B The Way Forward

AnitaB.org

B The Way Forward is an action-driven conversation about systemic change—how it happens, who drives it, and what it really takes to make an impact. Hosted by AnitaB.org CEO, and battle-tested leader in tech and equity, Brenda Darden-Wilkerson, the show gives listeners the tools they need to step off the sidelines and shape the future themselves. B The Way Forward Season 2 kicked off with a central question: do you change the system from within, or do you have to break it to build something better? Now, in our second half of the season we'll celebrate something women often feel they can’t admit to in the tech world - failure. Through candid conversations with leaders at the top of the tech industry the audience gets authentic, actionable advice that they can apply to their own careers. Thoughtful, incisive and full of Brenda’s warmth and humor, B the Way Forward is human conversations in a digital world. --- At AnitaB.org, our mission is to enable and equip women technologists with the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to thrive. Through innovative programs and initiatives, we empower women to chart new paths, better prepared to lead, advance, and achieve equitable compensation. Because when women succeed, they uplift their communities and redefine success on their terms, both professionally and personally. --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org Facebook - /anitab.0rg LinkedIn - /anitab-org And for more ways that you can be the way forward visit anitab.org --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services.

  1. 3d ago

    Carrying the Weight and the Vision | ft. Shubhi Rao

    We ask AI questions. We trust its recommendations. We increasingly let it shape decisions about our work, our health, our money, and our futures. But there's a question we don't ask nearly often enough: who taught AI what it knows and who was missing from the room while it learned? In this episode of B The Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Shubhi Rao, founder and CEO of Uplevyl, and a leader who spent decades at the highest levels of global business (Ford, PwC, Tesco, and Alphabet) where she became the first woman and first person of color to serve as treasurer. From that vantage point, she saw a problem that never appeared on anyone's balance sheet: It wasn't only that women were underrepresented in the rooms where technology gets built. It was that the data powering artificial intelligence didn't really understand women's lives at all. If you build with AI, fund it, govern it, or simply rely on it, this conversation will change what you ask of it. Because behind every algorithm is a series of human choices, and the most important question isn't what AI can do. It's “Who is AI being built to serve?” Connect with Shubhi on LinkedIn We Learned About: 1. Data is only half the equation; the algorithm is the other half. 2. Foundational models are remarkable, and they're the wrong tool for specialized guidance. 3. The internet is a skewed teacher, so Uplevyl built its own corpus. 4. A woman is not a homogeneous group and that's precisely the design problem 5. This isn't about replacing human advocates, entrepreneurship is a three-person job. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome Back: Who Taught AI What It Knows? 00:57 Meet Shubhi Rao: Ford, PwC, Tesco, and Alphabet 02:27 The Problem That Wasn't on Anyone's Balance Sheet 03:18 The Google Project Where the Data Wouldn't Come Clean 04:57 Why Who Builds AI Matters 05:28 Two Halves of the Equation: Data and the Algorithm 06:43 Why Workforce Representation Alone Isn't Enough 07:23 Foundational Models vs. Specialized Domain Models 09:28 The Missing Middle Layer 10:49 The Internet as AI's Largest Teacher 11:19 A Very Western Internet — and How to Rebuild It Cleanly 13:37 The Smithsonian, Women Artists, and Voices with No Webpage 14:20 From Blame to Responsibility: The Consequence of Defaults 15:16 What We Missed When ChatGPT Launched 16:18 Now Everyone Can Be a Builder 17:39 Grace Hopper and "We've Always Done It That Way" 18:08 Seeing the Problem — and Leaving Corporate to Solve It 19:01 A Problem Solver First, an Entrepreneur Second 21:01 What Uplevyl Actually Solves 22:26 Workplace Rights Across 23,000+ Jurisdictions 23:25 A Woman Is Not a Homogeneous Group 24:50 Widowhood, Advisors, and the Great Wealth Transfer 25:50 Trauma-Informed vs. Grief-Informed Algorithms 27:26 Why General Models Hallucinate on Lived Experience 28:40 Founding Uplevyl Before ChatGPT 29:28 Pattern Recognition as a Superpower 31:42 Why Build a First-Party Knowledge Base from Scratch 32:28 Uplevyl Studios and Hundreds of Women Experts 35:11 Craft and Care: Protecting the Algorithm 37:03 When People Questioned the Vision 41:11 Building Every Line — and Choosing Europe for Privacy 42:43 Entrepreneurship Is a Three-Person Job 45:07 Taking Your Fingers Out of the Cookie Jars 46:09 AI for Empowerment, Not Replacement 46:36 Financial Flows, Human Capital, and Unsolved Human Problems 49:21 Technology Should Reflect Our Priorities 50:21 What She Hopes We See in the Mirror in Five Years 51:48 Leadership in the Unknown Unknowns 54:17 Presence, Passion, and Purpose 55:04 The 10,000 Days Question 56:22 Closing Reflections #BTheWayForward #AnitaB #ShubhiRao #Uplevyl #WomenInAI #AIBias #WomenInTech #ResponsibleAI

