Women in the World - Podcast Journey

The Changemaker's Lab was a significant milestone in my journey towards creating meaningful impact in the space of gender advocacy. While I began my initiative with excitement and enthusiasm, urgent and important health issues took precedence in my life and I had to shelve my initiative for almost a year. I think all women would relate to walking the tightrope between health, earning for survival and executing your passion projects. I also have had so many women from World Pulse who agreed to participate and continued to remain patient and supportive as I struggled through my health journey.

When the dust began to settle, my fierce need to begin documenting women's lived experiences in any form took hold of me, and the Women in the World Podcast was born. As with any of my ideas, I first reached out to World Pulse's very own Kirthi Jayakumar who agreed graciously to be my very first guest on the podcast.

The podcast has completed 5 weeks, with 5 very unique guests, 3 of whom belong to the World Pulse Community. I have at least another 10 guests lined up ready to share their stories and I cant wait to begin documenting their journeys. Every woman has had a unique experience to share while illuminating the solidarity and shared expereiences that we face as women while navigating life on this planet in the current contexts.

There is a small promo clip here, that gives a small sneak peek into the first four podcast episodes. Kirthi Jayakumar shared her perspectives on decolonising feminism and healing, mentors who have shaped her and her hopes for the future. Rasika Sundaram shared her journey towards helping survivors of gender based violence and stories of her own experiences. Shwetha Kotian and Yashasvini Rajendar shared their experiences of being entrepreneurs in the wellness and development sectors respectively. And my most recent guest, World Pulse Encourager and Mentor Jill Langhus-Griffin shared her unique experiences navigating patriarchal mindsets, and her adoption journey.

It has been a challenging, thrilling and exhilarating experience to record my podcast, all the while trying to ensure my cat stays quiet and living in a ground floor apartment where the sounds of life from the road outside can be loud and intrusive at times. However, as I say on the podcast, it is meant to reflect life as it happens, and our presence in it. So the podcast is not recorded in a sanitised, studio environment. Each of the guests and myself are in our respective home offices, or wherever life takes us at that particular moment.

One of the most unique discoveries that I have had is that this podcast is truly one-of-its kind. There are no other podcasts or similar audio episodes where a woman's story and experience is shared organically, with no agenda, no framed structure or tonality and no cliches of balancing home and career as a woman.

I am nervous, excited, and hopeful about this initiative's journey as it takes wings. I remain committed to my original intention of documenting women's stories and I am looking forward to connecting, conversing and collaborating with this wonderful community of women. I hope to continue updating this initiative with a steady number of women impacted. My hope is that women listening to this podcast in the future have an authentic version of women's stories of our times, as shared from the source. Women's history has for too long been twisted, shaped and retold by those who have no first-hand knowledge of our experiences. Women-in-the-World is my personal, humble effort to try and authentically document women's stories and experiences as narrated by them personally.

I am hoping to connect with as many of you in the World Pulse community as possible and documenting your colourful, impactful and meaningful stories for posterity.

The podcast can be found on Castbox and Spotify