At the IMF World Bank Meetings, Oumou Bah shares how inclusion drives better global decision-making.
Subscribe: iTunes / Spotify
Apply to be a guest on our podcast here
Show Notes:
In this Mission Matters episode, host Adam Torres interviews Oumou Bah, Founder and President of Women Leaders Today, at the IMF World Bank Meetings in Washington, D.C. Oumou discusses the importance of bringing women and marginalized voices into policy-making and global dialogues. Through Women Leaders Today, she aims to build intergenerational networks that empower women to lead, connect, and influence change worldwide.
Watch the Full Interview:
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to mission matters.com and click on Be Our Guest to Apply. All right, so today we are covering the IMF World Bank meetings over in Washington DC and my next guest is Umba Umu.
Welcome to the show. Thank you so much, Adam, for having me. All right. So we got a lot to talk about today. I wanna know more about your about what’s going on over in Washington, DC and what you’re doing over at the IMF world Bank meetings. But also I wanna get, we’re gonna get into what you’re doing as founder and president over at Women Leaders Today, but before we do all that, we’ll start with what we like to call our Mission matters Minute.
So umo at Mission Matters. Our aim and our goal is to amplify stories for entrepreneurs, executives and experts and organizations. That’s what we do. Umo, what mission matters to you? Thank you so much again, Adam. And I’m so happy to be part of this series. So I’m I’m here. My name is Umba. I am currently at the IMF world Bank Group’s annual meeting full meeting.
Yeah, it is full meetings and and my mission. What matters to me is to see the marginalized communities get a fair shot at life. Hmm. It’s whether it is women or youth or any kind of minorities or any type of wo communities that are marginalized mm-hmm. Are not taking the full adv the.
Full advantage of this world is my mission to bring those people at the center. And ensure that they have access opportunities like everybody else. Mm-hmm. And and, and also to ensure that they are part of the decision making process. ’cause as you know, Adam, that’s where. Life is being impacted.
Yeah. Whether it’s nationally, locally, or globally. So ensuring that voices that are diverse, that are inclusive Hmm. Are part of the day-to-day or any agenda, global agenda or national agenda is are are included. Yeah. So that’s my mission is to make sure, especially women. As, I mean the founder and president of women leaders today.
I would love and I, I advocate for women to be part of the dis the discourse of their life of of any aspects where their, their lives, livelihood is being a affected or their community or their family members have been com are being imp impacted, whether negatively or positively, I want them to be part of it.
Yeah. So that’s my mission in life. Umu, why was it, why was it important for you to be in, in Washington DC to attend these meetings and to be part of the conversation? Like, like why, why was that important? It’s important for me to be part of these meetings because this is where the decisions are being made.
Hmm. This is where people are convening to to talk about global agendas. Mm-hmm. Whether it’s economic or finance or social. So being part of this meeting, understanding or being in, in, in the room of people who are making these decisions that are. Impacting your life is extremely important.
Mm-hmm. So this is, that’s why I, I usually attend these meetings Yeah. To understand how things are being framed, how how policies are being talked about. Mm-hmm. And also how what, what are the steps. That are being taken and who are part of this conversation and how these, how these these decisions are being made and who are making those decisions and who are being impacted by those decisions that are being made.
So it’s very important for me to be part of this because I wanna understand how things are working. Mm-hmm. Not just in Washington DC but globally. Yeah, of course. I wanna go a little further into women leaders today. So what, what led you to founding this and, and talk a little bit more about what the organization does.
Okay, so obviously I’m a woman, so Yes. It’s it’s something that is close to my heart, not just because I’m a woman, but it’s just because I know how women can how women, you know, the contributions of, of women in our society, how they can have great and positive outcome for not. For women, but for the entire community.
When you empower women, you empower nation, you empower their communities. So being in rooms where you have to count women in those rooms and those decisions, you know, that when they are part of when they, where if they are in those rooms, you know that. Their perspective can be profoundly important.
Mm-hmm. And can be also impactful because women are on the ground. They know what is going on. They understand how. Policies that are being made on top can impact people on the ground, the grassroots, their family members, their communities. So not including them. In the process is, is detrimental, not just to our to our national security.
I can if it’s go that far to say, yeah, or, or even the cohesion of our, of our society. How, how, how does public engagement in partnerships like how does that help bridge some of the initiatives that you’re talking about? Like how does it, or I should say, how does it help advance some of the initiatives you’re talking about?
Like, why is that so important? Public engagement in partnerships. Public engagement in partnerships is important because I’m not sorry to say this, but there’s a disconnect. Yeah. There is a disconnect. When, when when we ascend to certain level of power mm-hmm. We tend, even if you come from.
The grassroots as I am. Mm-hmm. But once you get to le to certain level of power mm-hmm. We tend to be disconnected with the reality on the ground. Right. Not because sometimes we, we don’t not because sometimes we are this, this is done purposely. Yeah. But because we are surrounded with people who we like, like-minded people, meaning that we are more occupied of the global the global impact of the global policies, right?
Mm-hmm. While. People on the ground, they are leaving those policies. Mm. Right. So connecting those two worlds is extremely important. Mm-hmm. Because what they bring, what they bring at the table is different from what the type the, the top decision making decision makers mm-hmm. Tend to forget sometimes.
Yeah. How can this serve really as a bridge between countries? Like how does that, how does that work? That’s where the diaspora thing for me comes into play. Mm-hmm. The role, the role of diaspora everywhere, not just in, in America mm-hmm. Is, is critical, right? Because there are the bridge from both countries, from America and from their own.
Yeah. Country where they came from, the original the, the origins, right? Mm-hmm. So they know what is going on. On the other side, they understand the intricates. Mm-hmm. The intricacy of their own countries. They understand the culture, they understand how to navigate those system back home. And also they understand how to navigate the, the, the cultural and political system in America.
Right. Yeah. So they are the right people to bring those countries to create those type of partnerships. Whether it is cultural diplomacy or economic or, or commercial diplomacy mm-hmm. Or educational diplomacy because they are part of those two world, they understand how diplomatic diplomatically to bring those two people together.
Yeah. That’s great. Omo, this has been great having you on the show today and learning more about, and I know you got a lot to do. I know you’re, you’re, you’re pretty busy in DC this week, so thank you. Thank you for making time for us. But that being said, last la last question what’s next? I mean, what’s next for you?
What’s next for women leaders today? Thank you so much. Adam for this opportunity to be here and interviewed by you. Congratulation also on on, on, on, on doing this series. Mm-hmm. What is next for me is to have Dr. To carry the voices of women. Yeah. To create a space where women can convene mm-hmm.
Where they can be celebrated. Where we can create in like a network of women. Mm-hmm. An intergenerational network of women. Right. So that’s that, that, that, that’s what’s in my my, my bucket list for my next steps. Absolutely. Amazing. And how can people follow up if they wanna learn more about your organization?
How can they connect? They can go to my women leaders today on Instagram women leaders today on LinkedIn, on Facebook. And yeah, that’s where they can follow fo fo follow women leaders today. Amazing for everybody listening, just so you know, we’ll definitely put some links into the show notes, so you can just click on the links and head right on over.
And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done it yet, hit that subscribe or follow button. This is a daily show. Each and every day are bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along the way on your journey as well.
So again, hit that subscribe or follow button. And umu. Thanks you so much again for coming on the show. It’s been a lot of fun. Thank you, Adam.