    Carrying the Weight and the Vision | ft. Shubhi Rao

  2. Sep 8

    Success Doesn’t Mean Slowing Down | ft. Dr. Safiya Noble

    For years, we were told that algorithms were neutral. Just math. Just code. Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble asked a different question, and it changed the way the world thinks about technology. In this episode of B The Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with the scholar, author, and educator whose groundbreaking book Algorithms of Oppression helped spark a global conversation about algorithmic bias years before most of us had the language for it. Dr. Noble takes us back to the beginning: a working-poor childhood full of questions about how the world really works, fifteen years inside corporate telecom, a front-row seat to the dot-com boom and bust, and a PhD earned at forty-one; proof that the timeline you were handed is not the only timeline available to you. She also gets honest about the cost. About Black women stepping back from leadership because they turn around and find no one behind them. About the online violence pushing women and girls out of public life. And about why, right now, retreat is a luxury none of us can afford. Connect with Safiya on Instagram We Learned About The search that exposed a system.Code is a language — and languages are subjective.Technology and humanity were separated by design.There are now two education systems, and AI is deepening the divide.Everyone has a lane, and everyone has leverage. Chapters: ​​00:00 Welcome Back: Presence, Passion, and Purpose 01:28 Meet Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble 02:17 Curiosity, a Working-Poor Childhood, and a PhD at 41 04:23 Corporate Tech, the Dot-Com Bust, and a Skeptic's Eye 08:00 Why We Ever Believed Technology Was Neutral 09:53 From Chat Rooms to Search Engines 12:45 Gen Z Doesn't Trust Search Anymore 13:44 The Search That Started It All 16:33 Designing the Study: What the Data Revealed 19:22 Algorithms Are Not "Just Math" 20:53 The Bifurcation of Technology and the Humanities 22:20 What If Women Had Held the Power and the Resources? 24:35 Eugenics, Race Science, and the History of CS 26:25 Techno-Solutionism and the Defunding of the Humanities 28:15 Sabbatical, Stand-Up Comedy, and Staying Present 30:03 The Cognitive Cost of AI Dependence 33:22 When Being Device-Free Becomes a Luxury 34:49 Who Gets Chatbots and Who Gets Teachers 37:23 Data Centers, Water Bills, and Community Pushback 40:58 "We Are the Optimists" 42:19 Tell the Truth 44:17 An Ecosystem of Truth-Tellers 47:16 Find Your Lane: Where Everyday People Have Power 49:51 Pensions, Portfolios, and Pro-Social Technology 51:53 Trained vs. Educated 54:02 Advice for the Exhausted Changemaker 56:08 Building "Data in Society" at UCLA 57:26 Gen Z and Values-Aligned Work 58:59 Black Women, Leadership, and the Cost of Retreat 01:02:31 Closing Reflections #BTheWayForward #AnitaB #SafiyaNoble #AlgorithmsOfOppression #AlgorithmicBias #WomenInTech #ResponsibleAI #TechEquity

  3. Sep 1

    Beyond the Title: Why the Future Belongs to People Who Dare to Build It | Betsy Ziegler

