A fantastic episode packed with research, information, and insights about financial inclusion, why it matters, how it affects women, and what we can do about it.

Our guest is Mary Ellen Iskenderian, the President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, a passionate advocate for women’s economic empowerment, and the author of the incredibly important book "There’s Nothing Micro About a Billion Women: Making Finance Work for Women"

With Mary Ellen we discuss: 
- What financial inclusion is and how it relates to gender inclusion.
- The3 pillars of financial inclusion: ability to save, ability to borrow, and insurance
- Why microfinance, as much as it is critically important, alone is not the answer to the gender inclusion problem
- Digitalisation of finance, how it is helping close the gender financial gap, and the potential role of fintech companies
- Practical recommendations that we can all implement to have an impact.

Find out more about Mary Ellen here: https://www.womensworldbanking.org/about-us/our-team/mary-ellen-iskenderian/

It is a well-known fact that a diverse workforce brings greater creativity, social justice, and financial returns. And yet, all too often effectively recruiting diverse candidates seems a challenge for most companies.

Felicity Hassan, Board member, book author, and co-founder of The Find, shares with us how to effectively hire for diversity.

Felicity founded her company precisely with the intention of helping companies look beyond the sea of traditional candidates to spot diverse leaders. In this episode, she tells her journey from being on the receiving end of horrific hiring experiences to driving inclusive recruitment.
 She explains how diversity is not only the right thing to do but also a competitive advantage that can take your business to the next level.

With Felicity, we talk about gender diversity in the context of intersectional diversity and how different types of diversity (gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.) build and intersect with each other. We discussed why it matters for companies to truly understand diverse target audiences and why having a diverse workforce helps with that.

Finally, Felicity shares her pro tips when it comes to authentically seeking diverse talent: from clearly defining the company's values and mission, to ensuring that talent research is truly inclusive, all the way to the interviewing and onboarding process, listen to Felicity to find out how you can effectively create a more diverse workforce for your business.

Find out more about Felicity and her business:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicitybt/
https://www.thefindpartners.com/

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ingrid Murra. In her own words, Ingrid is a mission-driven entrepreneur and orthodontist passionate about democratizing access to confidence by way of smiles. Her business, TwoFront, helps individuals get the best care for their smiles while helping small practices grow.

In a world where women founders only received 2.3% of all VC funding in 2021 and latino women are a very small minority in this group, Ingrid has managed to secure $5 million for her startup.

Ingrid shares with us her experience in starting a business, getting the first employees, and securing VC funds even despite the challenges that women have to face.

In particular, Ingrid talks about the importance of celebrating wins and failures every single day, because we don't need to forget our achievements and we don't need to be afraid of failure.

The key for Ingrid is to be prepared, determined to find solutions and to fix problems, and to stay calm and clear-minded without forgetting to accept vulnerability.

Find out more about Ingrid and her business here:
www.mytwofront.com
IG: @mytwofront 
IG: @dringridmurra

What does it take to become an entrepreneur? What are the main challenges and why is it worth starting such a journey?

Kasia Krzyzanowski is the founder of Neighbour Magazine, a magazine dedicated to sustainable living.  From slow living to sustainability, from circular economy to regenerative practices, Neighbour Magazine brings to its readers the stories of the people around us who are making and doing, creating places, spaces, products, and ideas that make our world a better place.

Kasia shares with us how she came up with the idea for her magazine, her passion for providing practical solutions to the current environmental crisis, and her determination to keep a positive outlook.

Kasia talks about the perks and the challenges of being an entrepreneur, the importance of having a clear vision and defined goals, as well the crucial importance of finding people different from us that can help us grow our business beyond what we could do on our own.

A very honest and down-to-earth conversation about what it means to be an entrepreneur, this episode is ideal for people who are considering starting their entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode, we speak with Fiona Murden, psychologist, podcast host, and author of the book Mirror Thinking.

Fiona explains to us how mirror thinking is not only the process of observational learning but also the key to social understanding and emotional intelligence.

From there, we expand the conversation to a variety of  complex yet critical topics including:

• Mirroring and counter mirroring, how we choose them and how they shape us
• The difference between meritocracy and mirrorcrazy, are we being really objective when we promote or recruit talent?
• The importance of attainable and relatable role models to inspire real change
• Mentorship as growth and support and the responsibilities that come with being a mentor
• Vulnerability, what it means for leaders, and the concept of insightful vulnerability
• Empathy, it is a good skill but can be counterproductive when unmanaged

So much to learn from Fiona!

