Womanthismonth.com 16 June 2024 Ms. Swire, you had a very successful career in banking initially. What drove you to leave your career and pursue social change? After the stock market crash of 1987, which was the biggest since 1929, the atmosphere in the finance sector became extremely cutthroat. My boss at the time, who was meant to be protecting and mentoring me, even threatened to take my top clients to save his job, which felt deeply unjust. During this challenging period, I felt a compelling urge to find work that had more meaning and impact, beyond the bottom line of making money. This was the era of ‘greed is good,’ but I longed for a life that contributed positively to society. So, I listened to the virtual bird on my shoulder and decided to become an aid worker or a war correspondent, leading me to the Hindu Kush and ultimately to establishing 200 schools across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Why did you choose education as your primary focus? When I first went out to the region in September 1988 on my reconnaissance trip to Peshawar, I ended up going trekking in the Hindu Kush with some friends of mine to this absolutely beautiful former principality called Chitral. It was landlocked by snow for eight months of the year, impossible to get in or out except by air. The weather meant that people were sometimes isolated for weeks at a time so inevitably it was considered a backwater, both culturally and economically. It couldn’t attract the top teachers, engineers, lawyers and so forth, and there was just two percent female literacy. Sophia Swire, the visionary founder of Gender Equity Diversity Investments (GEDI), recently attended the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) forum in Bahrain. Swire’s career, spanning from banking to ground-breaking social initiatives, reflects her unwavering commitment to gender equity and education. In this exclusive interview with Farah Baig, she offers enlightening insight into her motivations, challenges and aspirations, offering a compelling narrative of her life’s work dedicated to uplifting women in conflict-affected regions. A FORCE OF TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL CHANGE PEOPLE | interview
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