The Brand is Female

This week, host Eva Hartling is joined by Stephany Lapierre, Founder, and CEO of Canadian tech company Tealbook, which offers an innovative B2B platform for procurement and supplier intelligence management that leverages machine learning and AI. Tealbook has experienced rapid growth and caught the attention of investors early on, in addition to having become a favourite among Fortune 500 companies...

Dr. Britt Wray, PhD is a globally renowned expert on Climate Crisis Dread, studying the link between mental health and the eco-crisis. Between her newsletter, aptly named Gen Dread, her broadcasting gigs, and the books she's published, Britt is an authority on staying sane while facing the climate crisis. In this episode, Britt and host Eva Hartling cover the intersection of feminism and climate i...

This episode features Carrie Ellen Phillips, and it originally aired August 18, 2020. In honour of Earth Day, we’re bringing back this important conversation about sustainability — all aspects of it — and the changes that need to take place in our world, both from a consumers’ standpoint, as well as from the brands that are manufacturing the products we consume. Carrie is absolutely passionate abo...

“We judge women criminals more harshly. Women get judged twice: once for being a criminal and once for being a woman." When you hear the names Anna Sorokin or Elizabeth Holmes, what comes to mind? Does it ever strike you as interesting that society has such a fascination with women con artists? That their trials inspire countless magazine articles, TV series, and even podcasts? Enter Tori Telfer,...

"At work, I see the orders from my male bosses as suggestions; and from my women superiors, as orders. And it doesn’t matter who ranks up to who in the organization. If you’re a man who’s always known privilege, then what you tell me is a suggestion. Especially if what you’re telling me is to do more, and do better, and be more creative and productive and give, and give, and give." Meet Chris Berg...

This week's guest on The Brand is Female podcast is Dr. Juveria Zaheer, a Clinician Scientist whose research focuses on suicide, gender, and culture. Her path to mental health was rooted in her interest in hearing people’s stories -- she even tells her two young daughters that she is a 'doctor for feelings'. She is a passionate champion for her patients and for her female colleagues in medicine an...

Sandi is a dedicated philanthropist, supporter of Canadian arts and culture, and a champion for the advancement of women in sport. These passions, skills, and beliefs are matched with a wealth of knowledge and expertise gained from her successful career in banking. Like many Canadians, Sandi has been directly impacted by mental illness, which inspired her to dedicate her time and resources to vari...

“I’ve had some very rough times in life. When tragedy or anything gets, you go in and you want to blame everybody else. You don’t look at it for what it is: it’s a teacher. If you sit back, relax and get rid of the fear, and let the universe help you, you’ll be amazed at what happens.” This week's guest on The Brand is Female is Nancy Smithers, founder of Nova Scotia Organics, a line of USDA certi...

As a recognized thought leader on gender equality, diversity, and inclusion, Deborah has dedicated her career to driving social change. Prior to joining CAMH, Deborah was President & CEO of Catalyst, a global non-profit that helps build workplaces that work for women. Deborah began her career in the public sector, where her early work focused on employment equity, anti-racism, and LGBTQ2+ righ...

"Power has been so successful at denigrating women. It’s a specific pattern of patriarchy in terms of taking us away from one another. So what happens to you is something incredibly shameful that you must carry alone; an NDA may be put in front of you, and the threats are always personal. They threaten your economic security. The fact that you’re violated and you’re met with threats indicates what...

Would you be brave enough to share your own struggles with mental health, if it meant helping just one other person? Meet Carole Dagher, VP of Legal at Loblaw Group of Companies in Toronto, as well as mental health patient at CAMH. Through her own journey, Carole has become a mental health advocate for the organization. Born and raised in Lebanon, she came to Canada at the age of 13. She started h...

Hajer Nakua is a mental health researcher and advocate for Muslim women in STEM. She uses her online platforms to share the latest research about mental health and neuroscience with her North American and Middle Eastern followers, in both English and Arabic. Currently a Ph. D. candidate studying neuroscience, her research uses brain imaging technology to get a better understanding of mental health...

Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning journalist and author whose writing appears regularly in media around the world. Her work centres around defining what it means to be a woman in a world built by men. Her narrative skill, careful research, and humorous tone have been described by the New Yorker as "relentless and revelatory." In her book, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger, Soraya uses...

Have you met the woman behind the vegan shoe? Meet Tina Bhojwani, co-founder and CEO of fashion brand AERA . A high-powered fashion executive for over 2 decades, her resume includes leadership roles at global fashion brands like Donna Karan, Theory and Dolce & Gabbana. Over the course of her tenure in the industry, she came to recognize the need for change as both a business imperative and a h...

Dr. Britt Wray, PhD and post-doctoral fellow, is a globally-renowned expert on Climate Crisis Dread, studying the link between mental health and the eco-crisis. Between her newsletter, aptly named Gen Dread , her broadcasting gigs, and her books (both published and soon to be published), Dr. Wray is an authority on staying sane while facing the climate crisis. In this episode, Britt and host Eva H...

Erin Beatty is a well-known name in the fashion world. You may know her from the former globally successful womenswear label Suno, but do you know what really transpired after the brand’s closure? Picture this, it’s 2016, Donald Trump has just been elected President of the United States, and you’re still healing from the emotional strain of dealing with the broken system that is the fashion indust...

Dr Cara Miller has held several roles in the fields of leadership, organizational change, spiritual and adult development. She has taught at the University of San Diego and for Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education; and while today she does less teaching and more consulting and coaching, she is an expert when it comes to helping leaders unlock their full potential, in the workplace and...

Marissa Freed is the President of FREED and FREED , a Canadian garment manufacturer founded over 100 years ago. Since taking over the reins from her father, Marissa has made FREED evolve to offer an array of new products — their teddy coat has been quite the editorial favourite these past few winters, among other pieces. When facing the start of the Covid pandemic, Marissa led her team through a p...

Sinead Bovell made the transition from Fashion Model to Futurist, Speaker, Youth Tech Leader and Founder of WAYE , a platform that aims to bridge the gap between young entrepreneurs and the digital future. She has spoken on this topic at the UN, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on technology and the future and she’s guest-lectured at pretty impressive establishments including Cornell University, on to...

Anne Martel is the co-founder of Element AI, a Montreal-based AI startup that was deemed an almost overnight success—it was backed by some of the world’s biggest AI companies and it raised hundreds of millions of dollars from the likes of Microsoft and Intel, among others.  In the fall of 2020, it was announced that Element AI had been sold to an IT services company, making it Anne’s second s...

The Brand is Female is starting the year with the one and only Penny Abeywardena, New York City’s Commissioner for International Affairs. In her role, Penny acts as the ambassador for the largest city administration in North America. But what makes her story so fascinating is the fact that she’s overcome major hurdles along her journey. Penny came to the US as an undocumented immigrant from Sri La...

Chloe Songer is the co-founder of Thousand Fell , the New York-based sneaker company which offers a line of biodegradable shoes to promote circularity, with the goal of changing how footwear is both produced and consumed.  Before coming up with the idea of Thousand Fell in 2018, Chloe spent time in retailer Gap’s Rotational Management Program program, learning about innovative ways to create...

H.E. Dr. Amel Karboul is an author, politician, business leader and overall changemaker, who today serves as CEO of The Education Outcomes Fund , a UNICEF hosted trust fund that supports governments to help improve the education and skills of children and youth across the world. She was the first woman in history to occupy Tunisia’s Minister of Tourism position and co-led the country’s transition...

Dianna Cohen is the founder of Crown Affair , a revolutionary haircare brand that launched less than a year ago — pre-Covid — and was met with almost instant commercial and editorial success. This fact will come as no surprise to you when you hear about Dianna’s impressive resume, including her being part of Forbes’ 30 under 30, class of 2019. She is a graduate of unicorn start-ups Into the Gloss...

Better known as an actress, writer and producer who, incidentally, still dreams of appearing on a Broadway stage, Abigail Spencer began her acting career while still in high school in her Florida hometown. She’s since spent over two decades in film and TV, with roles in  Oz The Great and Powerful ,  Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Suits, Chasing Mavericks ,  Rectify ,  Timeless  ...