March 8, 2023

International Womens Day 2023 with Sheree Meredith | LAYC68

International Womens Day 2023 with Sheree Meredith | LAYC68
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Season 3

We are honoring International Women’s Day 2023!

At the same time, I have asked my listeners to celebrate my second birthday – as a podcaster and founder and host of the Lift As You Climb Podcast.

I asked Sheree Meredith to join me so that we could explore why women don't always give themselves enough credit for, and just how significantly, we impact global economies.

As an expert, she shares were women have wealth, and what they can do with it to make a difference for themselves, their own families, their communities, and around the world.

Sheree and I discuss “The Power of the Purse” and women’s role today as stewards of their own, inherited, and generational wealth. Dive into that episode and learn more about Sheree Meredith on https://lift-as-you-climb.captivate.fm/episode/sheree-meredith-legacy-planning-layc66

This is how I celebrated #IWD2021 and WOW! It was an event to remember!

https://www.theencorecatalyst.com/blog/Courage-To-Challenge-Myself

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Celebrate women's achievement. 

Raise awareness about discrimination. 

Take action to drive gender parity.

IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. Inclusion means all IWD action is valid.

#IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity

The United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.  

Transcript
Speaker:

​ Isabel: Welcome!

Speaker:

A special day indeed!

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Always a special day to be with my guests on the Lift As You Climb podcast.

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And today I'm welcoming back again, Sheree Meredith.

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And we're going to go WOO HOO!

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because it's International Woman's Day 2023.

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And specifically relevant to me, is that I launched this podcast two years ago today,

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March 8, 2021.

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I am so grateful to have a new friend in my life to help me continue this mission

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of promoting, lifting, and climbing, and reaching out and meeting new people

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and collaborating with women as we join hands and help each other around the

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world and really make a difference.

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That's what the foundation of the organization, International

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Women's UN event is about.

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It's about globally lifting each other.

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This year the theme is called DigitALL: Innovation and

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Technology for Gender Equality.

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You need technology.

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It underpins everything that we can do with to accomplish and

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to create a better life, and to empower others and provide equality.

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Today, I asked Sheree to join me so that we could talk about something

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women don't always give themselves enough credit for and just how

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significantly we impact global economies.

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I brought the expert to the stage who can talk about.

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Where women have wealth and what they can do with it to make a difference for

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themselves, their own families, their communities, and around the world.

Speaker:

So thanks , Sheree.

Sheree:

Thank you Isabel.

Sheree:

It's a pleasure.

Sheree:

And first of all, congratulations on your second year anniversary!

Sheree:

We were just, as you said, having a little conversation, but celebrating

Sheree:

that and celebrating what so many women are doing so many interesting and

Sheree:

important things around the world, and

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sometimes women are so busy doing, they don't maybe take that time

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to pause and say," Well Done!"

Sheree:

There's still lots to do it's great what's happening so far.

Sheree:

So congratulations to you, and to those who are listening to this.

Sheree:

I suspect you're listening because you are also aligned with some of these values,

Sheree:

and probably doing important things in your lives and your community.

Sheree:

I wanted to start off Isabel along this theme with a really, what

Sheree:

I think is an interesting stat,

Sheree:

and it came out of some research that was done in 2016, which

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looked at the percentage of wealth that Canadian women controlled.

Sheree:

And in 2016, it was estimated to be about 35% of Canadian wealth and

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they projected at that time that by 2026, so we're almost there,

Sheree:

that women would in fact control 48% of Canadian wealth

Sheree:

and that equates to about 900 billion dollars.

Isabel:

Wow.

Sheree:

Yeah.

Sheree:

Wow.

Sheree:

It's happened for so many different, and a combination of reasons.

Sheree:

Women certainly are earning more themselves independently, but we also

Sheree:

shouldn't forget that they're very active in managing their parents'

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investments and money as well, and often inheriting some of that.

Sheree:

So it's like all these stars aligning that through a variety of means,

Sheree:

women have direct control over a huge amount of money

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and it plays out so much in everyday life.

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We were talking in the last podcast about spending power and

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how you make choices and can choose to buy products produced by

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one company over another if you believe that one company is

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more aligned with your values or you can avoid certain kinds

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of purchases and investments.

Sheree:

We control a lot of family spend.

Sheree:

When you just think on a daily basis, the number of things that

Sheree:

probably don't think about, when you're choosing your vegetables or

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what online platform you're using;

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which one is more aligned with your values and is there a reason

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to choose one over the other?

