Aminatou Sow

About

Prominent multi-hyphenate whose plethora of ambitious titles have included cultural commentator, businesswoman, writer, and podcast host. Along with fellow entrepreneur Erie Meyer, she co-founded the exclusive women's technological listserv known as Tech LadyMafia in 2011. In 2020, she co-authored the memoir and cultural analysis book Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close. She has also hosted podcasts like On She Goes and Color Full Lives.

Before Fame

After moving to the U.S. when she was 19 years old, she earned her bachelor's degree in government from the Texas A&M University in 2007. The start of her career saw her fulfilling a multitude of various positions, including a toy store associate, a PR agent, a digital strategist, and think tank research fellow.

Trivia

She was named on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2014 before also being recognized by KQED's 2016 list of Women to Watch. She is widely noted for having helped disseminate the term "Shine Theory" to promote collaboration and support between women as opposed to competition. 

Family Life

Although she grew up in Nigeria, Belgium, France, and eventually the United States, she was originally born in Guinea. She is the daughter of a diplomat father and engineer mother and was raised in a Muslim household. She has a younger brother.

Associated With

Many of her projects, including her 2020 book and her critically-acclaimed podcast Call Your Girlfriend, were joint efforts with her best friend - journalist Ann Friedman. She famously popularized the "Can't Spell Truth Without Ruth" meme in reference to Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In October 2023, she reached out to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to plea for armistice between Israel and Gaza.