social justice Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

Championing Equality – The Honourable Nicola Roxon

January 30, 2023January 31, 2023
by Claire

We’re excited to bring you our first show for 2023.

Our guest today is a topical choice given the recent surprise announcement by New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, that she was stepping down. Topical because we’re speaking with another female political trailblazer.

The Honourable Nicola Roxon was elected to Australia’s Federal Parliament at the age of just 31. She became Australia’s Health Minister for 4 years and then the country’s first Attorney General.

After 15 years in politics she decided it was time for a change and she now has a portfolio of board roles as director and Chair.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How a High Court Judge joked Nicola may cause a constitutional crisis when, as a young Associate, Nicola shared her plans for her next career step
How Nicola handled and navigated the cut and (sometimes brutal) thrust of politics without taking things personally
About the world leading health initiative she introduced that’s been copied around the world and received special recognition from the World Health Organisation; and
How Nicola made the transition from politics to corporate boards after 15 years in Parliament.

We think you’ll glean lots of useful nuggets from this conversation with the thoughtful and purposeful Nicola Roxon.

Enjoy…

Useful Links

Nicola’s website: https://www.nicolaroxon.com/

Nicola on Linkedin

Interview

Mia Perdomo – Latin America’s Warrior for Women

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

This week’s episode features Colombian founder, Mia Perdomo. She and her co-founder have built a business fighting for equality for women at work across Latin America.

Mia trained as a psychologist but always thought of herself as a feminist. In 2014, Mia attended a four month long leadership program at a US university, and had what she describes as a ‘life changing experience’. It was here that she realised she could be an entrepreneur and deliver social change.

She teamed up with fellow course participant, Peruvian, Andrea de la Piedra, and together they launched Aequales, a business focused on closing the gender gap in Latin America. They started by offering diversity consulting services to businesses in Peru and Colombia.

But when business wasn’t as good as they hoped, Mia and her co-founder were forced to get creative.

And they did!

In this episode you’ll learn:

How the idea they came up with totally changed the prospects for their business, without losing its mission
Why Mia is so passionate about being a ‘for-profit’ business with a social cause
How she and her co-founder have navigated building a profitable multi-country Latin American business and …
The astounding way some companies treat female job candidates

Without further ado enjoy this episode with the passionate and determined Mia Perdomo.

Useful Links

Kriti Sharma – Robots, AI and the Future

November 20, 2018December 5, 2018
by admin

We’re excited to bring you this week’s guest, Kriti Sharma; a leading global expert in AI and its impact on society and the future.

Kriti grew up in Rajasthan in India. She didn’t have access to a computer at home so she built one herself. She followed that with her first robot when she was 15.

Today Kriti applies her AI and tech expertise to solve global issues from productivity to education to domestic violence. And she’s part-time VP of AI and Ethics at Sage.

She’s recently been named a UN Young Leader; she features in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for advancements in AI; and was included in the Recode 100 list of key influencers in technology last year alongside Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Kriti’s upbringing in India has shaped what she’s doing today
How a ‘cat with a jetpack’ has helped her tackle gender bias
Her thoughts on the power of AI, both for good and bad and…
Her experience of being invited to meet the Obamas and why it was “life changing”,

Enjoy this episode with the talented and delightful Kriti Sharma.

P.S. Interested to learn more about Artificial Intelligence? Stay tuned for our first ever ‘What is?’ episode early next year dedicated to AI.