Inside Adobe’s mission to build more inclusive tech, with TB Bardlavens - listener Q&A edition

Help us make this podcast better for you! Please answer a few quick questions to help shape the next season: https://bit.ly/madeforuspod --- TB Bardlavens, Director of Product Equity at Adobe, joins us for this special edition featuring questions from Made For Us listeners. We discuss what it really means to build technology that works for everyone and how the Product Equity team tackles this challenge across all 137 of Adobe’s products. TB also shares how his team shaped Firefly, Adobe’s suite of generative AI tools, ensuring that its outputs truly reflect human diversity. Along the way, TB answers listeners' questions on the impact of DEI rollbacks in the US and Adobe’s approach to building inclusive global products that respect cultural nuances. Other topics we explore: Why traditional product development often fails to meet human needs How Adobe is embedding equity and accessibility across its entire product ecosystem The human case and the business case for product equity The role of AI in creativity and Adobe’s mission to empower, not replace, creatives Missed last week’s episode? AI vs the gender feedback gap --- About TB Bardlavens TB Bardlavens is chaotic good in its purest form. He is a Gay, Black man from the Carolinas, a highly regarded social intrapreneur, and an advocate for equity in technology and design. He is a Product Executive, Cultural Strategist, Diversity, Equity, and Justice expert, Co-Founder, Writer, and International Speaker and Facilitator. For more than a decade, TB has dedicated his career to dismantling systemic barriers, building and scaling teams, and launching innovative digital products for companies like Microsoft, Meta and Adobe. Learn more about TB Bardlavens: https://www.bardlavens.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/bardlavens Instagram: https://instagram.com/bardlavens --- Connect with Made for Us on LinkedIn and Instagram. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/ Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/