In the second episode of our series on Leading inspired by Faith, we are joined by Isabel who was born into a christian family and for whom the teaching of Jesus Christ resonated deeply from a young age. She shares with Julia why she loves leading from the back and how her faith taught her that. She has learnt the importance of showing up no matter what and the importance of mentoring the next generation of leaders. As a leader, sometimes tough love is what is needed, and this too is something she elarnt at church. At the heart of her leading is a desire and belief of diversity and inclusion and she argues that it is in fact her faith that has taught her to be this way and love all for who they are. In difficult times she prays, a personal practice she does alone, seeking guidance to do the right thing.

About the guest:

Isabel Kumwembe is Special project manager at alx africa, and organisation on a mission to identify, develop and equip Africa’s next 3 million leaders. She is also the founder of Amazon Women's Football Club.

This is the first Episode in our series new series on Leading Inspired by Faith. Tracey, an accidental buddhist as she describes herself and an accomplished squash player shares with us how long before she was exposed to buddhism, she was practicing the principles of buddhism. She shares how it has given her a moral compass that has helped her in her leading. There is not god in Buddhism and so it requires one to deeply reflect and introspect. Qualities, Tracey believes are helpful to a leader too. Both squash and buddhism taught her the importance of being present and cultivating focusTracey's faith has allowed to to balance and navigate difficult situations both professionally and personally with peers, clients and teams with kindness and honesty. For example, it is not enough that you do the right thing when people are looking, but do you have the ability to stand up for what is right even when someone is not watching you? How can you live and lead in a manner that allows you to see from many different perspective?

About the Guest:

Tracey Woon has had over 35 years of experience of working in investment banking experience and has worked on corporate finance and is currently 'journeying' in her next chapter.

We are revisiting the series on how young women deal with being patronised for a special episode where Julia is joined by Selin, a young activist whose went viral for sharing her experience of being patronised at a global forum. She was invited to speak for 3 minutes. Her 3 minutes were measured, rehearsed, screened, and approved. Inch by inch the organisers ate into her 3 minutes. It started with the content, and then they asked her to shorted the duration. When Selin decided to take her 3 minutes as promised and stand her ground, her mike was turned off. Shortly after this she was interviewed, and her candid interview went viral.

While young people are invited to have a seat at the table, it is often to serve a visual. They still struggle for their voices to be heard. Selin shares with us what this kind of partonising does to young people, how it creates a sense of doubt. She speaks of the power of venting but the dilemma of that moment living on the internet for enternity in the age of social media. How do you make your voice heard as a young person? How does one navigate being silenced in a public forum? Where do you derive your inner strength from to keep going?

About the Guest:

Selin Ozunaldim is a global gender equality activist from Istanbul, Turkey, serving as a National Gender Youth Activist, representing Turkey worldwide for UN Women and advocating for the HeForShe initiative of UN Women. She is a member of the editorial team for the YOUth Newsletter published by UN Women. Selin is a member of the Global Feminist Coalition for Gender Transformative Education, hosted by UNGEI in collaboration with Unicef. She also holds the role of Ambassador for WAVE Organization, co-funded by the European Union. Selin holds a position on the Gen Z Advisory Board of Fast Company Turkey and is a Board Member at Être Girls, a mentorship organization designed to empower young girls by connecting them with accomplished female leaders from diverse sectors.

For many young people, arriving at a point where they want to embrace leading, the verb wholeheartedly, with open arms is often a challenge. In this episode, Meenakshi Arundhati, Editor and Production coordinator of the Women Emerging Podcast is looking back at has 9 clips from 9 episodes this year, that helped her grow into her own leading. It is an episode that attempts to stitch together the voices of women from varied life and leading experiences, as they share what has helped them lead, and learning to claim the verb leading, making is their own.

This episode is Meena's farewell to her time at Women Emerging as she moves back to the studio to pursue her love for acting.

