The 'Digitalization & Diversity' Podcast

Adya Kumar @the.dd.podcast
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The 'Digitalization & Diversity' Podcast

The 'Digitalization & Diversity' Podcast is a show that shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. During each episode, host Adya Kumar, a global business executive, strategy leader and tech enthusiast, explores the cross-roads of "Digitalization" & "Diversity". She engages in a conversation with people from diverse backgrounds following unconventional paths to understand the power of technology and digitalization to improve diversity, and vice versa the role of diversity in accelerating digitalization and innovation. Through this platform, Adya brings new ideas on how you can personally contribute to a more diverse and digitalized world, how you can better use technology to your advantage, and how to bring a digital mindset that affects both your personal and professional life. *** Listen in to find out how diversity and digitalization is being redefined today!! https://adyakumar.com/links/ *** Watch Adya's TEDx Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/adya_kumar_what_digitalisation_can_do_for_you *** Find more details about the podcast on Adya's personal blog: https://adyakumar.com/podcast/ *** Stay tuned for latest updates by subscribing to the Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/the.dd.podcast/ *** Connect with Adya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/

  1. 12/18/2022

    S2 Ep 10: FemTech and female health at work, with Nandhini Gopal

    How can digitalization and technology be better leveraged in healthcare, especially for women? How can employers support women’s health? What kind of work policies and support systems are needed in professional environments? The final episode in Season 2 of “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” features my very unfiltered conversation with Nandhini Gopal, a top 500 FemTech personality of 2022. In this episode, we open the dialogue on female health and how to address the topic in the context of professional environments. We talk about how women have learnt or been conditioned to silently navigate female health issues. This could include, for example a pregnancy, a pregnancy loss such as a miscarriage or an abortion, a fertility or hormonal treatment, menopause, or a chronic issue related to female health. When two women engineers talk,  you can expect facts and figures (and yes, some numbers are shocking). In our conversation, we dig deeper into the data gaps in healthcare analytics for women. We attempt to destigmatize the topic and discuss ways to address female health issues at work and how employers can play their part in this. We talk about 'menstrual leave policies', 'health officers' and the kind of support systems that are needed today. Listen and discover how you, regardless of your gender, can personally contribute to the advancement of femtech! To learn more about the topic, visit the home page. Disclaimer: The content of this episode refers to 'women' as a generic demographic and includes non-binary and trans people in the applicability of insights. *** About Nandhini Gopal: Nandhini is an avid advocate for harnessing the power of technology to further research in female health. She founded Femcy, a femtech company that offers personalized, data based solutions for better menstrual health. Femcy was acquired in 2021 by Eve World, a Web3 based social community platform exclusively for women.  In her previous avatars, she was a marketing and strategy expert with over 10 years of experience at global technology giants and high-growth consumer start-ups. Currently, she’s on a sabbatical and practicing minimalism as she prepares to move across the world later this month. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and reading history. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandhinigopal/ Instagram: @i.am.nandhini Book recommendations: Invisible Women: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41104077-invisible-women Lies our mothers told us: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61541273 Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    27 min

  2. 11/01/2022

    S2 Ep 9: Digitalization for inclusive learning in corporate, with Heinrich Rusche