    What does it really mean to lead with purpose in a world that rewards speed over intention? In this episode of B the Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Betsy Ziegler, CEO of 1871, one of the nation's premier startup incubators and innovation hubs in Chicago. From her early days at McKinsey and GE to leading innovation at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and now championing thousands of founders through 1871, Betsy has built a career defined not by a linear plan, but by a learner's mindset, radical authenticity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding what people believe is possible for themselves. Brenda and Betsy dig into what it takes to lead through ambiguity, how to stay grounded in your identity when your title becomes your identity, and why the future will be shaped by whoever has the courage to grab the pen. This is a conversation about redefining leadership, reimagining success, and building something that lasts beyond yourself. Connect with Betsy on Twitter (@betsyzeo) and LinkedIn We Learned About Staying present as a leader while operating in environments that are constantly looking aheadWhy non-linear career paths are the norm, not the exception, and why that's actually a competitive advantageThe "40 by 40" list framework Betsy used to reorient her life around living, not just achievingHow authentic leadership can cost you power in some rooms while building deep trust in othersThe danger of defining your self-worth through your job title Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & Season Theme 1:44 Welcome to B the Way Forward – Meet Betsy Ziegler 3:11 Betsy's Response: Partnership Between 1871 and AnitaB.org 4:02 Leading in the Present While Focused on What's Next 8:26 Was Your Career Path Linear? Betsy's Honest Answer 13:10 The "40 by 40" List That Changed Everything 16:08 Letting Go of Certainty to Step Into Something New 19:42 Trusting Yourself Through Major Career Reinventions 21:53 The Danger of Giving Too Much of Yourself Away 25:07 How Betsy Separates Urgency From Importance 29:56 Authenticity in Leadership: Where It Costs You and Where It Pays 37:16 What Really Motivates Founders (It's Not the Metrics) 43:24 A Founder Story That Shifted Betsy's View on Impact 46:00 What People Misunderstand About Failure 50:20 Advice for Anyone Struggling to Believe in Themselves Right Now 54:05 AI, Abundance, and Who's Grabbing the Pen 1:00:05 Closing Thoughts and Defining Integrity #BTheWayForward #WomenInLeadership #StartupEcosystem #Leadership #Innovation1871 #AuthenticLeadership #AIandInnovation

  4. Aug 25

    Courage to Transform: AI Belongs to Leaders Who Build With Intention | Ambica Rajagopal

    What does it actually take to lead AI transformation inside a global industrial enterprise, and do it with both technical rigor and radical humanity? In this episode of B the Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Ambica Rajagopal, Group Chief Data and AI Officer at Michigan, where she leads enterprise-wide data strategy to optimize manufacturing, services, and industrial operations through advanced analytics and AI. Ambica has built her career transforming large-scale organizations across pharmaceuticals, energy, and manufacturing, and her through-line has never been the technology itself. It has always been the people. In this conversation, Brenda and Ambica dig into what happens when the urgency of AI meets the human cost of change, why empathy is the most underrated technical skill, what a brutal performance review 15 years ago taught Ambica about the difference between expertise and leadership, and why she believes the most courageous thing a woman in tech can do right now is invest in her own resilience. This is a conversation about clarity, transformation, and what it really means to make your path the evidence of the change you believe in. Connect with Ambica on LinkedIn We Learned About: Why empathy, not speed, is the real foundation of successful enterprise AI deploymentThe critical distinction between self-expression and authenticity, and why getting it wrong costs you influence in the roomAmbica's leadership mantra "Clarity wins the day" and what it actually looks like to apply it inside high-stakes, fast-moving organizationsHow a 15-year-old performance review that said "your team doesn't like you much" became one of the most transformative moments of her careerThe difference between being a journey person and a goal person, and why knowing which one you are changes everything about how you lead Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & Season Theme 1:00 Meet Ambica Rajagopal, Group Chief Data and AI Officer 2:30 Why Empathy Is the Only Way to Get AI Transformation Right 5:30 Empathy as Active Common Ground, Not Passive Sympathy 7:00 What Has Remained Constant Across Industries: Clarity and People 10:00 How Ambica Stays Grounded When Performance Metrics Are Always On 11:00 Meditation, Mental Space, and the "Room of One's Own" Framework 13:30 Has Leading with Balance Ever Cost You Anything? 15:00 The Shift from Showing Up as an Expert to Showing Up as a Leader 17:30 Journey Person vs. Goal Person: How Ambica Defines Her Own Motivation 19:30 When Personal Transformation Gets Tested the Most 20:30 The Performance Review That Changed Everything 23:00 Vulnerability in Leadership and Why It Takes More Courage Than Being Right 24:30 Authenticity vs. Self-Expression: A Framework Worth Knowing 27:00 Who Is Most at Risk of Burnout in the AI Era 30:00 Advice for Early-Career Women in Data Science Who Are Already Exhausted 32:00 Building Resilience and Finding Your Sources of Courage 33:30 What Integrity in Leadership Actually Looks Like 34:30 "Make Your Path the Evidence of the Change You Believe In" 36:00 Closing Thoughts: People Always Come Before the Technology #BTheWayForward #WomenInAI #AITransformation #EmpathyInLeadership #WomenInTech #DataAndAI #TechLeadership #CourageToTransform

