Shelmina Abji

Shelmina Babai Abji is a global empowerment speaker, a former IBM Vice President, TedX speaker, distinguished alumni, board member, an angel investor and an advisor to C-suite executives. Her passion is gender equality in leadership. Shelmina started with humble beginnings in Tanzania. She had to leave home at fifteen to obtain higher education and was the first person in her family to obtain a college degree. She balanced a highly successful career with raising her children as a single mother since they were aged two and four.

 

She left her career as one of IBM’s highest-ranking women of colour to accelerate the success of other girls and women. She is now writing a book to make her insights available to every woman globally. Sophia Babai is a freelance writer and editor, disability justice activist, and Policy Advisor at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. She graduated with Distinction from Yale University in 2014, and currently lives in New York City with her partner.