Feminist Leadership Series: Jensine Larsen and Kirthi Jayakumar of World Pulse

01/21/24 • 75 min

The Hive Collective Podcast: Shifting Power in Nonprofits

This episode features Jensine Larsen, CEO of World Pulse and Kirthi Jayakumar, founder of Gender Security Project.
Jensine Larsen is an unstoppable award-winning digital entrepreneur, international journalist, and speaker Jensine (Yen-See-Nah) Larsen is the founder of World Pulse, an independent, women-led social network connecting tens of thousands of grassroots women from 200+ countries who are logging on, speaking out, and growing their social impact.
Internationally recognized security practitioner, writer, peace educator, lawyer, and mediator, Kirthi Jayakumar has spent a decade innovating at the cross-section of gender, peace, security, technology, feminist foreign policy, and transitional justice. In addition to helming multiple civil society initiatives, she built an app for survivors of gender-based violence used across the globe, called Saahas. Recently, she developed digital training suites in partnership with World Pulse to equip women globally to safely access the internet to advocate for themselves and their communities. Kirthi is the recipient of multiple awards for her work, including UN Women’s 30 for 2030 and the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
In this episode of The Hive Collective Podcast, listeners have the opportunity to delve into the heart of feminist leadership and governance within World Pulse. The episode features insightful conversations as they discuss the transformation of World Pulse into a global social network championing women's voices and impacting millions worldwide. World Pulse's progressive and immersive journey is shaping a culture based on principles of connection, reciprocity, and abundance. It highlights collaborative leadership, participatory decision-making processes, and the commitment to intersectionality that guides the formation of various key initiatives, including the inclusion of the Powershift Inclusive Excellence council, representing diverse community voices. Heartfelt exchanges reveal the evolution of the organization's governance structure and the trials and triumphs of their transformative work, setting a model for building a supportive, nurturing online space where feminist values manifest in compassionate and inclusive actions.

The Hive Collective is a strategic partner to nonprofits and NGOs all over the world. Reach out to us at [email protected]
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Feminist Leadership: Helene Wolf and Maya Tamayo

In this episode of The Hive Collective Podcast, host Beth Ellen Holimon guides listeners through a profound dialogue with two powerhouse feminists, Maya Tamayo and Helene Wolf. Tamayo, co-founder of Bayi, shares her feminist journey and her organizations’ decision-making practices, importance of self-reflection, and navigating partnerships aligning with feminist values. Helene Wolf, co-founder of Fair Share of Women Leaders, reflects on growing up in East Germany, her family's political influence, and the urgent need to unlearn patriarchal structures. She delves into the practicalities of co-leadership and decision-making within her international work to advance women leaders. Both guests stress the significance of power relations, collective empowerment, and managing dissent. The episode also explores the relationship between feminism and concepts like inclusivity, equity, decolonization, and liberative philosophy. This episode is a treasure trove of insightful discussions on transformative feminist leadership, and it sets the stage for an eagerly anticipated continuation on board governance. Tune in to The Hive Collective Podcast for an expansive look at feminism's role in shaping leaders and forging equitable, inclusive societies.

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Feminist Leadership Series: Sana Mustafa of Asylum Access

The Feminist Leadership Series of this podcast continues as we feature the remarkable Sana Mustafa, CEO of Asylum Access. This discussion delves into how feminist leadership shapes governance and the conscious effort to share power within organizations. Sana shares her advocacy for leaders to empower their teams by exercising the right to decline demands that clash with their values, stressing that 'No' can be a powerful response to donors and partners. We also uncover how opening up discussions about these conflicts leads to positive outcomes and stronger partnerships built on mutual values. Sana addresses organizational dynamics, with a focus on how including refugee leadership and varied lived experiences within board structures can revolutionize traditional governance. Cutting through the façade of performative board practices, Sana emphasizes the limitations of traditional metrics of qualifications and the profound impact of inclusivity in hiring. By equipping underrepresented individuals with power rather than mere representation, real change takes place. The podcast explores the intersecting forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, and classism, and the pursuit of liberation informed by feminist principles. Sana criticizes select feminist theories that fail to account for class and capitalism and calls for internal change in organizations to dismantle patriarchal and capitalistic power structures. We get a glimpse into the practical steps Asylum Access is taking to manifest this change, from board support to expert guidance.

Sana Mustafa bio:

Sana Ali Mustafa is a movement leader in the forced displacement sector and a feminist human rights activist fighting against systems of oppression in Syria and around the world. Sana’s work has been informed by her experiences as a brown, queer, Arab, and forcibly displaced woman. After being forcibly displaced by the Assad regime, Sana led the establishment of global efforts for the representation and inclusion of forcibly displaced persons, such as the Global Refugee-led Network. Sana is currently Chief Executive Officer of Asylum Access, where she leads the organization’s work to dismantle decades of colonialism, fight for self-representation, and build intersectional coalitions to demand human rights for all forcibly displaced people.

Prior to joining Asylum Access, Sana managed her own consulting business where she helped over a dozen public and private sector organizations such as Oxfam International, Open Society Foundations, United Nations, WeWork, and others to establish strategies to operate more equitably in support of refugee rights and refugee leadership.

Sana is also an active public speaker. She has delivered a TED talk and spoken at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the National Press Club in Washington, D.C, the Carnegie Endowment, the White House, Harvard Law School, Stanford, and numerous other venues.

Sana is a board member of Karam Foundation, which helps Syrian refugee youth in Turkey harness their ambition and creativity. Sana is also a member of Syria’s first Syrian Women’s Political Movement, a coalition with the aim of uniting women from across professional fields and ethnic lines to create a vision for women’s inclusion in a future Syria.