Three of our favourite TED Talks that inspire us
As an active member of PWN London, you will know that we love hearing the voices of bold and passionate women who inspire us. And what isn’t to love? Hearing a impassioned influence of someone you admire and respect talk about what motivates them and how you could use their enthusiasm, to being introduced to someone new and have your eyes opened to a whole new aspect.
We are hosting an interactive discussion surrounding Noeline Kirabo's TED Talk “2 questions to uncover your passion - and turn it into a career” on June 11, and to get us in the mood we are taking a dip into three of our favorite TED Talkers who have inspired us.
If you are interested in joining our interactive discussion, you can RSVP to the event here: https://lnkd.in/dj3wiZ8
First up, we have Crystal Martin and her talk on Small ways women can support each other at work.
Crystal, who was the CoderGirl Program Director at LaunchCode, speaks about her struggles being a black woman working in tech, where society teaches you to keep your head down, don’t take up too much space and don’t ruffle any feathers. We feel her frustration when she speaks of the times she suggests an idea that is shot down, for a male colleague to suggest the same idea moments later to receive a standing ovation.
She continues with her burning message of women advocating for each other so we can advance.
Next we have Sheryl Sandberg and her talk Why we have too few woman leaders.
Inspiring from the very beginning, Facebook COO Sheryl stands strong as someone high up in one of the most recognised companies in the world.
She shares frustrating stats on how women are not making it to the top of any profession in the world, hard hitting facts (true at the time of her TED Talk in 2010) such as how out of 190 heads of state, only 9 are women, how there are only 13% women in parliament and then shares the shocking fact that these numbers hadn’t changed since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction.
Our final choice is Erica Joy Baker’s talk on How do we bridge the ‘anxiety gap’.
Director of engineering at GitHub and former senior engineering manager at Patreon, Erica led the infrastructure team. She begins her talk expressing her love for poker and how excited she was to learn that her new workplace held a poker night. But upon entering the room, she found conversation to die off and not recover for the remainder of what should have been a fun night.
‘Am I good enough to be here’ and ‘do people want me here’ were just some of the questions going around her head; who hasn’t felt this at least once at work? ‘Am I being paid fairly’ and ‘can I be myself today’ are other questions she brings up, getting deeper into the worries that we face at work daily.
Her talk eases us with the knowledge that we’re not alone and what steps we can take to overcome issues that make us feel isolated within our own head.
Author: FI KIEVENAAR
Fi Kievenaar has worked for over five years in film and entertainment PR in the UK for clients including 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Lionsgate, creating campaigns for Academy Award winning films such as La La Land and the Judy Garland biopic Judy. She has also recently freelanced as a PR & social consultant for a production company at Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia.
Her passion for creative writing began while writing features for films as part of her PR role, which developed into writing promotional scripts for film talent such as Ryan Reynolds and Mila Kunis.
Obsessed with film, Fi can be found reading up on the latest releases, rewatching her favourites or soaking up documentaries on nature or space – especially when David Attenborough is involved.