Category: Women in Business

Barajas-Román: For Equal Pay Day, Women’s Funds Urge More Action

Statement by Women’s Funding Network President and CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román on the need for collective action to address equal pay for women

SAN FRANCISCO  —  Equal Pay Day is March 24, 2021, spotlighting how far into the next year women have to work to be paid the same amount that a man was paid the previous year. Women’s Funding Network President and CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román issued the following statement:

equal pay
Women’s Funding Network CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román speaks for women’s funds and their allies, demanding more action to address pay equity. (Image credit: Natalie Hua on Unsplash)

“In the United States, women on average make only 82 cents for every dollar made by an average white man, but for women of color, the gap is even worse. For each dollar a white non-Hispanic man is paid on average, Black women earn 63 cents, Native women earn 60 cents, and Latina women earn only 55 cents. This means that in 2021, Latina women would have to work until October 21, 2021 —  nearly an entire extra year of work — to finally catch up to the same amount of earnings that white men were paid in 2020 alone.

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Announcing Recipients of The Fifth Third Foundation’s Grant Program

The Fifth Third Foundation’s Innovation Meets Main Street program has announced the black, women-owned businesses receiving $1.2M in grants.

Announced in September 2020, the Innovation Meets Main Street program was designed to empower black, women-owned businesses throughout the U.S. (Image credit: Fifth Third Foundation)
Launched in September 2020, the Innovation Meets Main Street program was designed to empower black, women-owned businesses throughout the U.S. (Image credit: Fifth Third Foundation)

The Fifth Third Foundation announced the recipients of $1.2 million in grants for Black, woman-owned businesses and the organizations that serve them through the Innovation Meets Main Street: Boosting Black, Woman-owned Businesses program, which was announced in September 2020.

The initiative was a partnership between Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity and was completely powered by Fifth Third as a part of a larger $8.75 million pledge to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Ray of Hope for Women-Led Small Businesses

The funding platform Kickfurther has awarded a considerable amount of funding to Spinster Sisters, a women-led small business.

Funding for women led small businesses has often had a gender gap that has proven to be detrimental to them. In recent years, large strides have been made to close this gap and more funding has been allocated for women run businesses. 

Spinster Sisters founder Kelly Perkins (Image credit: Spinster Sisters)

Recently, a no-cost financing giveaway held by Kickfurther was awarded to a women owned business called Spinster Sisters. This win for one small business signals the progress being made for all women owned businesses. 

Kickfurther aims to help small businesses through the pandemic

Kickfurther is a platform for inventory funding that is supported by investors behind Robinhood, Tesla, Twitter and other investors. The platform allows for small businesses to be supported by those who like their product while allowing these supporters to make a profit when the inventory is sold. 

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Susan McPherson’s “The Lost Art of Connecting” Now Available

Susan McPherson, Founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, has announced that her book “The Lost Art of Connecting” debuts this month.

"The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships" will be released on March 23rd, 2021. (Image credit: McPherson Strategies)
“The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships” will be released on March 23rd, 2021. (Image credit: McPherson Strategies)

Editor’s Note: The following announcement is from Susan McPherson.

I am excited to share with you some big news: my new book “The Lost Art of Connecting will be out this month! Imagine launching a book all about the importance of building deep, meaningful connections throughout your career during a global pandemic when we have been socially isolated for 11+ months. Well, that’s me.

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Lis Williams: “I Had It Within Me To Create Something New”

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Lis Williams, Founder of AWE Partners, LLC, a social impact advisory firm that educates female entrepreneurs and executives on how to bake mission into their life and business for more passion, purpose, and profit.

lis williams
Lis Williams is the Founder of AWE Partners, LLC, a social impact advisory firm dedicated to educating and empowering female entrepreneurs. (Image Credit: AWE Partners/Elisabeth Williams)

1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

I wish I had known that there was a way to blend all of my passions and turn it into a career. 

I studied business in undergrad and then went on to pursue my MBA. I loved business, but I was also passionate about making a difference in the world. At the time I was in the corporate world, back in the late 80s and 90s, there wasn’t as much opportunity to merge profit and purpose. And there certainly wasn’t as much of a concern for people and the planet! I wish I had known that I had it within me to create something new – a new way forward.

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The BitGive Strategy to Support Women Via Crypto-Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Connie Gallippi, Founder and Executive Director of the BitGive Foundation, which supports cryptocurrency-driven philanthropy. 

