How Women Inspire: Invest, Lead, Give

While we have made strides in increasing women’s representation in investment management roles, male portfolio managers still control around 12 and a half times more capital than women. This lack of diversity in making investing decisions leads to a lack of funding for women-owned and diverse businesses. Without more perspectives in the room, everyone misses out on opportunities that will benefit...

As women reach midlife, we find that not only our physical selves change but also our values, leadership styles, and how we want to leave an impact in the world. And as we live longer lives with more years in “middlescence”, we are searching for new techniques and advice for navigating this stage. Barbara Waxman, a leadership coach with expertise in gerontology and life stages, is here this week t...

As we continue to seek more diverse voices in the corporate world and demand more representation for women and People of Color, we see experienced women leaders leading the demand for change. Robin L. Washington, who joins us on the podcast today, is the Co-founder of Black Women on Boards, an organization that removes obstacles that the world’s top Black female executives can face when pursuing b...

At How Women Lead, we strongly believe in women finding their voice and being unabashedly visible in what they do. But finding your voice and learning to use it for your mission does not come naturally to everyone. Liz Sklar, actress and Director at Stand & Deliver, helps leaders across all industries find their voice and use it to be effective, inspiring leaders. She’s here today to talk abou...

Women’s voices have been and continue to be culturally dismissed and discouraged. Women are very rarely quoted in science and financial journals, as well as make up only about 25% of all of the people who are quoted as experts in the news media. The fourth element of our credo at How Women Lead is to Be Unabashedly Visible, and today, Julie is sharing her journey to be more visible. This week’s ep...

Women have powerful voices and have been using them to voice concerns and demand change forever. But when society is full of naysayers and those who undervalue women, it can be easy to back off of your convictions. Denise Brosseau has been on a mission for decades to help women crystalize their voices and use them to stand up for the causes they believe in. Today, she is here to talk about her cau...

Content warning: Discussion of sexual assault, eating disorders, and suicide. There is a youth mental health crisis in the United States. On average, there is an 11-year age gap in youth mental health between when children experience their first symptoms and signals of mental illness to the first intervention and seeking of treatment. Kenzie Butera Davis started Maro to eliminate that age gap and...

Content Warning: This episode includes mention of child and animal neglect and abuse.  There’s a developmental stage between 45-65 where having an impact is one of the most important parts of this stage in our lives and it is so important to take a moment to reflect on the impact we want to have on the world. In this week’s episode 97 of How Women Inspire Podcast, Julie shares her journey of phila...

We’re always talking about diversity and the importance of having different perspectives in the room where decisions are made in every organization. Asking questions others haven’t thought of and offering a new way to look at a problem allows for a more informed decision to be made, no matter the issue. No one knows this better than Kristyn Shapiro, who has spent much of her career at the FBI as a...

Poverty is a growing problem in the United States and 35% of single mothers face living in poverty. Eliminating poverty will take systemic and legislative change, but the fight against poverty begins and is currently most impactful at the local level through non-profits. These organizations strive to provide access to education and resources to those in need. WANDA, headed by Danika Dellor, strive...

Climate change is a constant topic of conversation. And while headlines may seem bleak, the climate technology sector continues to grow and innovate to improve our use of resources and impact on the environment. With this sector expected to continue to see rapid substantial growth, it’s time for women to explore it as an option, no matter their professional field. Linda Kinney is here today to tal...

The majority of invested assets owned by women are not managed by women. Only 1.4% of assets are managed by women and people of color combined! With up to 70% of wealth projected to be controlled by women by 2030, that gender gap simply won’t do. Barbara Pierce, founder of Women with Capital, has made it her mission to empower women with financial literacy and teach women that they are in control...

The technology industry is predominantly led by white men under the age of 45. While this has been the case for a long time, many different types of founders are starting to enter the space and attempting to get venture funding. Venture firms and funds that focus on often underrepresented founders, especially women of color, are truly making an impact in the technology space and paving the way to...

Food technology and the food industry is a $9 trillion business, but most people wouldn’t think of it. Food and how we eat is often seen as a far more personal choice than a large industry. Because of this, there is ample opportunity for investors to get involved in the early stages of many companies. Brita Rosenheim is here today to talk about her experience in the food industry and how it will c...

For many of us, we were told that talking openly about money was rude or even taboo. But times have changed, and financially empowering women is not only good for women but good for everyone. We see time and time again that when money is in the hands of women, they invest in the common good and bring everyone up with them. AdaPia d’Errico is here this week to talk about her journey of teaching wom...

Every woman has an instance in her childhood where her voice was ignored. Maybe she was told to be seen and not heard, maybe she was looked over in class to speak, or maybe she was told to take up less space. This cultural bias against women’s voices needs to be put to an end and it starts with us supporting one another and speaking up to affirm another woman and make her voice heard.  This week’s...

We often hear the importance of shopping locally, shopping small businesses, and purchasing from minority and underrepresented groups. And while this is quite easy to do on a personal level, it’s more difficult to accomplish on a company- or corporate-wide level. Not all smaller businesses are equipped to handle large requests, and often getting ESG certifications is too difficult and time-consumi...

Earlier this year, the Surgeon General released an advisory about an “epidemic of loneliness” here in the United States, and steps we can take to increase community connections. One effective step someone can take to increase their community and social connections is to volunteer and serve their community. Benita Mosley, CEO of Multiplying Good, is here today to discuss her mission to promote serv...

The global supply chain has been under the spotlight more and more since the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive disruptions. Supply chain technology is growing and changing, but what can we do to manage and change the supply chain to be more sustainable, especially in industries like fashion? Lisa Morales-Hellebo is here to talk about sustainability in the global supply chain and fashion industries...

The demands and challenges companies face are changing in the digital age. Because of this, the way corporate boards operate, discuss, and tackle these issues is also changing. From having more diverse voices represented to acknowledging and responding to global issues like climate change and supply chain disruptions, the job of the corporate board is more difficult now than ever. Dottie Schindlin...

The feelings of belonging and making a notable difference are important to our sense of professional worth. It is the job of the leader, a CEO or founder, to build an equitable, dynamic, and productive workplace for their employees. And while this discussion does take place, it doesn’t happen nearly as often in the realm of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Nancy Geenen is here today to cha...

US Census population predictions indicate that by the year 2045, white Americans will make up less than 50% of the US population. While we see this shift in population, that is far from the case when it comes to venture funding. There is a massive massive imbalance in the amount of capital that is going to minority and underrepresented founders. Carmen Palafox is here today to talk about how we ca...

Women have powerful voices and have been using them to voice concerns and demand change forever. But when society is full of naysayers and those who undervalue women, it can be easy to back off of your convictions. Denise Brosseau has been on a mission for decades to help women crystalize their voices and use them to stand up for the causes they believe in. Today, she is here to talk about her cau...

Women in leadership positions are extraordinarily familiar with the feelings of uncertainty and doubt that come with taking on larger roles. But these worries of inadequacy and under-preparedness, while ingrained into us at a young age, are completely unfounded. Our guest today, Ellen Taaffe uses her metaphor of the mirrored door to better our understanding of these feelings on today’s episode. Th...

Venture capital has been dominated by cis white men since the practice first began. While the founders and innovators seeking funding are starting to vary from that profile, many of those still writing the checks and offering funding fall into that dominant profile. Naseem Sayani is one woman who is trying to change that.  Naseem, the co-founder of Emmeline Ventures, is here today to talk about wh...