QIYADA – Redefining Inclusive Leadership Training
Welcome to the podcast ‘QIYADA’!
How can we bridge the gender gap in leadership? Join us in insightful conversations with leadership and gender equality experts, empowering future leaders across Germany and the Arab world.
In this podcast, we explore the barriers to female leadership and, more importantly, the solutions. Each episode unpacks key insights from research and practical advice from experts, equipping future leaders with the skills they need to succeed.
Your host, AGYA member Dr. Hiba Rajha, guides you on this journey alongside thought leaders in leadership, diversity, and career development. Episodes cover essential topics such as resilience, networking, negotiation skills, and overcoming workplace biases. Through personal stories and evidence-based strategies, QIYADA offers practical guidance for navigating leadership challenges and driving meaningful change.
EPISODE 1 – Authentic Leadership
In the first episode, lawyer Leïla Bazzi joins the discussion to speak about authentic leadership, examining the balance between personal and professional authenticity, the role of self-awareness, and the impact of leadership beyond the workplace. The conversation explores the connection between authenticity and success, underlining how staying true to oneself can shape effective leadership and career growth. Through practical advice and personal reflections, Leïla highlights how true leadership is about leaving a lasting, meaningful legacy.
EPISODE 2 – Sustainable Leadership
This episode explores the relation of leadership, resilience, and sustainable development with Sylvain Lambert, founder of the sustainability department at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He shares his vision of what defines a great leader today: a balance between influence, strategic vision, and courage, in a context marked by economic and environmental challenges. The discussion evolves around the role of convictions in driving change, the tensions between sustainability and business imperatives, and how leaders can anticipate risks. Sylvain also reflects on his failures, resilience, and the long-term impact of committed and sustainable leadership. This episode is available in French only.
EPISODE 3 – Gender Inclusive Leadership
This episode evolves around the critical issues of leadership, gender equality, and human rights with Fanny Benedetti, a lawyer specialized in international law and gender equality. For over 25 years, Fanny has been at the forefront of key international negotiations – from the creation of the International Criminal Court to the Istanbul Convention against violence toward women. She shares her vision of truly transformative leadership: one that challenges social norms, deconstructs unconscious biases, and places equality at the heart of organizational strategy. The discussion focuses on cultural resistance, the current backlash against women's rights, as well as the power of inner work and the role of male allies.
EPISODE 4 – Life Work Balance
In this episode, Nathalie Colin, leadership coach and founder of the coaching and leadership development practice Vedantia, discusses the balance between work and personal life, and the quest for aligned, sustainable, and human-centered leadership. After a 25-year career in executive roles in advertising and over 1,300 leaders through their personal and professional transformations, Nathalie shares her approach to leadership rooted in values, emotional intelligence, and body awareness. Drawing from her own journey, Nathalie reflects on topics such as burnout, work-life balance, parenting, letting go of certain ambitions, and the power of introspection and slowing down. Through practical tools, she shows us how to break free from "OverDrive" mode, identify our non-negotiable values, and navigate life transitions.
EPISODE 5 - Inclusive Leadership
This episode explores the topic of inclusive leadership through the inspiring journey of Judith Hector Danière, Group HR Director at FaiveleyTech. Looking back on her career within major corporations such as Renault, Danone, SEB, Cartier, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, Judith reflects on the codes she had to learn, deconstruct, or reinvent in order to find her place – without denying who she is. She discusses how organizational environments influence career progression, the mechanisms behind sustainable inclusion, the weight of personal values in professional choices, and the concrete levers an HR director can activate to bring diverse talents to the forefront. Judith also speaks about sisterhood, networking, the courage to take a stand, the right to ambition, and transmission – particularly in her role as a mother. An insightful and nuanced conversation that offers keys to making workplaces fairer, more humane, and more effective.
AGYA Members in Charge
To tackle the complexities and challenges of equality in leadership, AGYA members Dr. Hiba Rajha and Prof. Dr. Sascha Hein together with AGYA alumna Dr. Luise Fischer initiated two joint research projects titled ‘ShExecutive: Redefining Inclusive Leadership Training’. This podcast series is an outcome of their collaborative project.
Kindly Note
The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) provides this podcast as a public service. The authors/speakers remain solely responsible for the contents and recommendations provided in the podcast and do not reflect positions of AGYA or any of its funding partners.
QIYADA is produced by WOUMNIA. WOUMNIA is a media platform focused on social impact and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was founded by Aziza Abbassi, a Moroccan entrepreneur and advocate for sustainability and regenerative leadership, with a particular emphasis on driving positive change in Africa.