Episode 8; Yann Borgstedt, Founder Womanity Foundation, talks gender equality with Chiara Condi

The Other Half : Conversations With Men on Gender Equality

Yann Borgstedt is a successful entrepreneur whose success started with the sale of his first company, Net Architects, in 1996. Yann decided in 2005 to start his foundation, Womanity, that focuses on women’s education, training, and development in Afghanistan, Brazil, India, the West Bank, Israel, and Morocco. Having always been sensitive to injustice, Yann felt frustrated that half of the world’s population did not have the same rights and opportunities to realize its potential. Taking an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy, the Womanity Foundation does things differently. Whether it is opening a radio station in the Middle East or teaching girls how to code in Afghanistan, it does things innovatively, taking risks that others would not take, building and then scaling upon its successes. And Yann realizes that despite the Foundation’s successes, changing mentalities is a long haul process. That’s why he says he has been doing this for the last ten years, and will be doing this for the next ten years. Yann also tells us about his own experience growing up being inspired by entrepreneurial parents, the importance of raising your children equal, and how difficult it is to find a non-pink bike for your daughter.