Computer Science degree. Go STEM!
Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!
For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.
Connect With Lisa Gelobter On Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagelobter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaGelobter
Connect With Us On Social
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles
[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Lisa Gelobter, a Black woman with long salt and pepper hair, glasses, yellow/orange beaded earrings, and coral shirt; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and black jacket.]

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Next Episode

Understanding The Changing Landscape Of DEI Work With Dax-Devlon Ross

In Episode 108, our final episode of Season 8, Dax-Devlon Ross, Founder / Principal of Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, joins Melinda in a reflective conversation about the changing landscape of DEI work over the years. They look into systemic shifts in communities and organizations, including the pushback to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They explore what Dax-Devlon calls the BIPOC savior syndrome, an issue that incoming BIPOC leaders often face. Dax-Devlon also shares his experience navigating the DEI space as a Black cis man and how we can reflect and set goals to support DEI initiatives moving into 2023 and beyond.
About Dax-Devlon Ross (he/him)
Dax-Devlon Ross is the author of six books and his journalism has been featured in Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, Nonprofit Quarterly, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. He won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for his coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts and is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at Type Media Center.
His most recent book Letters to My White Male Friends, published by St. Martin’s Press in June 2021, is a call to action and a reflection on race. Dax details how racism has harmed Black people for generations but has also hurt White people by robbing their lives of fullness and meaningful relationships.
A New York City teaching fellow turned non-profit executive, Dax is now a principal at the social impact consultancies, Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, both of which focus on designing disruptive strategies to generate equity in workplaces and education spaces alike. His clients have included The National Urban League, UnidosUS, Amnesty International, Results for America, iMentor, Fund II Foundation, Vera Institute of Justice, the ACLU of New Hampshire, and many others.
Dax received his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Alana, and their young children.
Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!
For more about Empovia, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.
Connect With Dax-Devlon Ross On Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dax-devlon-ross-69b3749/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/daxdev
Connect With Us On Social
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth & Nina Rugeles
[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Dax-Devlon Ross, an African-American man with black hair and facial hair, white button down, and grey suit; his black and white image has a photo credits to Doug Segars; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with blonde and red hair, glasses, red shirt, and

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