In a powerful conversation with Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Yale SOM Executive Education, Kavitha Bindra, Aïssatou Seck reflects on her journey as a Rising Talent with the Women’s Forum, sharing how the program deepened her commitment to inclusive leadership and lifelong learning. As a senior counsel at the World Bank, Seck seeks new ways to lead with purpose and amplify the voices of African women on a global stage. She describes how her approach to learning has evolved—from developing strong technical foundations to embracing curiosity, connection, and context as core leadership tools.
Executive Education at the Yale School of Management and the Women’s Forum are united in their shared commitment to advancing women’s leadership. Through this collaboration, both organizations empower women—and their allies—to lead with purpose, drive systemic change, and foster inclusive progress across sectors. By combining Yale’s rigorous, research-based approach to leadership development with the Women’s Forum’s global network and mission for equality, this collaboration offers a powerful platform for personal and professional growth.
Kavitha Bindra: What motivated you to become a Rising Talent with the Women's Forum?
Aissatou Seck: I was motivated by its vision. To me at the time, it was bold, advancing women's leadership as a driver of inclusive and sustainable global progress. As someone who works across public institutions and development organizations, I see every day how transformational leadership can shape systems and societies. I applied because I wanted to engage with a global network of women who lead with purpose and who are not afraid to challenge their status quo. Some of my cohort members work in music, in NGOs, in sports, and manufacturing; it was totally different for me. The Rising Talents program offered me a space to both learn from and contribute to this community.
Kavitha Bindra: Where were you with your career when you decided to apply?
Aissatou Seck: When I applied, I was serving as a senior counsel at the World Bank in West Africa, in Cote D’Ivoire, leading legal and policy work on infrastructure, governance, human development, education, and health. I was at the stage where I had already built technical expertise and trust across multiple countries. But I also felt a growing responsibility to engage in a more strategic way with a wider view of leadership, innovation, and long-term impact. The Women's Forum came at that time, and it gave me the space to reflect on that evolution and also to amplify voices of African women in global conversations.
Kavitha Bindra: How has your approach to learning evolved over the course of your career?
Aissatou Seck: I would say that in the earlier stages of my career my learning style was very structured. I focused on the path of many young professionals: mastering the technical skills in business, administration, law, finance; legal frameworks that I needed to operate in complex international environments. Over time, I think my approach has become more dynamic and interdisciplinary. I've come to see learning as a continuous process of curiosity and connection, and drawing not only from formal education, but also from listening deeply to the people and communities I work with. Whether I'm working on a major infrastructure project or I'm advising on institutional frameworks, I try to integrate context and culture and the lived realities into how I learn and how I lead.
Kavitha Bindra: Have you found that ongoing learning has helped shape your confidence and clarity as a leader? Can you talk a little bit about how that might have happened?
Aissatou Seck: Oh, absolutely, that's something I have in common with other women from the cohort. I consider myself a lifelong learner. Ongoing learning has definitely taught me to lead with both humility and conviction - humility, because you are very aware that you don't know it all, and there is so much more to be discovered and conviction, because of that hunger to know more. It's a driving factor in everything that I do. And it's given me confidence to operate across different systems, whether it's governments or other multilateral partners. Even when I'm mentoring younger professionals, I know that I have the tools to adapt, to ask the right questions, and to keep growing. I think it has also sharpened my clarity around purpose. I'm not just learning to perform better; I'm learning also to contribute in more meaningful ways to the communities that I serve, and that clarity sustains me, especially in high-stakes or high-pressure environments.
Kavitha Bindra: What's an educational experience, either from school or some of the lifelong learning that you referenced, that you still hold on to, and how has that influenced your work?
Aissatou Seck: One of the experiences that stayed with me was my leadership classes at Harvard Kennedy School. When I pursued my master's in public administration, I was already a mid-career professional, and it wasn't just about academic learning. It was about learning how to think across boundaries. I was surrounded by leaders from all over the world, and the classroom became a space of a real exchange of ideas, values, and also lived experiences. And that time really pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone and think more critically about power, about governance and service. It also shaped the way I approach the policy work that I do today with more empathy and also a deep respect for the complexity of the environments I am involved in.
Kavitha Bindra: I remember when we met in Paris, the Rising Talents group was talking about how organizations support women in leadership, and it seems like there's a lot of support for early-career women, and more senior executive women. But that in-between stage can be where there's a lack of support. Does that ring true for you? Do you think that's something that organizations can continue to work on?
Aissatou Seck: It does ring true. Generally speaking, there has been undeniable progress. I see more and more women in senior roles, more intentional efforts to embed gender equality in governance structures, and increasing awareness that inclusion is not just a moral imperative. It is also a strategic advantage in multilateral development work. Gender considerations are becoming central to the policy dialogue, investment design, and even the institutional reform we work on. But we can also recognize that progress is never guaranteed. Across the world, we're seeing pushback on hard-won rights and a resurgence of narratives that seek to roll back inclusion. And that's why vigilance matters. I think we need to keep making space for women, especially from the global South.
For those in the middle of their careers, including myself and my cohort members, we need to not just to be present, but also to shape decisions, challenge norms, and redefine what leadership looks like. I feel like true equity requires ongoing effort, political will, and willingness to disrupt the status quo, even if sometimes it's uncomfortable. Some companies, in the beginning, invest a lot in younger professionals and the more visible top female leaders. But I absolutely believe that somewhere in between, the mid-career professionals are forgotten, and there is something to be done there.