Connie Gallippi
Connie Gallippi, courtesy of Connie Gallippi

1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

Prior to founding BitGive, I worked in another profession for 15 years. It was another world, so to speak. Entering the budding Bitcoin industry in its early years (2013), I wish I had known more to expect the challenge of aligning the perspectives of those in finance and tech with a vision of revolutionizing global philanthropy. 

In my previous career, I worked with environmental nonprofits in California, advocating within the California legislature, and state and regional agencies. It was a challenge, but eventually we were able to get them to see the benefits of investing in natural resources. Shifting the perspective of tech- and finance- driven people to see how we could dramatically improve philanthropy, and to then take action and invest in our innovative approach, has been more of a gap than I anticipated; however, we are making great strides with our work and through our partnerships, and I can see a significant shift in sight!  

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Women on Top, New Initiative to Give $1M In Scholarships and Grants

Fashion Nova and Megan Thee Stallion announce the “Women on Top” initiative, which will give $1 million to women in grants and scholarships.

The Women on Top Initiative will be giving $1 in grants and scholarships to women until the end of March. (Image credit: Fashion Nova)
The Women on Top Initiative will be giving $1 in grants and scholarships to women until the end of March. (Image credit: Fashion Nova)

Fashion Nova, a leading e-commerce fashion lifestyle brand, and cultural icon, Megan Thee Stallion, announced “Women on Top,” a philanthropic initiative focused on women empowerment through the donation of funds to help support education, women-owned businesses, female-focused charities and organizations, and other inspirational women doing great things. Throughout the month, Fashion Nova Cares will highlight the various women, entrepreneurs and organizations who were preselected to receive $25,000 or more, for a total of $1,000,000.

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Tracy Gary on Activating Donors for Gender Justice

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Tracy Gary, Philanthropic and Legacy Advisor at Unleashing Generosity.

Tracy Gary
Tracy Gary is a philanthropist, nonprofit entrepreneur, and legacy mentor who has worked tirelessly to help others experience the joy of giving charitable dollars to causes they care about. (Image Credit: Tracy Gary)

1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

My sense of abundance and true resourcefulness has come from giving and service to the nonprofit sector. We can’t do it well without mentors.

From the time I was first exposed to my parents’ giving and their encouragement about my donating, even as a teenager it was clear to me that determining what to give to and how possibly to choose amidst issues, populations and changes needed, would take careful community listening and some wise elder guidance or partnerships.

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Financial Firms Merge to Maximize Social Justice Returns for Investors

Abacus Wealth Partners and Robasciotti & Philipson have announced a merger to focus the firm on investors supporting social justice.

Rachel Robasciotti (left) and Maya Philipson (right) will be the new Director of Advocacy Engagement and Strategic Advisor, respectively, of Abacus following the merger. (Image credit: GlobeNewswire)
Rachel Robasciotti (left) and Maya Philipson (right) will be the new Director of Advocacy Engagement and Strategic Advisor, respectively, of Abacus following the merger. (Image credit: GlobeNewswire)

A merger was announced on March 3rd between Abacus Wealth Partners (“Abacus”), an impact-driven financial planning and wealth management firm, and the nationally-acclaimed, social justice-aligned investment firm, Robasciotti & Philipson (“R&P”), headquartered in San Francisco. Together, the two firms will operate under the Abacus name, and co-founders Rachel Robasciotti and Maya Philipson will now serve on the Abacus team as Director of Advocacy Engagement and Strategic Advisor, respectively. Through this merger, Abacus welcomes 115 additional households representing $130M in assets.

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Women’s Wealth and Gender Lens Thinking at Ruderman Family Fdn

As women’s global wealth continues to rise, philanthropists are turning toward an exciting new era of female empowerment and intelligent grantmaking in feminist philanthropy. At The Ruderman Family Foundation, a Massachusetts-based grantmaking entity devoted to disability inclusion and strengthening the Jewish community in the United States and abroad, leadership sits in the hands of two powerful and committed women: Sisters-in-law Sharon Shapiro and Shira Ruderman.

Sisters-in-law Sharon Shapiro (left) and Shira Ruderman (right) stand with Jay Ruderman (center), President of the Ruderman Family Foundation, where Sharon serves as Trustee and Community Liaison and Shira serves as Executive Director. (Image Credit: The Ruderman Family Foundation)

“Choosing a mission is based on values,” says Shira Ruderman, Executive Director of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “My Jewish values and who we are as people are have a great impact on choosing the topics you want to work on and how you want to conduct your business and philanthropy. We concentrated in the last 18 years on inclusion of people with disabilities and strengthening the relationship between American Jewry and the State of Israel. We believe in strategic philanthropy and do our best to lead through best practices.”

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