The following episodes are featured in order of appearance:

121. Find the bathroom with Chmba Ellen Chilemba

108. How to Release Energy with Valérie Lucq

106. How to Lead Disruptors with Veerle Simoens

123. How Trauma Shapes Leading with Chadia El Meouchi

125. How Energy Unblocks Leading with Puri Canals

102. How to Build a Fluid Team with Jeta Bejtullahu

107. How to Delegate with Katy Barrow-Grint

98. How to Reverse a Decision with Stefanie McCollum

117. Insights from the Pakistan expedition with Simi Kamal

This is the last episode in your 4Es Series and we are joined by Anna-Lena who is a journalist, and co-founded HateAid, a non-profit organisation that advocates for human rights in the digital space. At a time when women are disproportionately attacked online, especially those leading, Anna-Lena and Julia discuss how digital violence targets our Essence. Essence is what makes us who we are, and specifically makes us lead the way we do. When one is targeted and pieces of our essence are picked at, what does that do one sense of sense and one's leading? What is it about being torn down in the virtual space that make it so painful? Is it even possible to prevent it? What does one do when targeted brutally? How do you recover?

About the Guest:

Anna-Lena von Hodenberg is a professional journalist, having worked, among others, for media companies RTL and NDR. In 2018, she founded HateAid together with Campact e. V., Fearless Democracy e. V. as well as a lawyer committed to combatting right-wing violence. The non-profit organisation advocates for human rights in the digital space. Its goal: to make the internet a positive space where democratic values apply for everyone. HateAid is a non-profit organisation that promotes human rights in digital space and stands up against digital violence and its consequences at both social and political levels.

In the fourth episode of the 4 Es series, Julia is joined by Sunita, whose experience spans across continents in the field of renewable energy. Leading in different contexts has taught her how to combine seemingly opposite ideas and the one she holds closest is her ability to balance humility with assertiveness. Every new context offers and opportunity to unlearn and re-learn, she say, for the pace, the language and the mode of working may change. This is where humility is necessary. At the same time, it is important to be confident and assertive when it comes to your subject matter. Sunita offers a range of tools and phrases she keeps handy when working with the various kinds of energy one encounters when leading a team. How can you learn to be empathetic but also have clear boundaries? How do you learn to run a successful and healthy team in vastly different context?

About the Guest: Sunita Dubey is the Country Representative for the GEAPP in Vietnam and leads battery energy storage system work in the region. She has 25+ years of combined experience in the energy sector in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. She has double master’s in environmental science and energy policy and is a Chevening fellow.

In this episode of the woman emerging podcast, Julia is Joined by Puri, a scientist, whose deep love for nature has shaped the way she leads. As Puri sees it, in nature and leading, the system will fuction so long as Energy is allowed to flow freely. The moment there is a blockage in the flow of Energy, a problem arises. As human beings, we seem to be of the opinion that we must compete in this world to get ahead, however Puri makes a pointed observation that most of what plays out in nature is an act of collaboration not competition as we have been made to believe. To lead, is not about being the best at everything, instead it is about being good enough. And, what one needs to cultivate is the ability to bring people together and hold them. How do you continue to stay curious as a leader? Why is it important? How does one learn to unblock energy and facilitate collaboration? How do we redefine and measure success that values collaboration and not competition?

About the Guest: Purificació Canals has a BSc and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Barcelona University and works on marine and coastal conservation. She’s deeply involved in connecting people around the world to protect the ocean; first as President of MedPAN (2009-2024) and currently, as coordinator of the Global Network of MPA Manager Networks (The Ocean Foundation & Blue Nature Alliance). She’s also the Institutional Relations Director at Underwater Gardens International S.L. a company focused on marine restoration.

In this episode Julia talks to Karvika, a tech entrepreneur and leader based in Nepal. Karvika shares her journey of leading and how embracing motherness not just in the home but also at work redefined the way she leads. It taught her how to balance being nurturing and fierce. It is when she embraced this piece of her Essence that she found her authentic self and discovered what truly drives her - to nurture the next generation of young women in tech, specifically in her home country, Nepal. As she leads her team, guided by her motherness, she also feels a sense of motherness towards her country. She hopes she and her team will be able to put Nepal on the map in the world of tech. None of this is easy. In tough times, she turn to her ancestors, the women in her life, her grandmother in particular, and how she is inspired by how even with few resources, these women never failed to generate energy and mobilise people. SWhere do you turn to in tough times, when you are in unfamiliar terrain? Have you discovered which piece of your Essence you hold closest to your heart?

About the Guest: An entrepreneur and tech leader with a Master's degree from the US, Karvika has international experience in education, healthcare, retail, and government sectors. She founded Kimbu Tech in Nepal to boost women's participation in tech and create local jobs while promoting Nepali products and services globally. She is also the chairperson of Simjung, a BPO serving clients from around the world and the Director of V.S. International College, aiming to enhance the quality of tech resources. Additionally, she also runs the "Women in Tech" Facebook group.