EqualizHER: Recent Episodes
Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
In this Financy EqualizHER podcast we chat to Trenna Probert, the vivacious personality and brains behind Australian fintech Super Fierce. Trenna is a mum of boys and an innovative entrepreneur who cares deeply about helping women take control of their financial futures. Her equality story started early as a determined and aspiring golf star, who fought her way for recognition and out of difficult situations in a male dominated space. Today she's just as fierce and inspirational as a business woman who is letting the world know she aims to shake up the way wealth works for women for the better.
In this EqualizHER podcast, Joanne Edwards is the chief risk and data officer of ASX-listed fintech Wisr. She's a person who is building on the shoulders of many women in data science before and is helping to bring more leadership diversity to her field. She remembers starting her career as the only woman in her course area, before being one of only two women in her office - which made her a nervous wreck when it came to presentations. Today Joanne is leading the charge for women in STEM and she's using data insights to help people break down barriers to financial education.
In this EqualizHER Podcast, Queenie Tan is the fininfluencer star Invest with Queenie. Her journey started from a flat broke experience, where the only way out was to go frugal, get a better job and start investing with whatever’s left over. Today she’s actively building her own investment portfolio and taking tens of thousands of followers, particularly young 20-something women, on TikTok and Instagram with her.
In this EqualizHER Podcast, Kate Farrar is the CEO of LGIASuper a fund responsible for managing $24 billion in member funds. She also sits on the boards of multiple companies. As a classical musician at heart, Kate is at her best when she is in the moment. She grew up not seeing gender inequality, which she sees as a benefit because it led to the belief that anything was possible for women particularly in leadership.
In this EqualizHER Podcast, Licia Heath is the CEO of Women for Election and she’s on a mission to get more women into politics. Her light bulb moment came after the birth of her first child whilst working in a fast-paced financial services environment. She was exhausted by the work and mental load. Things just didn’t seem fair, and this helped give rise to a purpose to encourage and fearlessly support more women to enter the political arena and start to change policies so that they reflect half of the population.
In this EqualizHER Podcast, Carol Schwartz was raised in an equal opportunity home where she was encouraged to try things but always expected to attend school. It wasn’t really until university that she started noticing that more women than men dropping out of degrees, either to have children or travel. It was an eye-opener then, and today she’s constantly outraged and determined to help change the barrier that prevent women from stepping up and into leadership positions.
In this EqualizHER Podcast, Meggie Palmer is a former Australian journalist turned accidental entrepreneur and pay coach. It was a peeved off moment that led to her eventually starting Peptalkher which is all about helping women close the gender pay gap. The inspiration for it was upon finding out she was being underpaid compared to her male colleagues for the same role. Today she encourages other women to share their stories and take action.
In this EqualizHER Podcast, we speak to Nicole Forrester, a proud indigenous Australian businesswomen who is the head of the off of purpose at Fujitsu for Australia and New Zealand. It’s a pretty cool job title for a Navy reject. Yes, it wasn’t her first career choice. She wanted to be a Navy clearance diver but was knocked back because she was female. It was a light bulb moment for her which has driven a life-long commitment towards helping teams thrive because of their difference be that gender, culture or other.
In this Financy EqualizHER Podcast we chat with Sally Loane who's voice you might recall as the former host of the Morning program on 702 ABC Sydney. Growing up she was told that girls could do anything - thanks to a progressive 70s school and upbringing. As a journalist she never felt under paid or overlooked because of her gender. But when she hit the corporate sector to enter the world of financial services, she experienced her own lightbulb moment on leadership and achieving gender diversity.
In this Financy EqualizHER podcast we chat to Catherine Robson, who recalls a time that her mother said to her "that women are only one husband away from poverty." It's a comment that has stuck her and it drove a desire to work in finance despite always thinking she was never good at Math. Today Catherine is a highly skilled wealth strategist and non-executive director of various organisations including SCALE Investors, which invests in female led start-ups. Interestingly, her experience as a young girl, still keeps her seeking financial security today, even though she has an impressive portfolio which she shares with us.
Leigh Russell is a champion of gender equality, diversity and inclusion in sport. Her story was one where she noticed that when it came to her playing sport, she wasn’t the focus, her brothers were. Her mother was given house keeping money to run the home. These were things that made her question gender equality at a very young age and she was driven to get out of her circumstances. It was normalised but confusing. Today she is the former CEO of Swimming Australia and a champion for change in business and sport. If you’re wondering if she is tough enough – a question she’s often asked – hell yes!
Brooke Roberts is a New Zealand entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is one of six co-founders of the micro-investing platform Sharesies. Her gender equality story started early. She remembers not being able to compete against the boys at sport – and questioning why! She was also aware of the financial impact of her parent’s divorce and what that meant in terms of having enough to do nice things compared to those who could not. It was an experience that stuck with her and it's what drives her today in working to ensure everyone has the opportunity to build wealth from a low base.