  5. Aug 18

    Quantum, Equity, and Building What the Sector Keeps Avoiding | ft. Kate Waimey Timmerman

    What does it look like to build a technology ecosystem from the ground up in a field most people can't yet name? In this episode of B the Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Kate Waimey Timmerman, CEO of the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), the Midwest's most powerful quantum information science and engineering consortium uniting universities, national labs, government agencies, and private industry. Kate brings a rare combination to her role: a decade-plus background in neuroscience, a systems-builder's mindset, and an unapologetic commitment to making quantum one of the most accessible and inclusive sectors in emerging tech. Brenda and Kate dig into what it takes to lead across a non-traditional multi-institution ecosystem, why the growth mindset doesn't expire at graduation, how the South Side of Chicago became an unlikely anchor for quantum innovation, and what accountability actually looks like when you're building something the country has never built before. This is a conversation about awareness, access, and the courage to build a future that doesn't just replicate the models of the past. Connect with Kate on LinkedIn We Learned About: Why "awareness, awareness, awareness" is the foundational operating principle at CQE and in high-stakes scientific environmentsHow Kate transitioned from neuroscience to leading one of the country's premier quantum ecosystems and why that path is the pointWhat it really takes to lead across a multi-stakeholder ecosystem spanning universities, startups, national labs, and governmentWhy quantum technologies are far more accessible than people assume, and what the Midwest Quantum Workforce Strategy is doing to prove itThe Duality accelerator, the first quantum-focused startup accelerator in the United States, and how it was built for the globe, not just one institution Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & Season Theme 1:00 Meet Kate Waimey Timmerman, CEO of Chicago Quantum Exchange 2:00 Staying Aware in Systems Optimized for Speed, Not Reflection 4:00 Leading Across a Multi-Institution Ecosystem 6:30 From Neuroscience to Quantum: What People Misunderstand 8:00 What People Outside the Field Need to Know About Quantum Now 11:00 Career Transitions and Identifying Your Transferable Skills 14:30 Risk, Growth Mindset, and Why Adulthood Is the Best Time to Develop It 17:30 Staying Grounded When You Lead at Scale 20:00 When the Science Is Ready but the System Is Not 22:00 Being First to Market: CQE and the Duality Accelerator 24:30 What Short-Term and Long-Term Success Looks Like for CQE 27:00 What Neuroscience Taught Kate About Leading Complex Systems 30:00 What Real Accountability Looks Like in an Emerging Tech Ecosystem 31:00 Why the South Side of Chicago Matters for Quantum's Future 32:30 Open Quantum Initiative and the Q Ready Program 35:00 How to Stay Aligned When Your Vision Is This Big 36:30 Closing Thoughts: Building Differently, Not Just Building Forward #BTheWayForward #QuantumComputing #WomenInSTEM #ChicagoQuantumExchange #EmergingTech #InclusiveInnovation #TechLeadership

  6. Aug 11

    Keeping Humanity in the Loop: You Don't Have to Lose Yourself to Lead Change in AI | ft Judith Spitz

