Usawa Collective

Equal Footing

Business EN ↓ 6 episodes

Equal Footing is a podcast that dives into the real stories, bold ideas, and practical solutions driving gender equality across the Global South. Hosted by Carren Mwanzia and Madhuri Mukherjee, each episode features conversations with leaders, experts, and changemakers working to close gender gaps in finance, entrepreneurship, health, and beyond. Whether you’re passionate about women’s economic empowerment, inclusive policy, or grassroots innovation, Equal Footing offers fresh perspectives and actionable insights on what’s working — and what still needs to change.

Author

Usawa Collective

Episodes

Equal Footing | Season 1 Reflections: Agency, Power & Change 28.02.2026 36:40

Season 1 of Equal Footing has been a journey through some of the most urgent and complex gender equality conversations across the Global South. Across five powerful episodes with Tolu, Dorcas, Lillian, Terry, and Sandra, we explored: Women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion Disability inclusion and intersectionality in health systems Sexual and reproductive health as bodily autonomy• H...

Equal Footing | Who Really Wins? Gender, Power & the Business of Sports in Africa 11.01.2026 38:35

In this episode, we sit down with Sandra Kimokoti, Founder and Board Member at Twende Sports, to unpack a hard but necessary conversation: 👉🏾 What does it mean to represent your country while earning less than a living wage? 👉🏾 And what happens when women push back against silence, exploitation, and broken sports systems? Here’s the reality: Globally, women’s sports receive less than 10% of to...

Equal Footing | The Double-Edged Role of Women in Sustaining and Dismantling Harmful Gender Norms 14.09.2025 56:06

At Equal Footing, we believe that change happens when we dive into the real stories and real solutions that are driving gender equality forward. In this episode, we sit down with Terry Maindo — a gender equality and social inclusion specialist — to confront a tough but overlooked question:👉🏾 What happens when women themselves uphold the very patriarchal norms that oppress them?👉🏾 And how do we...

Equal Footing | Power, Choice, and Voice: Redefining sexual and reproductive health rights 06.08.2025 51:55

At Equal Footing, we believe that change happens when we dive into the real stories and real solutions that are driving gender equality forward. In this episode, we sit down with Lillian Mbuthi — a passionate advocate for women's rights, youth rights, and sexual reproductive health rights based in Nairobi, Kenya — to unpack two critical questions:👉🏾 What does true bodily autonomy and choice...

Equal Footing | All Women, All Rights — Rethinking SRH Through a Disability-Inclusive Lens 15.07.2025 47:43

Women with disabilities make up nearly half of the global disabled population — yet continue to be overlooked in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policies and programs. In this powerful episode, we sit down with Dorcas Nyasani , Disability Inclusion Advisor at IPPF Africa Region, to explore the intersection of gender, disability, and SRH. Dorcas shares her personal journey, professional insigh...

Equal Footing | A conversation on real empowerment and financial inclusion 16.06.2025 48:02

At Equal Footing, we believe that change happens when we dive into the real stories and real solutions that are driving gender equality forward. In our debut episode, we sit down with Tolulope Babajide — a seasoned gender specialist and financial inclusion expert — to unpack two critical questions: 👉🏾 What does true empowerment look like for women in Africa today? 👉🏾 And what’s actually workin...