Sheree:

There's so much going on no place more I don't think, than in the

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world of Philanthropy, where now women have this disposable income.

Sheree:

The research says that women tend to allocate a higher percentage of their

Sheree:

disposable income to philanthropic activity, higher than men.

Sheree:

P articularly, older single women are much more apt to leave a

Sheree:

legacy in their will to charity.

Sheree:

That's not surprising, but again, it accounts for a lot of opportunity

Sheree:

to really make a difference in the areas that you care about.

Sheree:

So it's, the message I think is to pay attention to this, right?

Sheree:

And, to pay attention and be strategic in all parts of your life.

Sheree:

In the discussions you have with other family members, W omen are very

Sheree:

influential in those too, even if it might be a family decision about where

Sheree:

to give or to, what to get involved in.

Sheree:

Women have a key role in those decisions.

Sheree:

So there's a huge opportunity and one to perhaps take stock of on

Sheree:

International Women's Day and ask the questions, if there's things that I

Sheree:

care about, how could I be doing more to have an impact in those areas?

Isabel:

I so like that you're bringing this up.

Isabel:

That we really should be, and we have the opportunity.

Isabel:

I'm not lecturing anybody, but that we have the opportunity to choose

Isabel:

and to be thoughtful and strategic about planning for this.

Isabel:

Because, I think that may be a relatively new awareness generationally,

Isabel:

at least for baby boomers, it was generally they've just handed down

Isabel:

to the next generation, right?

Isabel:

Certainly my parents, and the adults around me when I was a child

Isabel:

were talking about," I'm doing this so I can leave it to you.

Isabel:

I'm not going on that trip.

Isabel:

I'm not buying that.

Isabel:

I'm not doing this because I've gotta leave it to my children.

Isabel:

Whereas today, I think there's, correct me if I'm wrong, is I think there's

Isabel:

more accumulated personal wealth today than there was, 30, 40, 50 years ago.

Isabel:

But also that there are more opportunities?

Isabel:

There's more exposure to, as you say, "personally connected to your values".

Isabel:

I think there's also more single survivors.

Sheree:

And often in addition to that, when people are inheriting

Sheree:

money, they're at a much later stage in their life, right?

Sheree:

You and I probably know a number of people whose parent just died and they were like

Sheree:

a hundred, or in their late nineties.

Sheree:

So the people who are might be first in line to inherit that money

Sheree:

are really at a different phase in terms of how much they need.

Sheree:

So there is that thinking about how many generations do you pass it down?

Sheree:

In the philanthropy world, sometimes we encourage people to think

Sheree:

of adding a child to your list.

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So you're going to leave the majority to your children

Sheree:

while you have three children.

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But add one called the community and same share to that additional child.

Sheree:

Sometimes people find that easier to think about because it's not

Sheree:

like they're cutting their children out and not being fair to them,

Sheree:

but they're in fact just adding to what they would have given anyway.

Isabel:

That's such a nice, bigger perspective, a more inclusive perspective.

Isabel:

Thank you for that.

Sheree:

One of the things I think that's interesting to think about because not

Sheree:

only is there a lot of research about the money that women would have, but there's

Sheree:

also increasing awareness that often women, participate in philanthropy in a

Sheree:

different way than men historically have.

Sheree:

Like so many things in our society, the practices, the systems, the norms

Sheree:

are all really developed and defined by what men did, and it's not that

Sheree:

what men did wasn't wonderful and generous, but it might be different.

Sheree:

Sometimes women might be approaching their philanthropy and their decision

Sheree:

making and get challenged on it because it's viewed with the male lens, and

Sheree:

so what they're doing may appear, just not as decisive, or whatever.

Sheree:

So I'll give you a couple examples.

Sheree:

In the research, it shows that women tend to want to learn a lot more about

Sheree:

the issues and the organizations that they're supporting before giving.

Sheree:

And so, sometimes they're labeled by others as being risk adverse,

Sheree:

and it's not risk adverse at all.

Sheree:

It's wanting to understand things in a different way, to be more

Sheree:

informed and then more confident and trusting of where they're giving their

Sheree:

money or what they're investing in.

Sheree:

So it's really quite different, but not a problem or a defect in how we give.

Sheree:

Women also get involved often with the organizations that they're giving to,

Sheree:

but once they know those organizations, are involved, understand, they're

Sheree:

willing to support for the long term.

Sheree:

I think I might have mentioned this last time, and so many of the things we're

Sheree:

trying to address these days are complex.

Sheree:

They're not short-term, immediate solutions or we

Sheree:

would've done them already.