    What does it take to reach the top of one of the largest tech organizations on the planet, and then walk away to fix the pipeline that got you there? In this episode of B the Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Judith Spitz, former CIO of Verizon and founder of Breakthrough Tech, an initiative reshaping who gets access to power and influence in a tech-enabled world. Judith's path from applied research scientist to Fortune 10 C-suite leader to movement builder is not a story about climbing a ladder. It's a story about learning when the ladder stops serving you, and having the courage to go build a new one somewhere else. Brenda and Judith dig into what authentic leadership actually costs, why imposter syndrome is a conversation worth retiring, what happens to AI when the wrong people are in the room, and why the moment we are living in right now may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to break a broken talent pipeline before it locks into place again. This is a conversation about humility, urgency, humanity, and the radical act of lifting others as you climb. Connect with Judith on LinkedIn We Learned About: How Judith built her leadership identity through applied research rather than corporate command-and-control, and why that unconventional start gave her the freedom to lead authentically from the beginningJim Collins' definition of great leadership as "a paradoxical combination of personal humility and professional will" and why that framework reshapes how we think about authorityWhy Judith wants us to retire the imposter syndrome conversation and replace it with a more empowering reframe: you don't have to know everything, you just have to surround yourself with people who doThe moment Judith looked around the C-suite and realized women weren't coming up behind her in 30 years, and why that observation became the foundation of Breakthrough TechWhat "democratizing privileged access" actually means in practice, from Sprinternship micro-internship programs to AI-focused work-based learning cohorts Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & Season Theme 1:00 Meet Judith Spitz, Former CIO of Verizon and Founder of Breakthrough Tech 2:30 What Pressure at the C-Suite Level of a Fortune 10 Company Actually Looks Like 4:00 Relationships as Rocket Boosters: How Judith Survived the Peak 5:30 The "March": Suits, Pumps, and How Women Were Taught to Perform Leadership 7:30 Judith's Unconventional Path: Why Coming Up Through Research Changed Everything 10:00 Authenticity as the Non-Negotiable Foundation of Leadership 13:00 Jim Collins, Personal Humility, and the Paradox of Great Leadership 15:30 Why Judith Wants to Retire the Imposter Syndrome Conversation 18:00 Leaving Verizon: How Do You Know When It's Time to Go? 21:00 Fall in Love With the Problem, Not the Solution 23:00 The Origin Story of Breakthrough Tech 26:00 Women in CS Peaked in 1986: The Data That Would Not Let Judith Rest 27:30 Democratizing Privileged Access: What It Means and Why It Matters 35:00 How to Hear the Voice That Tells You It's Time to Do Something Different 38:00 What Happens When You Give Overlooked Talent a Foot in the Door 41:00 How Judith Stays Motivated on the Hardest Days 43:00 Was Your Drive Rooted in Achievement? Judith's Honest Answer 47:30 Who Is in the Room When AI Decisions Are Made, and Who Is Not 53:00 The AI Skills Gap: What Hiring Managers Say vs. What Technical VPs Need 58:00 The Medical Residency Model and the Once-in-a-Generation Pipeline Opportunity 1:01:00 Defining Leadership by Integrity, Not Title 1:02:00 Closing Thoughts: You Don't Have to Lose Yourself to Lead Change #BTheWayForward #WomenInTech #BreakthroughTech #AIWorkforce #TechEquity #LiftAsYouClimb #InclusiveAI #WomenInLeadership

  7. Aug 4

    Brave Enough to Fail: Why AI Is Not a Math Problem and the Humans Who Have to Say So ft. Cathy O'Neil

