Unseen Heroes: #9 - Using inclusion to transform tech ecosystems with Hilda Liswani | English

The Heidi Hauer Podcast

Hilda N. Liswani is a sustainability leader with a focus on inclusive innovation. She has more than 10 years of experience working with policymakers, venture capitalists, corporations, and academics to develop, communicate, and implement sustainability strategies. Notable organizations include EPFL, the EU, the Mastercard Foundation, and Siemens. Through her organization WeBloom, she is passionate about diversity and inclusion to transform tech ecosystems around the world. She has been awarded the Queen's Young Leaders Award and honored as a Forbes 30 under 30. And as a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum, she is part of a community of change makers. She believes that innovation can only reach its full potential if it involves everyone.

Heidi: Hilda, you are the Executive Director of WeBloom, a non-profit organization based in Zurich. What is your vision for this organization and how did WeBloom come about?

Hilda: Our vision at WeBloom is pretty bold and ambitious. We want to transform global tech ecosystems around the world and make them more inclusive. We want them to reflect the society they claim to serve. All these products and services from tech companies designed to help us, the consumers. We want them to reflect society as a whole.

The reason WeBloom was created is because in the processes of tech development, tech investment, in all the different areas of the tech industry, there's just not enough inclusion of women and men or cultural minorities. And that's a really critical problem because tech impacts all of our lives.

Heidi: There is a connection between diversity, inclusion and sustainability that is obvious to some people but less so to others.

Hilda: The relationship between diversity and sustainability? These seem like two very different issues, but they are connected: Most sustainability solutions are actually developed by women. On the investor side, among retail investors, women tend to be more interested in supporting sustainability projects. So they are the main drivers of sustainability. And, most sustainability startups are founded by women. If women develop most sustainability solutions and at the same time do not have access to the right funding, this means that many sustainability solutions do not come to market

Heidi: What do you think are the consequences of not addressing these issues?

Hilda: According to McKinsey, we will lose 26% of GDP if we don't integrate all women into the economy. And at the end of last year, the Linnean Report was published: a series of studies found that many female executives are currently leaving their jobs because they cannot reconcile them with their values.

And on a human level? If women are not able to participate, what does that mean for our society? What does that mean for the younger generation? How are women perceived on a daily basis? How do they experience their daily lives? So there are consequences on both the macro and micro levels.

https://www.webloomglobal.com