"It's not women that need to change, it's the environments they are working in that has to change." That's the strong view of the incredible Catherine Fox in this Financy EqualizHER podcast.
Fox, who is a leading commentator on women and equality in the workforce, an award-winning journalist, author and presenter, talks to us about feminism in the 70s and what's changed today, what hasn't and what needs to. Fox has published five books, including “Stop Fixing Women” which along with her journalism was awarded the 2017 Walkley Award for Women’s Leadership in Media.
Phil Hayes St Clair is big on talking about gender equality but not because it's topical but because he wants better for his daughters. He's an entrepreneur and has a number of successful companies under his belt such as Drop Bio, a digital health company focused on chronic inflammation and an interesting project called the Laundry Guy - which was born during the rise of unpaid work in COVID lockdowns.
Annabel Crabb is an award winning Australian political journalist, commentator and television host. Her equality journey started at 14 with a copy of Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch. While she’s never felt constrained by her gender, she’s seen toxic gossip hurt women’s careers and she’s observed the different treatment and experiences of men and women in politics and in the media. She’s never been motivated by money but admits could do with a financial makeover.
Natasha Janssens is an inspirational and awarded money coach and author who likes to keep life and money simple. She's the gone through a journey of ditching perfect on the home front to focus on her business and passion - helping women build wealth through Women With Cents. On finance, likes mico-investing apps but draws the line at cashflow apps and crypto. Here's her money & equality story.
Jo Burston is the CEO of Job Capital, founder of Inspiring Rare Birds, an awarded entrepreneur and trendsetter. Over her career, she's had hard fought wins, battled sexism and inequalities and has loads of advice for women and advice on these issues.
Lelde Smits is an awarded entrepreneur, finance journalist and is proudly the youngest Director and female director of the Australian Shareholders’ Association. She's unassuming, a Cinderella feminist - the kind of woman that always smiles when the chips are down but empowers you with her lipstick and the show must go on approach. She's got lessons about unlearning the Cinderella story and fighting the hard battles in business to get respect.
Michelle Redfern is on a mission to achieve gender diversity in the business and sporting arenas. Next to her family, sport is her passion and it allows her to cut through barriers - even "talk Bloke" at times. She's very much the woman you want on your side when you are pushing for equality in the elite space. Her career has been one of a frustrated senior executive, entrepreneur and one of Australia’s women of influence. She doesn’t have one moment that triggered a burning desire to change the world for women but many – so let’s hear them.
Mariam Mohammed is an inspirational young woman and a fierce advocate for migrant women, equality and justice. Typical perhaps of her generation in her digital smarts but anything but typical when it comes to her ability to engage with audiences and organisations to drive positive change. She was borne in Pakistan and tells us how she fought to be educated, she fought BS to be able to play sports, even when those around her thought it was "whorish" and she fought to not be treated differently to her brother. She continues that fight today as an entrepreneur and highly sought after speaker.
EY chief economist Joanne Master remembers feeling sick the day she realised she was on the stereotypical side of the gender pay gap. That was many years ago, and while a lot has changed for Jo, in that she's now a powerhouse of Australian economics, she still fights daily for equality for women. On the home front, she's a rule breaking Mum who's unashamably prone to a few weet-bix dinners.
Money commentator and educator across media platforms and high schools Nicole Pederson-Mckinnon has a way for communicating finance that almost anyone can understand. It's because talking money was just the way she grew up and as she says "it was on the menu." Her collision with equality and old-school newspaper men was something she has faced off against in her career but it's also what has driven her to challenge the status quo to get more women reading about money and how to invest it.
She is also the author of best-selling new book, How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, in which real Aussies reveal how they’ve accomplished the real Australian dream faster, smarter and cheaper.
Nicole was an editor with Financial Times Business in London by the age of 24 and, on her return to Australia at age 28, launched and then edited The Australian Financial Review’s Smart Investor magazine for eight years. Her money insights have now appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald/Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age newspapers, and on all related websites, for more than 15 years.
She has won the awards for best personal finance and investment journalist in Australia and the United Kingdom, respectively, and – usually – travels the country giving speeches and MC-ing events, including on multiple occasions at Canberra's Parliament House.
Alongside plenty of TV appearances and Zoom presentations, Nicole has been giving social media updates on the financial help available in these crazy coronavirus times, reaching more than half a million people. She also went public with her recent breast cancer fight and victory, to try and help other women get diagnosed early.
Award-winning writer and social commentator Jane Caro was breastfed equality milk. She has always sought out what is fair and she goes so far as saying that it's her north star. She has a powerful message on fighting for what’s right, on privilege, workplace discrimination and bias and importantly what women can do by not being afraid to fail.
Welcome to EqualizHER podcast with Bianca Hartge-Hazelman.
Every woman has a money and gender equality story. The EqualizHER podcast is all about getting personal with remarkable women on equality & money, as well as testing financial apps & hacks and challenging you each week on how to get even!