In this episode of WCS Talks Unplugged, host Sadia Raveendran sits down with Veronica Barner, product executive at GE Vernova, to explore an important question facing many professionals today:

Are women really less ambitious? Or, are our systems failing to recognize ambition when it doesn’t fit traditional expectations?

Sparked by recent conversations around the Women in the Workplace report and the idea of an “ambition gap,” Sadia and Veronica unpack how ambition actually shows up across a career in clean energy leadership. Drawing from their shared experience in GE’s Renewable Energy Leadership Program, the conversation explores how ambition evolves from early purpose-driven motivations to leadership, mentorship, and building the next generation of climate innovators.

Veronica reflects on growing up in Bolivia, where more than half the population lacked reliable electricity during her childhood, an experience that shaped her lifelong mission to expand access to clean and sustainable energy.

Together, Sadia and Veronica discuss mentorship, leadership transitions, motherhood, and the systemic barriers that still shape career progression for many women in technical and leadership roles.

At its core, this episode challenges the narrative of an ambition gap and instead reframes the conversation around recognition, opportunity, and the systems that shape career pathways.

Veronica Barner is a product executive at GE Vernova, where she works on advancing technologies that support the global energy transition. She began her career through GE’s Renewable Energy Leadership Program and has since held a range of leadership roles across the clean energy sector.

Her work focuses on building innovative energy solutions while mentoring the next generation of leaders in the industry.

Sadia Raveendran is the Founding Head of GTM at Hammerhead and a Board Member of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, where she also serves as Co-Chair of the Career Development Committee.

WCS Talks Unplugged is the official podcast of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, a global community advancing women’s leadership in climate and clean energy.

Each episode features honest conversations with leaders, founders, and innovators working on the front lines of the energy transition — sharing both the challenges and the solutions shaping our sustainable future.

Marieke McArthur for Women in Cleantech and Sustainability. With a background in local community radio and a passion for storytelling rooted in community impact, her work also spans water advocacy, food resilience, and women’s climate leadership through projects including the Water Alliance of La Paz County, AeroZona, and Women in Cleantech and Sustainability.

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Learn more about Women in Cleantech and Sustainability:
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