Joining your conviction with passion | Shirin Moayyad | TEDxLa Cote International School

TL;DR

Shirin Moayyad argues that joining conviction with passion means turning a deeply held concern about injustice into practical choices and work. Childhood encounters with poverty in Casablanca and Iran shaped her path, while managing a coffee farm in Papua New Guinea exposed her to gender inequality. Her roles at Nespresso and Sweet Bean Coffee show how she carries those convictions into the coffee industry. Read on for the experiences behind that commitment.

Transcript

thank you very much I don't think I'm as smart as that kid was we lied yes we are okay this is me at 13. my family migrated to the United States just before my fourth birthday I grew up on the south side of Chicago a couple of city blocks away from Michelle Obama former first lady of the US now when I was your age and this is speaking to the studen... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥺 Early exposure to social injustice can lead to a lifelong commitment to activism.
• 🇵🇬 Working in diverse environments like Papua New Guinea can highlight existing disparities.
• ☕ Companies like Nespresso can drive change by addressing gender inequality in coffee farming.
• ⚧️ Gender analysis assessments and training programs are effective tools in promoting gender equality in agriculture.
• 🥺 Empowering women in roles like agronomy training can lead to increased representation and equality.
• 🥶 Simple strategies, like offering free training courses, can help overcome barriers to entry for marginalized groups.
• 🤗 The future of social justice rests in the hands of the younger generation, guided by their beliefs and passions.

Questions & Answers

Q: What does Shirin Moayyad mean by joining your conviction with passion?

For Shirin Moayyad, it means allowing beliefs about injustice to guide personal and professional choices. Her concern for inequality eventually shaped her work in development and the coffee industry.

Q: How did Shirin Moayyad’s childhood experiences shape her activism?

Seeing children living in makeshift homes in Casablanca and witnessing homelessness and inequality in Iran made a lasting impression on her. She also organized a school fundraiser to support Cambodian refugees arriving in Chicago.

Q: Why did Shirin Moayyad go to Papua New Guinea?

She went there while pursuing development studies and planned to work on a village-based water resources project. She later left the project, remained in the country, and joined a local company with coffee plantations, exporting operations, and a roastery.

Q: What work did Shirin Moayyad do in Papua New Guinea’s coffee industry?

She lived on a coffee plantation and was placed in charge of managing the farm. After succeeding in that role, she was given responsibility for the company’s roastery.

Q: What did Shirin Moayyad observe about gender inequality in Papua New Guinea?

Most of her roastery employees were women, yet women were scarcely represented in management across the larger company. This experience expanded her awareness from economic inequality to gender inequality.

Q: How does Shirin Moayyad describe the disadvantages faced by women?

She says women have less access to resources such as education, knowledge, and money. She also points to restrictions on women’s ability to make decisions about themselves and their bodies.

Q: How does Shirin Moayyad support women through her own coffee roastery?

She prioritizes high-quality coffee when selecting what to buy. When she can find suitable coffee produced by women, she chooses it because she wants women to receive a fair share of the value.

Q: How do Nespresso and Sweet Bean Coffee relate to Shirin Moayyad’s mission?

She says she works at Nespresso while also running Sweet Bean Coffee. These roles place her convictions about inequality within the coffee industry, although she acknowledges that one small roaster can accomplish only so much alone.

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares her journey and experiences growing up in a socially aware community, witnessing social and gender inequality, and her passion for making a difference in the world. She highlights the work of Nespresso in addressing gender inequality in coffee farming communities and emphasizes the importance of equality and empowering women. The speaker encourages the students to follow their beliefs and passions to create change in the world.

Questions & Answers

Q: What experiences shaped the speaker's understanding of social injustice and inequality?

The speaker grew up in a socially aware community in Chicago and learned about the genocide in Cambodia, which sparked her desire to help refugees. Her uncle taking her to the slums of Casablanca and witnessing poverty left a lasting impression. Moving to Iran further exposed her to divisions between the rich and poor, especially when she saw a homeless man suffering in the cold.

