Introducing A Better Workplace: A DE&I Podcast by Wistia

Hi, I’m Jane, Vice President of People here at Wistia. And I’m Colin, a Customer Champion on the support team.

When we started carpooling home from Wistia HQ in 2019, neither of us could have imagined that our caffeine-fueled small talk would eventually evolve into a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) podcast. But, here we are!

Our shared commute coincided with the rollout of Wistia’s three-year DE&I plan and the creation of a formal DE&I task force. While we felt that we were making an impact within the walls of Wistia, we also felt we could be doing more to not only expand our own lens on DE&I but also share our struggles and learnings.

“While we felt that we were making an impact within the walls of Wistia, we also felt we could be doing more to not only expand our own lens on DE&I but also share our struggles and learnings.”

To be totally honest, our DE&I efforts have not always been a smooth ride (far from it, actually). But we also knew that we weren’t alone, and there were likely a lot of other folks out there going through the same roller coaster as they navigate the ups and downs of doing DE&I meaningfully. So, A Better Workplace was born.

We’re equal parts nervous and excited to share this journey with you. Nervous because we’re actively learning as we go, and we don’t have all the answers. We’ll inevitably get some things wrong along the way, but we’re not going to let that stop us from getting started, and we hope it won’t stop you either.

At the same time, it’s a really exciting moment to commit to this work. There are some amazing folks doing work in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging field right now, and we’re eager for you to meet them. After all, the best part about launching this podcast is that we get to learn from DE&I experts, build on their ideas and ultimately make Wistia a better workplace.

“There are some amazing folks doing work in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging field right now, and we’re eager for you to meet them.”

And while we’re not experts — we’re not entirely new to this. We’re thinking and talking about these topics a lot. On the show, we’re going to hear from folks about what work can feel like for those in equity-seeking groups.

So far, we’ve explored topics like compensation, double standards, and codes of conduct. We’ve interviewed consultants, educators, and lawyers, and we’ve added new terms to our workplace vocabulary, like “equity-seeking groups.”

We know these are not always the easiest topics to talk about. Actually, it can be really hard. But we think you should be excited about DE&I and that we should talk about these things with joy. Don’t be afraid of it. Let it motivate you. And you know what? That’s just what we’re going to do on this show.