‘A Seat At The Table’ is the new monthly podcast from The Icehouse - a place for courageous conversations and empowering diversity and community in business. Regular hosts Liz Wotherspoon, Chief Executive of Growth at The Icehouse, Bryar Stewart, The Icehouse Community Manager, and Melanie Spencer, Co-CEO at Socialites, invite special guests for courageous conversations.
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‘We want our listeners to feel like they also have a seat at the table and be part of the conversation. We hope the stories told will create a feeling of empowerment – that it’s okay to be yourself, to get it wrong sometimes, to be honest with what you are good at, what you are not good at, to feel the fear and do it anyway,’ says Bryar Stewart.
Authenticity and representation
‘Liz and I had been talking for months about The Icehouse community and how we can authentically lean into diversity, how we can provide a platform for unheard or underrepresented voices and perspectives, so the podcast idea aligned so perfectly with our own values,’ she says.
‘As an organisation we have grappled with the diversity challenge for quite a while,’ says Liz Wotherspoon. ‘A Seat At The Table’ is a no-brainer as far as The Icehouse is concerned. We started with the idea of podcasting around gender diversity because we are asked how many women we have on our programmes. Our answer has always been ‘not enough’.’
‘However, A Seat At The Table is not just about gender or ethnic diversity, it’s about diversity of thinking – a diversity of views, fears and how to celebrate that diversity. If you don’t create a forum in which it can be expressed or observed, how will it be celebrated?’ she says.
A voice for smart business
‘A Seat At The Table is not a pity party – it’s about smart business and giving people a voice that they possibly wouldn’t ordinarily have. It’s about being human, giving these incredible minds and people an opportunity to tell their story, and tell a real story,’ says Mel Spencer.
‘As a businessperson you can sometimes walk out of the house with an armour guard on, almost having to pretend to be someone else. I am over that, I am done with that, that is what I think so many other people want now, is to be themselves and be successful at the same time.’
The first episode unpacks the podcast’s purpose, intentions, and introduces Liz, Bryar and Mel as the hosts. They share who they are, what ‘A Seat At The Table’ means to them, a few personal misconceptions, the importance of business and diversity, and more about the community they are passionate about building.
Watch Episode 1 and join the community of courageous conversations by listening, sharing, and engaging.
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