Q: Why did the speaker decide to pursue a master's degree in development studies?

After finishing her college year abroad in India, the speaker felt a strong desire to make a difference in the world. She wanted to work for the United Nations or a nonprofit organization and help address social issues. Her goal was to gain the knowledge and skills to contribute to development initiatives.

Q: Why did the speaker choose to work in Papua New Guinea instead of completing her master's degree?

The speaker decided to give up her master's degree and stay in Papua New Guinea because she felt a strong connection to the remote mountains of the interior. She joined a local company that had coffee plantations and a roastery. Despite going against her parents' expectations, she followed her own path and embraced new learning opportunities.

Q: How did the speaker become aware of gender inequality in her work at the coffee roastery?

The speaker managed a coffee roastery in Papua New Guinea, where most of her employees were women. Out of 3,000 employees in the larger holding company, she was one of only two women in management. This led her to recognize the gender-based disparities in accessing resources, education, money, and autonomy over their own bodies.

Q: What actions does the speaker take to address gender inequality in the coffee industry?

The speaker, who now owns her own coffee roastery, prioritizes buying coffee produced by women. However, she acknowledges that as an individual roaster, her impact is limited. She feels fortunate to work at Nespresso, a trailblazing company with the size and resources to effect change. She mentions their partnership with a non-profit called TechnoServe, which created a gender analysis assessment tool to measure inequality in different coffee farming countries.

Q: What does the gender analysis assessment tool reveal about gender inequality in coffee farming communities?

The tool, used in places like Sidamo, Ethiopia, shows alarming statistics of women's lack of education. In Sidamo, 57% of women have received no education at all, while 38% have had less than primary school education. It highlights a disparity between men and women in terms of workload and financial control, where women participate in all farming steps but don't receive equal economic benefits.

Q: How does the speaker explain the importance of gender equality to the audience?

The speaker asks the audience to imagine a scenario where only half of the students organized an event, emphasizing that it wouldn't be fair or representative. She challenges the audience to think about their own experiences and reflects on women's aspirations, such as wanting to learn how to write their names. She paints a picture of the inequality women face globally and how it affects communities as a whole.

Q: How does Nespresso work toward gender equality in coffee farming communities?

Nespresso aims to increase the number of female agronomists working with farmers in coffee-producing countries. Understanding the cultural constraints women face, Nespresso ensures that the trainers are women and that the training sessions are scheduled at convenient times. By providing opportunities for women to participate in agricultural training, Nespresso helps level the playing field and enables women to contribute to their communities.

Q: What strategy did TechnoServe employ to hire more women agronomists?

TechnoServe changed their approach by offering a free week-long agronomy training course that was open to men and women. They observed the participants' performance and hired the top-performing women on the spot. This method helped overcome the initial intimidation women felt when applying for the job, resulting in Nespresso having over 50% female agronomists in Ethiopia, compared to the pan-African average of only 7%.

Q: What message does the speaker have for the students?

The speaker believes that the future is in the students' hands and encourages them to follow their beliefs and passions. She urges them to combine their convictions with their interests, as she did with her belief in equality and her love for coffee. She emphasizes that change can be made even as individuals, but working with a trailblazing company like Nespresso allows for a greater impact.

Takeaways

The speaker's journey and experiences highlight the importance of addressing social and gender inequality. By sharing stories of inequality in different parts of the world, she demonstrates the need for change. Nespresso's work in coffee farming communities showcases the power of a company to make a difference, particularly through initiatives that promote gender equality. The speaker's message to the students is to pursue their passions and beliefs to create positive change in the world.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker recounts her childhood experiences of social injustice and inequality that shaped her passion for activism.

• She describes her decision to work in Papua New Guinea, where she observed gender and economic inequalities.

• The speaker highlights her work at Nespresso to address gender inequality in coffee farming communities.