Sheree:

And so it's really helpful and important to have donors,

Sheree:

and in many cases women, who see this,

Sheree:

and are willing to follow along and be an ongoing supporter and try different

Sheree:

things as they come up and let go of the things that aren't working

Sheree:

and be a real partner with the people and the organizations

Sheree:

who are closest to the issues.

Sheree:

So it's a real strength in my view,

Sheree:

but sometimes it can be downplayed a little bit, because historically

Sheree:

when men were asked by friends to give money, they gave money and generously,

Sheree:

and they were recognized for that in a certain way.

Sheree:

But that doesn't look the same as how many women are choosing to, to

Sheree:

give and make a difference today.

Isabel:

Sheree, this is really so aligned in, in what we talk about today about

Isabel:

women in business and women as leaders.

Isabel:

That our style is different and our strengths are different

Isabel:

than male counterparts.

Isabel:

And again, I'm not making anybody right or wrong, it's just we are different.

Isabel:

and I like going back to where you're saying like, we can be

Isabel:

strategic about where we're going to allocate any wealth that we have,

Isabel:

any assets that we have planning ahead, thinking about the

Isabel:

legacy that we want to leave.

Isabel:

I was also thinking, as the trustee of our own legacy, it's really a fiduciary

Isabel:

responsibility to do the research on the beneficiary of that money.

Isabel:

And rather than just, I don't know, being in a pattern of,

Isabel:

that's what we've always done.",

Isabel:

or that is the person that knocked at the door or the mail-out

Isabel:

campaign that I see most often...

Isabel:

Thinking about making choices based on, as you say...

Isabel:

Longer term solutions, values really anchored into who you are...

Isabel:

And how you want your life to make a difference, and your

Isabel:

money to make a difference.

Isabel:

I think that's really great.

Isabel:

I was also, wanted to ask you like...

Isabel:

So how do you get started then?

Isabel:

I mean, you mentioned advisors and I immediately, I sort reflected in my life,

Isabel:

any advisors that I've approached, in the past that were wealth advisors...

Isabel:

Were typically men.

Isabel:

And I know that's changing,

Isabel:

but what's the situation in the philanthropic advisor world?

Sheree:

Well, I think those are all really important questions and I don't

Sheree:

want to forget to comment on your point about researching too, as part of this.

Sheree:

It is so important to begin with what do you really care about and why?

Sheree:

And your values, right?

Sheree:

And understanding yourself a little bit.

Sheree:

So if you are an entrepreneur, you might not only be interested in this

Sheree:

area, and have all of these core values, but you also might really

Sheree:

value the supporting the startups,

Sheree:

the higher risk things, the things where no one else wants to go

Sheree:

there because it's too risky.

Sheree:

But you see somebody with passion and a good idea who's not even

Sheree:

gonna be able to try it out because they don't have the support.

Sheree:

So that may align very nicely with you.

Sheree:

Some people like to support, if you like the old saying, the underdog.

Sheree:

There's that part that aligns with who you are too, right?

Sheree:

Some people split up their giving in terms of, I'll do some here, I'll do some

Sheree:

there, and I will do some responsive, when my neighbors and the kids down the

Sheree:

street come to the door, I will respond.

Sheree:

That's part of who I am too.

Sheree:

I'm a good friend and neighbor and want to support their efforts.

Sheree:

It is thinking strategically, but really identifying and flushing that out a

Sheree:

little bit more cuz in my experience...

Sheree:

Financial advisors are financial advisors, right?

Sheree:

So this isn't their core, deep area of expertise.

Sheree:

And some are very good at exploring this front end,

Sheree:

but for some it's not really their training or comfort area

Sheree:

or what they have time for even.

Sheree:

And so finding other tools, finding if you can, someone who might help you

Sheree:

with that, depending on what you want.

Sheree:

But, I have a tool that you can get through my website that

Sheree:

helps you think it through.

Sheree:

So you can do it yourself, but it's thinking through and thinking of examples

Sheree:

and thinking of stories and teasing out the key bits from that.

Sheree:

And then beginning to identify

Sheree:

and really hone in that where you'd like to make a difference and following

Sheree:

that comes the understanding that area.

Sheree:

And sometimes when people say, you need to do your research,

Sheree:

I find what people jump to these days is...

Sheree:

I need to look at the admin costs of the organization.

Sheree:

And I think that's taken us down a really dangerous rabbit hole.

Sheree:

Because the numbers are all hard to understand.

Sheree:

Different organizations report them differently.

Sheree:

So it's really hard to give real meaning to when you're

Sheree:

comparing apples and oranges.

