Martha Dudzinski

Speaker, Table Captain

Martha Dudzinski

Managing Partner
SWANS Initiative gGmbH

Martha Dudzinski is the Managing Partner of the non-profit SWANS Initiative, which advocates for adequate representation of women with migration backgrounds, Black women, and Women of Color in the academic job market.

She conducts workshops and lectures on privilege, diversity, and feminism – including at Vodafone, Procter & Gamble, Universal, and SAP, as well as the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Ludwig Maximilian University, the German Trade Union Confederation, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Prior to this role, she served as the spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Germany for two years, was a consultant at the Federal Press Office for four years, and previously worked as a freelance journalist (including for ARD and ZEIT Online). She holds a Master’s degree in International Politics from the University of Edinburgh, a Bachelor’s degree in Politics from LMU Munich, and was a fellow of the Journalists’ Academy of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

SWANS was honored in 2018 by Chancellor Merkel and by the European Economic and Social Committee at the European Commission in Brussels. As the only European organization, SWANS is part of the Intercultural Innovation Hub 2023 of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, BMW Group, and Accenture. Additionally, SWANS received €10,000 as the winner of the Schwarzkopf Million Chances Audience Vote in 2019 and €20,000 as the winner of the Wirkungsfonds Pitch Competition 2021 by Social Impact gGmbH and Deutsche Bank.

Martha Dudzinski was named one of the 100 Makers, Creatives, and Entrepreneurs on the Business Punk Watchlist 2020, and she is one of the 25 “Future Makers” 2021 by Business Insider Germany. She was also a finalist for the “Being Edinburgh” Alumni Award 2022 from the University of Edinburgh. Her life revolves around food, dancing, traveling, and feminism. She lives in Berlin, as befits a Swabian.