    Is Digital Learning more inclusive and needed in corporate? Why should we adopt more digital upskilling? How can companies improve their digital learning platforms? The latest episode (S2 Ep 9) of “The Digitalization& Diversity Podcast” features my conversation with Heinrich Rusche, the creator of Firm learning, a YouTube channel on Consulting and Career with 150k+ subscribers, where we discuss the topic of 'Digitalization for inclusive learning in corporate'. In this episode, we share our personal experiences with growing digital presence and creating content while balancing the responsibilities of our respective day jobs. Heinrich shares how digitalization and the use of technology has helped him to grow his channel and how he prioritizes creating content on different digital platforms to grow his brand.  We dig deeper into the topic of digital learning and upskilling. The ways of consuming content today are changing and organizations are increasingly adopting digital learning into their training curriculums which traditionally have been rather classroom-based. We address this trend in our conversation and further discuss the ‘Future of Powerpoint’ as a meeting facilitation medium and business tool in organizations.  Heinrich shares his experiences from his time in consulting at McKinsey and we close the episode talking about some of the diversity challenges within consulting, work-life balance and hybrid work models. Listen and discover how digitalization can be leveraged as a learning tool by professionals, and facilitate the accessibility of career advice. To learn more about the topic, visit the home page. *** About Heinrich Rusche: Heinrich Rusche is the creator of Firm learning, a YouTube channel on Consulting and Career with 150k+ subscribers. Through this channel, Heinrich shares learnings and experiences from his time in consulting at McKinsey, and his subsequent career in industry and start-up. Heinrich also offers corporate trainings on communication and helps young consultants to become successful in the first years of their careers. Heinrich holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Masters in Accounting and Finance from LSE, and Bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Philosophy. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: FirmLearning:  https://www.youtube.com/firmlearning  Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    34 min

  3. 09/05/2022

    S2 Ep 8: Millennial workforce, career diversity, and the Future of Work, with Lilly Sheng

    What are the challenges millennials face in their careers today? How can employers better support the new generation entering the workforce? Will the Great Resignation seize post the pandemic? In S2 Ep 8, I discuss with Lilly Sheng, a data and technology professional based in Canada on the topic of “Millennial workforce, career diversity, and the Future of Work”. In this episode, Lilly shares her experience of quitting a job she liked, and switching career roles in the midst of the pandemic. We discuss relevant aspects of career diversity within an organization with regards to seniority, experience, age and functional expertise beyond the primary diversity dimensions. Lilly talks about her view on diversity as a Chinese Canadian woman identifying as a millennial. We further explore the role of digitalization in reducing the barrier of entry for information sharing.  The pandemic has changed the way the new generation who are already entering the workforce are viewing career development and job fulfilment. The “Great Resignation”, a term coined by psychologist Anthony Klotz is the tipping point of a nearly decade-long trend of employment dissatisfaction. Many employees particularly Gen Z and Gen Y are leaving jobs or switching careers in this ongoing economic trend. In our conversation, we unpack some of the challenges that millennials face and the increasing expectations of the new generation from their workplaces. We share our ideas on how employers can better support the new generation entering the workforce. We close the podcast episode by addressing the topic of The Great Resignation and sharing viewpoints on whether this trend will cease post the pandemic. *** About Lilly Sheng: Lilly Sheng is a data and technology professional with experience in the public sector, financial services, and consulting industries. She specialises in the delivery of large-scale transformation projects related to data and systems change. In addition to her day job, she is an aspiring writer and chef. Lilly is based in Toronto, Canada. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lillysheng  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lillyreadsbooks Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    24 min

  4. 08/29/2022

    S2 Ep 7: Female mentorship, startups and corporate careers, with Julia Stadler

    How does offering mentorship promote diversity? How does mentorship empower both mentees and mentors?  Why should both men and women especially mentor young women? In S2 Ep 7 of “The Digitalization & Diversity” podcast, I had the pleasure to chat with Julia Stadler, a Berlin-based entrepreneur and the founder of FemStory, a mentorship platform for women, to dig deeper into the topic of “Female mentorship, startups and corporate careers”. In our conversation, Julia explains the concept of FemStory, the operating model of this digital platform, and the need for a diverse team and perspectives to create a digital product today. Julia also shares how she and her team used a lot of digital freeware to get started and launch the platform. We talked about the creation of mentoring experiences that actually empower women and how the startup is improving diversity. We discussed how men can use the platform to empathise with younger women professionals, understand their challenges and how these challenges might differ from their own. We close the episode with some reflection on corporate careers versus entrepreneurship and the importance of being agile and quickly getting into the “doing” mode in the digital space. *** About Julia Stadler: Julia Stadler is an entrepreneur based in Berlin. She co-founded a company called Weitergründer, which is a matchmaking platform for company succession. As she is very passionate about female entrepreneurship, she co-founded the non-profit organization FEMSTORY as well. FEMSTORY is a mentoring network in which female mentees are matched with mentors of any sex. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliastadler/ FemStory: https://www.femstory.co/ Weitergruender: https://www.weitergruender.de Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    20 min