Sheree:

For example, I used to work for an organization where there were

Sheree:

local chapters, a provincial, and then a national organization.

Sheree:

In this field, the local chapters provided all the service to people

Sheree:

and all the fundraising was done, largely by the provincial organization.

Sheree:

So if you looked at their books, the amount that they spent on raising

Sheree:

money looked horrendous, right?

Sheree:

But that's in fact, what they did.

Sheree:

and then they just passed that money to the locals who actually provided

Sheree:

the service and spent very little.

Sheree:

So you'd look at that, say, oh, their admin costs are much better

Sheree:

there,, but in fact you weren't comparing apples and apples.

Sheree:

so understanding the organizations and, but most importantly,

Sheree:

understanding the issue.

Sheree:

So if you are trying to address food security, while it's important

Sheree:

to support the food banks, the food banks are not going to

Sheree:

eliminate food insecurity, right?

Sheree:

So what is it that you could do that would help address that root cause or

Sheree:

that underlying, which is often about poverty, mental health, housing, adequate

Sheree:

jobs with adequate pay, things like that.

Sheree:

So are there things that you could, give to, support ,advocate for that

Sheree:

would in fact have a bigger, long-term, and what would be different kinds

Sheree:

of organizations you might support?

Sheree:

They might be more advocacy policy or organization, systemic

Sheree:

change kinds of organization.

Sheree:

and you might also want to give on the ground to help people eat this week cuz

Sheree:

you have to eat and that's so important.

Sheree:

But if you're really trying to promote long-term change, an

Sheree:

additional strategy is needed.

Sheree:

So understanding the complexity, understanding where you could invest

Sheree:

to make a difference, and then understanding what kind of investment.

Sheree:

And by investing, I'm talking about giving and other ways of supporting, where you

Sheree:

could and how you could go about it.

Sheree:

And then I think you go to your financial advisors and say, look,

Sheree:

this is what I'm hoping to do.

Sheree:

Tell me what financial strategies I should use, what are the best vehicles

Sheree:

given my personal financial situation?

Sheree:

That's where they're going to have the deep expertise and know the options

Sheree:

and you can weigh those options.

Sheree:

And, but it's not necessarily in the upfront stuff.

Sheree:

And it's the upfront stuff that's equally important in terms of strategy, not just

Sheree:

financial strategy, but impact strategy.

Isabel:

I really like that you're opening that up for some thought.

Isabel:

That you don't have to limit yourself to one bucket, or one area of the problem.

Isabel:

Because frankly, that has been overwhelming for me in the past...

Isabel:

Where I think...

Isabel:

I can't possibly solve this with my small contribution, but knowing

Isabel:

that I could look at it and say,

Isabel:

I can give this much to immediate short-term needs, and I can allocate some

Isabel:

of my funds to longer term solutions.

Isabel:

And I can also allocate some of my own sweat- equity by being involved, and

Isabel:

active in, whatever the program is...

Isabel:

To use your example, the food bank.

Isabel:

So I've done work at the food bank, as part of a Rotary Club, and at the same

Isabel:

time we were also raising funds to give to the food bank to buy more supplies.

Isabel:

But looking at long-term issues like farming, agriculture,

Isabel:

or education of people....

Isabel:

To grow their own gardens, et cetera...

Isabel:

Was also an aspect of that...

Isabel:

Which kind of feels empowering!

Sheree:

It does, and sometimes some of those, vehicles get you

Sheree:

into really exciting bigger areas.

Sheree:

So for example, in some of the environmental issues, climate change

Sheree:

and that there are some really interesting funds that you can use

Sheree:

your investments to invest in too.

Sheree:

So asking your investment advisor, if I wanted to invest in green technologies

Sheree:

or something like, what's up there?

Sheree:

What's out there for me?

Sheree:

and they should willingly try and have a look at that for you.

Isabel:

that's really, compounding, I guess you would say in financial terms.

Isabel:

Because if you're investing and your investments are doing well,

Isabel:

then you are creating more, for you to give in your donation buckets.

Sheree:

But also your investments might be directly impacting

Sheree:

and still making a return.

Sheree:

Right?

Sheree:

There's a growing group of people doing that thing where you're making

Sheree:

an adequate financial return, because the old myth was that if it was having

Sheree:

a social or an environmental benefit, then you wouldn't be making a financial

Sheree:

return, and that's just not true.

Sheree:

I remember actually many years ago when the Edmonton Community

Sheree:

Foundation started down this road.