    What happens when one of the country's sharpest mathematical minds decides that being brilliant isn't enough, that the real work is holding power accountable? In this episode of B the Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Cathy O'Neil, mathematician, data scientist, founder of the algorithmic auditing firm ORCAA, and author of the landmark book Weapons of Math Destruction, which exposed how opaque algorithms amplify inequality across hiring, credit, criminal justice, and beyond. Cathy's path has been anything but linear: from PhD mathematician to Wall Street quant to Occupy Wall Street activist to public critic of the very systems she once helped build. She has spent the decade since her book's publication doing the unglamorous, legally constrained, financially risky work of algorithmic auditing, turning down lucrative clients whose ethics didn't pass the "can I tell my kids about this?" test, and founding a new nonprofit, Ocean, focused on AI child safety. Brenda and Cathy unpack what it actually costs to follow your conscience in tech, why urgency is a deliberate ethical bypass strategy, why AI is not a math problem, and why the window for federal AI regulation is coming faster than most people think. This is a conversation about accountability, clarity, and what it really means to channel something bigger than yourself. Connect with Cathy on http://mathbabe.org/contact We Learned About: Why "big data" and "AI" are marketing terms engineered to evoke trust rather than describe something objective, and why that matters for how we regulate themWhat it felt like from the inside to work as a Wall Street quant building models that front-ran California teachers' pension funds, and why Cathy's body gave out before her brain caught upHow Occupy Wall Street taught a pure mathematician that race, sex, and class were not distractions from the financial crisis but the actual storyWhy the lack of accountability, not the technology itself, is the core problem with algorithmic systems deciding who gets a job, a loan, or a prison sentenceHow urgency is used as a deliberate strategy by the tech industry to bypass ethical reflection, and Cathy's triage framework for responding to it anyway Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & Season Theme 1:00 Meet Cathy O'Neil, Author of Weapons of Math Destruction 2:00 What "Big Data" and "AI" Actually Mean: Marketing, Hype, and Misplaced Trust 4:00 The Lack of Accountability That Drove Cathy to Write Her Book 5:30 Starting ORCAA: Trying to Make Algorithms Comply With Anti-Discrimination Law 7:00 From Naive Quant to Activist: The Financial Crisis That Changed Everything 8:30 What Occupy Wall Street Taught a Mathematician About Race, Class, and Power 11:00 When Cathy's Body Knew Before Her Brain Did: Leaving Finance 13:00 Front-Running Teachers' Pensions and the Moment It Became Real 15:00 Practices and Boundaries That Keep Cathy Grounded Now 16:00 The "Can I Tell My Kids About This?" Litmus Test 17:30 Why Cathy Measures Herself in Deeds, Not Salary 19:00 Is Urgency a Strategy? How the Tech Industry Bypasses Ethics 20:00 The Triage Framework: Focus on the Worst Thing Happening Right Now 20:30 Why Cathy Founded the Nonprofit Ocean and the Coalition for AI Child Safety 21:00 Turning Down TikTok and the Qatar Government: What Integrity Actually Costs 23:30 What Speaking Out Has Cost Cathy Professionally and What It Has Given Her 25:00 The Patterns in Algorithmic Harm That Never Change Across Industries 27:00 When Technical Brilliance Alone Isn't Enough: The Occupy Wall Street Turning Point 28:30 "It's Not a Math Problem": Why Cathy Now Calls Herself a Mathematical Sociologist 30:00 How Math Facilitates the Hard Human Conversations That Actually Need to Happen 32:00 Tech Oligarchs, AI as God, and Why That Vision Won't Play Out 33:30 The Humanities Deficit in Technical Education and Why It Matters 35:30 How External Validation and Influence Show Up on Cathy's Internal Compass 37:00 Why Cathy Did the TED Talk Anyway and Who She Did It For 39:00 What to Do When Passion Meets the Long, Hard Reality of Actually Doing the Work 40:00 The First Three Years With No Clients: Patience, Hustle, and Rightsizing Ambition 41:00 Why Cathy Knits Blankets and What Completion Teaches You About Progress 42:30 Advice for Early-Career Data Scientists Who Want to Change the System 44:00 Algorithmic Auditing, Data Journalism, and the Legal Tech Pipeline Coming Fast 46:00 Defining Leadership by Integrity, Not Influence 49:00 The Way Forward: Keep Moving, Stay Curious, Make Room for Despair, Then Find Your Hope 52:00 Closing Thoughts: Brilliance Without Wisdom Is Dangerous #BTheWayForward #WeaponsOfMathDestruction #AlgorithmicAccountability #AIEthics #WomenInTech #DataScience #ResponsibleAI #TechForGood