  5. 08/22/2022

    S2 Ep 6: Black in Tech, gender outlaw, and gender discrimination, with Sarah Borda

    How can equal representation in tech help to shape the future for tomorrow? Is it better to stand out or to fit in? How can organizations and community networks help in integration of People of Color? In S2 Ep 6 of “The Digitalization & Diversity” podcast , I had the pleasure to have an open dialogue with Sarah Borda, a Project Manager at SAP Women in Tech and an Equal Rights Advocate, on the topic of “Black in Tech, gender outlaw, and gender discrimination”.  In our conversation, we go beyond the diversity dimension of gender to talk about the intersectionality of gender and race, the outlook of Black in Tech and Women in Tech initiatives and the challenges in addressing the topic of diversity authentically today. We talk about the root cause for underrepresentation in tech (and no, it’s not a pipeline problem!). We also discuss how organizations could facilitate and support diverse people to face their unique challenges and better integrate in societies where they are a minority today. Sarah opens up and shares their thoughts on what being a ‘gender outlaw’ means and experiences from their own past where they have encountered discrimination. We end the episode with a reflection on the power of technology and necessity of community networks to improve diversity of all forms. In this episode, two People of Color use the podcast to unpack many topics that are not so openly spoken about -  “inequality”, “microaggressions”, “racism”, “discrimination” and more. Listener discretion is advised. *** About Sarah Borda: Sarah is from Tanzania in East Africa where they grew up before moving to the UK and then Germany for university. Sarah currently lives In Germany and works as a project manager at SAP. Their passions have always been people topics, being a woman made them a target for negative gender discrimination growing up, and being black, Sarah is a minority in both the industry they work for, and the country Sarah lives in today. Sarah knows the struggle, and wants to spend their life making sure one day no one has to deal with that struggle. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-borda-1b65a6190/ Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    43 min

  6. 07/31/2022

    S2 Ep 5: Diversity in data science, big tech and Google, with Prasiddhi Menon

    How can technology help to make workplaces more fair, equitable and diverse? How can we better use the Google suite of products to improve our personal lives? How can Gen Z prepare for a career in tech and data science? In S2 Ep 5 of “The Digitalization & Diversity” podcast , I had the pleasure to catch-up on the show with my best friend from engineering school, Prasiddhi Menon who today works as a Data Scientist for Google. In this episode, Prasiddhi talks about digital platforms and the role of LinkedIn in helping her land her current job at Google. She also shares her transition from engineering into data science, and the differences between regional focused and global teams from a diversity and inclusivity point of view. We talked about how we can better use the Google suite of products to improve our own personal lives, while being mindful about data privacy and data protection issues when it comes to adopting and using a digital tool or application. We closed the episode with some advice for Gen Z citizens who are looking to start a career in tech and data science. *** About Prasiddhi Menon: Prasiddhi is a Data Scientist at Google with over 9 years experience in Machine Learning, Statistical Modeling, Business Intelligence and Consulting. Prior to joining Google, Prasiddhi worked as a senior data science consultant with Ernst and Young focusing on Financial Crime and specializing in Anti-Money Laundering. She also worked as a Data Scientist at Deloitte and co-founded a marketing analytics start-up earlier in her career. Prasiddhi is from Bangalore, India and she will be transitioning to NYC soon. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prasiddhi Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    17 min

