For this second edition, we meet Marianne Bathily, a Franco-Senegalese entrepreneur and creator of the SenTalk Shows. She also promotes a resolutely modern vision of inclusion.
What experiences have contributed to making you the woman you are and forming your vision of the world?
Marianne Bathily: When I was very young, I realized that I was mixed race, and that for narrow-minded people, mixed race meant neither black nor white, never completely fitting into a box. But I was myself. And I didn’t think about who I was “supposed” to be. Realizing how some people see others gave me a clearer idea of what injustice really means. And from a very young age, I promised myself that I would never believe in only one truth: what is true in Rome is not true in Dakar, Shanghai or New York. It is self-evident, but some people are willing to harm others just to defend what they see as a “certainty”. Certainty is comforting, but it’s also the fastest route to foolishness.
My second realization was at the age of 18, when I was a student in Lille, France. I was walking past the Théâtre Sébastopol one winter evening, and I saw a woman with a stroller, weighed down with shopping bags, also carrying a 6-liter pack of water. Was that what being a woman in the West meant? Doing it all by yourself, carrying everything, with no help from anyone? I never wanted to live like that. And I don’t understand why we let women study, promise them a career, and then put them under so much pressure to be a good mother and a good housewife. It doesn’t make sense! At 18, I realized that if starting a family meant doing everything alone, it wasn’t for me. So, because I wanted a full life, to thrive in my work and to have children, I decided to return to Dakar at the age of 22.
That was my third realization: I didn’t fit into any boxes in my home country either. I worked in multinational companies, but there was always something different about me. I had to put on a show, to prove I could do things. I spent more time on office politics than on my job. I wasn’t happy. So, at one point, I decided to create my own company. I have no connections with entrepreneurship: my parents were intellectuals, the kind who wear glasses, read books and tell you to “do what you love, don’t go into business.” But I was interested in business. I am proud that I dared to take that step toward entrepreneurship, because in a way, I forged a path for my brother, who created la laiterie du berger and my sister, who is now my business partner.
My fourth realization was very recent, as a woman in her fifties. A woman who for years lived at top speed, in chaos, weathering storms. Now the chaos has calmed. I’m happy in these quieter moments. I take my time. I enjoy being older. It’s really liberating!
You launched the SenTalk Show to promote entrepreneurship in Senegal. How did you come up with the idea?
Marianne Bathily: I spent a lot of time watching TedTalks. They are really well done. Great for sharing ideas, and the platform showcases interesting personalities who have a story to tell. But let’s be honest, it’s a fairly Western approach, and other than a handful of superstar speakers, relatively few come from the African continent. I wondered what we Senegalese were waiting for to make our voices heard. We have a wonderful country achieving annual growth of 10%, you can meet enterprising people every day, and there are plenty of opportunities. Our first reflex is to leave: by plane to study in Western universities or by boat to do small jobs in the informal economy. It’s the same story: we think that we’ll only find success and recognition elsewhere. We don’t believe in ourselves enough! So I thought I should come up with something that would convince this country’s young people that there is a future for them right here. Our entrepreneurs needed to talk to them and tell their story: 80% of Senegalese business leaders started in a garage, just like Steve Jobs! Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. There are struggles and failures, but then you get back up, you start again, you learn from your failures and you do better. It’s no different here than anywhere else. So why not do it all in Senegal? I started SenTalk Shows based on the TedTalks model, because it is extremely effective from a marketing perspective. At each session, we give the floor to four or five people from our country who have found success by following their own path. I am proud of this project because it contributes to the pride of the women and men of my country.
How do you see the role of women in the West, and elsewhere in the world?
Marianne Bathily: I’m certain of something, and it might surprise you: women have the power now, and they always have. But they were led to believe they didn’t have it, and it worked. Let’s put aside the extreme cases of control, and physical and psychological violence, and look at what happens in most situations: women do not use the power they hold. They accept that barriers are put up for them, or they put up barriers themselves. They believe the idea that they are worth less. It’s time for women to change how they see themselves. It’s time for them open their eyes and see their own power. All the critical issues of our time are in their hands: food, health, education, the environment. They’re not going to let that slip away, are they?
For them to gain confidence and dare to express their power, they also need support. That’s what strikes me most in the West. Woman can live seemingly fulfilling lives on the outside, but are left alone to take care of everything inside the home. And they hide, because they are somehow ashamed of being different at home from how they are at work or in their social life. They don’t even talk about it with other women. Here, women support each other: from generation to generation, they are there for one another: sisters, neighbors, friends. They share, they help. And the home is not the secluded, silent space that we see elsewhere. Home is a space for sharing, freedom and power. I believe that undervaluing life at home was a mistake in the struggle for women’s liberation. All big changes happen at home.
Translated from French by Ruth Simpson.