Sheree:

They were real leaders in Canada in terms of taking some of what they

Sheree:

had invested in the stock market, and investing it in things that had

Sheree:

a social and environmental good and return and everybody was very critical.

Sheree:

And then that was the year that the stock market tanked and everybody else's returns

Sheree:

came out at like, minus 12 or something.

Sheree:

And they were making a 7% return with these other investments.

Sheree:

And suddenly people went, okay, so you know, maybe we should think about this.

Sheree:

And so there's just more options these days.

Sheree:

And then you add to that, as I was saying earlier, your spending.

Sheree:

and your influence, right?

Sheree:

So you care a lot about the certain area.

Sheree:

So maybe you post articles on that area, on your social media, or get your

Sheree:

book club to read a book about that.

Sheree:

It's a really...

Sheree:

It's compounding as you said.

Sheree:

I think that's a good word for it.

Sheree:

We shouldn't get discouraged, and underestimate as the old saying goes,

Sheree:

the difference one person can make.

Sheree:

Because if we all were doing that, there would be a huge impact collectively.

Sheree:

It's a bit overwhelming these days I think, but it's important

Sheree:

not to lose sight that, many dots makes the impressionist painting.

Isabel:

I like that.

Isabel:

and so this is my why for doing this podcast.

Isabel:

To create an opportunity to bring forward new ideas, new

Isabel:

information, opportunities to open up thinking, and to put a spotlight

Isabel:

on opportunities to improve ourselves, to grow and become our best selves.

Isabel:

And when we do that, then we have the ability to do more, to lift others.

Isabel:

So I really appreciate you contributing to that.

Isabel:

That's just tremendous.

Sheree:

One more thing.

Sheree:

there's so many interesting, dynamic groups these days out

Sheree:

there, and many of them are led by young, value driven people.

Sheree:

And it's really, I think, fun and interesting and I would encourage

Sheree:

people to take a look out there if you, whatever your interest area...

Sheree:

You know what's happening in that field nationally, internationally?

Sheree:

And join in with some of the others who share the same passion, cuz

Sheree:

it's a lot more fun and engaging.

Sheree:

And sometimes you'll also be able to amplify the difference you're making,

Sheree:

but you'll also hear about some of the interesting things,

Sheree:

particularly in the women's area, but all over, in particularly around

Sheree:

social justice issues, and equity, and some of those things.

Sheree:

There's just amazing things going on, being talked about, and especially

Sheree:

since COVID, a lot of this is online.

Sheree:

You can join a webinar, you can learn for free about so many of these things.

Isabel:

Absolutely.

Isabel:

Which kind of brings us back to the UN theme for this year,

Isabel:

for International Women's Day.

Isabel:

Digitalle, the technology part enables us to connect all around the world,

Isabel:

as you say, whether you're sitting in your living room or on the internet.

Isabel:

And you can discover and you can connect, which I think is

Isabel:

for me even more important.

Isabel:

A s one of my recent guests on the podcast, Genevieve Piturro, who was

Isabel:

the founder of the Pajama Program, promotes it's the power of one another...

Isabel:

It's the human connection that's moving the mountains.

Isabel:

And I feel like this is another way where if you feel like, really,

Isabel:

I don't have enough to make a difference, my net worth, what I will

Isabel:

have left isn't that significant?

Isabel:

It's.

Isabel:

Combined with every, with some others who share, common values

Isabel:

and who are like-minded, you really do make a difference.

Sheree:

'You absolutely do.

Sheree:

Yeah!

Sheree:

So, Happy International women's Day!

Isabel:

Thank you so very much, and to everyone who is

Isabel:

listening, everyone of you of.

Isabel:

You had a mother, she was a woman.

Isabel:

There were women in your lives.

Isabel:

Hug them.

Isabel:

Celebrate them...

Isabel:

And thank them!

Isabel:

And be sure in the show notes, with this episode to look at

Isabel:

Sheree's contact information.

Isabel:

Go to her website.

Isabel:

She's got a tool there, a resource that really help you think about it.

Isabel:

Work through What matters to you and get started.

Isabel:

And I know, because she's very generous of heart...

Isabel:

If you need some more direction around that, connect with

Isabel:

her and she'll help you.

Isabel:

So thank you Sheree.

Isabel:

I am so excited.

Isabel:

We'll talk again very soon.

Isabel:

Thanks.

Isabel:

And everyone else, make sure that you listen to the episode last week

Isabel:

where Sheree and I waxed poetically on many interesting topics.

Isabel:

All right, bye for now!

Isabel:

Thanks Isabel.