Find out more https://fionamurden.com/

 

In this episode we talk with Flo Williams, an elite rugby player both for premiership clubs (currently Wasps) & internationally capped with Wales, as well as the Women's Sports Lead with MATTA, a marketing sports agency.

With Flo we discussed her journey as a female sportswoman in a traditionally male sport like rugby, the challenges she faces but also the amazing opportunities that come with playing in a team at an elite level.

We discussed what kept her going when the challenges kept on coming and how these experiences have shaped her as a professional woman.

Finally, we talked about the importance of role models and what an impact sports marketing is having in showcasing inspiring women.

Find out more about Flo here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flo-williams/
And about MATTA here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/matta/

This episode is packed with incredible knowledge, information, and insights on gender inclusion. 

Kristen, Vice-Chair at European Women on Boards and Former Chief DEI Officer at Barilla, shares her experience as a woman in STEM as well as a champion for gender inclusion. 

Kristen talks about some horror stories women face in a highly man-dominated field like STEM, like being asked to take additional tests for the same job while male candidates aren't. She also covers unintentional bias, particularly affinity bias and proximity bias.

Most importantly, Kristen revolutionises the concept of quotas: moving away from the idea that quotas work with women being promoted on the pure basis of their gender regardless of their abilities, Kristen defines quotas as KPIs: it is a fact that gender inclusion brings benefits to businesses, so like any other project in business we need KPIs to define clear goals and track results. This concept involves a real commitment to seek and grow female talent within the organization and to ensure that we move from diversity to real inclusion.

Find out more:

About Kristen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-anderson-aaa44a8/

About European Women on Boards http://europeanwomenonboards.eu/

In this episode, Georges shares his insights into supporting a more inclusive society; Georges talks about his experience as a father, as a CEO, and as an entrepreneur who works in a traditionally male-dominated industry such as the Fintech area.

Covering topics from the role of AI in gender equalit  to unconscious  bias, from self confidence to promotions at work, Georges provides practical tips to women on how to overcome some common self-limiting habits to increase their chances to succeed in business.
At the same time, Georges encourages companies and the society at large to address the lack of equal opportunities and to work all together towards a more gender-inclusive future.

Find out more about Georges and his company here
https://www.linkedin.com/in/georges-bock-882ba418

https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/company/investre

In this episode, we talk with Brian Ballantyne, co-founder of Men for Inclusion and author of the book 'Confessions of a working father'.

Brian explains how the idea of Men for Inclusion came about and his personal journey from being a female ally to becoming actively involved in gender inclusion.

With him, we discuss the challenges that men might face in recognising the disparities that still exist between women and men at work and the risk of not recognising those biases and sense of entitlement that might cloud our assessment of work-related situations.

We also talk about the importance of becoming role models to normalise gender equality, to show what women can do in a professional environment and what men can do at work and outside work to support them.
 
Finally, Brian shares his favourite brand, C&A: an inclusive brand that makes him feel good.

Find out more about Brian's multiple projects here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-ballantyne-336754/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Confessions-Working-Father-Brian-Ballantyne/dp/1729107281/

https://www.e2w.co/men-for-inclusion/

https://wide.lu/

In this episode, Sara Kaiser, Program Director at Luxembourg Tech School, shares her experience of working with the next generation and the challenges - and possible solutions/steps -  to attract and retain more girls in STEM courses.

A few key points include gender stereotypes and most importantly the stereotype threat -> the risk of confirming negative stereotypes that creates high cognitive load and stress to the point of reducing effective performance.

Sara also covers the importance of a positive social environment where peers are diverse and welcoming and where role models are visible and inspiring (both for girls and boys)

Other topics we covered include:

• How important it is to have people from diverse backgrounds, experiences and education in the tech sector
• How tech companies can profit from people coming from fields like the arts, humanities, etc
• Career changes and how to find your way to the broad field of tech

This episode is part of a series dedicated to the campaign "The power of Gender Equality" a campaign that KnowThyBrand and the LhOFT have launched to champion women in finance and technology

Find our more about Sara here https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-kaiser-94384821/ 
and more about Luxembourg Tech School here https://www.techschool.lu/