  7. 07/14/2022

    S2 Ep 4: Coaching, mentoring and remote leadership, with Dr. Carolina Kleebaur

    How diverse is the coaching space? How does coaching differ from mentoring and sponsoring? In the Future of Work, what is critical for remote leadership? In S2 Ep 4 of “The Digitalization & Diversity” podcast , I had the pleasure to welcome Dr. Carolina Kleebaur, an executive coach, leadership trainer and top management advisor to dig deeper into the topic of coaching and remote leadership. During this episode, Carolina demystified many buzzwords used in the context of coaching - "leadership coaching", "mindfulness coaching", "success coaching", "life coaching", "systemic business coaching" and more. She also explained the concepts of mentoring and sponsoring and how she approaches coaching clients with diverse backgrounds, diverse ways of thinking and different personalities.  We discussed deeper into the key struggles female managers and leaders in particular seek coaching for, and what is particularly important for remote leadership in the "Future of Work'. *** About Dr. Carolina Kleebaur: Dr. Carolina Kleebaur has over 20 years of experience as executive coach, leadership trainer and top management advisor with functional focus on good leadership, organizational excellence, reorganization and transformation. As a former Senior Manager in Consulting, she led international projects and teams all around Europe, Russia and the Middle East in various industries. Dr. Kleebaur has studied Sociology, Psychology and Communication Science and she did her doctorate in Organizational Sociology and Personal Psychology. Today, she incorporates this profound know-how to facilitate state-of-the art leadership trainings, systemic business coaching and effective team workshops. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. Links and mentions: Website: https://www.ckc-coaching.de/ Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    22 min

  8. 06/05/2022

    S2 Ep 3: Career development, digital networking and diversity in the Silicon Valley, with Giselle Galper

    How can you leverage technology for career development? Why is digital networking important? How can a digital app improve diversity? In S2 Ep 3 of “The Digitalization & Diversity” podcast , I had the pleasure to chat with Giselle Galper, a Silicon Valley based entrepreneur on the topic of “Career development, digital networking and diversity in the Silicon Valley". Giselle is the founder of Chea Seed, a digital application that aims to make expert career help accessible for diverse groups of people. In this episode, Giselle shares best practices on leveraging technology and digitalization to plan your career, to set career goals and seek mentors and sponsors. We discuss how internal and external biases and socialization experiences drive the differences between how men and women approach career development. We share why networking in the digital space is getting important especially as we enter into a new chapter of the pandemic, and some tips and tricks on forming valuable connections through digital networking. We close the episode with thoughts on existing diversity in the Silicon Valley and where there are still gaps in terms of gender, age and diversity of backgrounds. *** About Giselle Galper: Giselle Galper aims to make expert career help accessible: quick, easy, and low-cost. As the daughter of an Argentine immigrant, who went to college while Giselle was growing up, Giselle saw firsthand how difficult it could be for a Latina woman to advance in her career. While a General Counsel and balancing the life of mom and professional, Giselle started giving talks to groups of women about how to negotiate their pay and navigate through and around bias. Frustrated that there was no way to give people encouragement and additional learning after her talks, Giselle started looking for a career app to solve the problem. Unable to find one, Giselle embarked on the journey of learning how to build a career app to do just this. Now she is the founder of chea seed, a career fitness tracker that helps users up their career game with small 1 to 2-minute personalized actions. Chea seed is available now in the App Store and Google Play. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: Website:  www.cheaseed.com IG: @cheaseedapp Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast

    32 min
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The 'Digitalization & Diversity' Podcast is a show that shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. During each episode, host Adya Kumar, a global business executive, strategy leader and tech enthusiast, explores the cross-roads of "Digitalization" & "Diversity". She engages in a conversation with people from diverse backgrounds following unconventional paths to understand the power of technology and digitalization to improve diversity, and vice versa the role of diversity in accelerating digitalization and innovation. Through this platform, Adya brings new ideas on how you can personally contribute to a more diverse and digitalized world, how you can better use technology to your advantage, and how to bring a digital mindset that affects both your personal and professional life. *** Listen in to find out how diversity and digitalization is being redefined today!! https://adyakumar.com/links/ *** Watch Adya's TEDx Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/adya_kumar_what_digitalisation_can_do_for_you *** Find more details about the podcast on Adya's personal blog: https://adyakumar.com/podcast/ *** Stay tuned for latest updates by subscribing to the Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/the.dd.podcast/ *** Connect with Adya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/

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