    Brave Enough to Fail: Why AI Is Not a Math Problem and the Humans Who Have to Say So ft. Cathy O'Neil

  8. 09/17/2025

    “We Have to Help Them” - Anu Bhardwaj on How her Daughter Sparked a Global Movement

    In 2018, serial entrepreneur Anu Bhardwaj launched a project inspired by a simple, brilliant insight from her 7-year-old daughter, Arya: if you want adults to understand cryptocurrency, teach their kids first. And so, Krypto 4 Kids (K4K) was born. What began as a two-day event quickly evolved into a financial literacy app - focused on crypto -  designed in collaboration with the K4K cohort and presentations by the kids themselves to world leaders at the United Nations. But then, overnight, it vanished. The app disappeared from the App Store, the partner company went silent, and a project that came together in months fell apart just as quickly. For two years, it seemed like the story was over - a discontinued app and a broken promise to a group of kids who’d worked so hard. But the project's next chapter was sparked, once again, by Arya. After learning how school closures were affecting girls in the developing world, she asked, "We've got tokens in the Krypto for Kids wallet. Can we send it to them?" That single question led Anu to found Sheqonomi, a global audio platform built to advance learning and opportunity through podcasts for women and girls - even those without access to a smartphone.In the final episode of Season Two, Anu joins Brenda to share this incredible story of failure, resilience, and reinvention. They discuss how to navigate professional disappointments, the power of a child's perspective in innovation, and why your "why" must be big enough to survive your biggest setbacks. What happens when your dream project falls apart? You listen to your daughter and build an even bigger one. A note to listeners: this episode features a brief discussion of the financial troubles and alleged questionable practices of a particular company. Although this company is now largely non-operational, its name and the names of some of its staff have been obscured to protect the anonymity of individuals who were not involved in those issues. For more check out Anu... On LinkedIn - /anubhardwaj/ On Facebook - /anu.bhardwaj Check out SHEQONOMI... On the web - sheqonomi.comInstagram - @sheqonomiFacebook - /sheqonomiLinkedIn - /sheqonomi And explore the work of The State of Women...On the Web - thestateofwomen.org --- At AnitaB.org, our mission is to enable and equip women technologists with the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to thrive. Through innovative programs and initiatives, we empower women to chart new paths, better prepared to lead, advance, and achieve equitable compensation. Because when women succeed, they uplift their communities and redefine success on their terms, both professionally and personally. --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org Facebook - /anitab.0rg LinkedIn - /anitab-org On the web - anitab.org  --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services. --- B The Way Forward Is… Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Produced by Avi Glijansky Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond  Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski  Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull. Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine  Photo of Brenda Darden Wilkerson by Mandisa Media ProductionsFor more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org

    “We Have to Help Them” - Anu Bhardwaj on How her Daughter Sparked a Global Movement
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B The Way Forward is an action-driven conversation about systemic change—how it happens, who drives it, and what it really takes to make an impact. Hosted by AnitaB.org CEO, and battle-tested leader in tech and equity, Brenda Darden-Wilkerson, the show gives listeners the tools they need to step off the sidelines and shape the future themselves. B The Way Forward Season 2 kicked off with a central question: do you change the system from within, or do you have to break it to build something better? Now, in our second half of the season we'll celebrate something women often feel they can’t admit to in the tech world - failure. Through candid conversations with leaders at the top of the tech industry the audience gets authentic, actionable advice that they can apply to their own careers. Thoughtful, incisive and full of Brenda’s warmth and humor, B the Way Forward is human conversations in a digital world. --- At AnitaB.org, our mission is to enable and equip women technologists with the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to thrive. Through innovative programs and initiatives, we empower women to chart new paths, better prepared to lead, advance, and achieve equitable compensation. Because when women succeed, they uplift their communities and redefine success on their terms, both professionally and personally. --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org Facebook - /anitab.0rg LinkedIn - /anitab-org And for more ways that you can be the way forward visit anitab.org --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services.

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  • Creator
    AnitaB.org
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    68
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright, 2023 AnitaB.org
  • Show Website
    B The Way Forward

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