The Feminist Finance Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Garance Wattez-Richard, CEO of AXA Emerging Customers. Garance set up the business in 2016 as part of AXA insurance company to reach customers not traditionally served by insurance. It now has over 18 million customers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Previously, Garance led AXA's strategic efforts to better serve women customers.

If you've ever struggled to get senior management in your company to see the strategic opportunity of addressing women customers, then this episode is for you. Garance gives us a masterclass in creating practical change from the inside of a financial institution.

Garance was awarded the Schwab Foundation award for Corporate Social Intrapreneur in 2019, and the Geneva Association's first Women in Insurance award in 2020.

Dr Sara Reis is Head of Research and Policy at the Women's Budget Group. In this episode she shares the findings of the group's research into the economic position of migrant women in the UK. We speak about how UK immigration policies impact on the economic opportunities of migrant women, and the impact of both COVID-19 and Brexit and the already vulnerable position of many migrants in the UK.

Take a look at the Migrant Women and the Economy report to find out more: https://wbg.org.uk/analysis/latest-report-migrant-women-and-the-economy/

And watch the report launch webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRkYtLtmCoY

I also talk about the Homebrewed Feminism podcast, which you can find at homebrewedfeminism.com

Mercedes Bidart is cofounder of Quipu Market, a company which takes the idea of a community currency and marketplace and updates it for our age. Quipu market allows marginalised micro-businesses to buy and sell within their communities through a digital marketplace and using a digital community currency. The aim is to build and maintain wealth locally.

In this episode, I speak with Mercedes about the intensive co-design process behind Quipu, the challenges of launching in a pandemic, and the importance of creating solidarity economies.

You can find out more about Quipu on their website: quipumarket.com

This episode is a deep dive into the realities of digital financial services for women. Savita Bailur and Hélène Smertnik work at Caribou Digital, a research and advisory firm that helps its clients build inclusive and ethical digital economies. Both have worked intensively on understanding how women around the world are experiencing the shift to digital finance.

They share the importance of building trust and control into digital financial services, and the small changes to product features that can do so. We also dig into women's experiences of online work, and the opportunities as well as the huge challenges digital platforms offer women.

Find out more about Caribou Digital: cariboudigital.net

In this episode, we dig into the strange world of blockchain. Thankfully, we have Lisa Gus as our guide. Lisa is Co-founder and CEO of WishKnish, the company behind the distributed ledger technology knish.io. Lisa is also Co-Founder of VeeSee.org, and Investment and Startup Lead at the Government Blockchain Association.

We talk not only about payments and cryptocurrency, but also about childcare, the reporting of sexual harassment, and the mental health of founders. Lisa's work with blockchain encompasses all of these issues and more.

Find out more at knish.io

In this episode I speak with Ramil Añosa Andag, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics rights officer at APCOM. We delve into research conducted by APCOM into various areas of discrimination and exclusion faced by LGBTQI communities and how these link with financial inclusion.

Ramil explains why APCOM is reaching out to new actors, including development banks and the financial sector, in its efforts to improve the health and rights of LGBTQI communities in Asia and the Pacific. And we discuss how traditional and digital financial services must move beyond traditional binaries in order to become more inclusive.

You can find out more about APCOM at apcom.org

Marion Sharples is leading an exciting new project for the Women's Budget Group envisaging a gender-equal economy for the UK. Having collected women's inputs from across the UK, Marion joins us to explain why care must be at the centre of our economic future.

Marion makes a strong case for government investment in care, as well as the need for care work to take centre place in bold new proposals for our economy - including plans for a Feminist Green New Deal.

Find out more about the Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy here: wbg.org.uk/commission/

See this short video on the spirals of inequality related to care: https://vimeo.com/409866367

And find out why we need a feminist green new deal: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/its-time-to-talk-about-a-feminist-green-new-deal/

This week Iona Bain, founder of the Young Money blog, joins the podcast to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on women's and young people's finances.

With women facing disproportionate challenges and caring responsibilities in a world in lock-down, we look at whether government and the financial sector are doing enough to support them.

Iona argues that we should be particularly concerned about the long-term impact on the "coronial generation", the young people entering the work force at this time of crisis. She makes the case for the importance of this generation to our long-term prosperity and sets out why we should consider a debt jubilee.

Find out more about Iona and money tips for young people at youngmoneyblog.co.uk

Insurance is a service that we lean on in times of crisis. But for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, that protection is not always available to them.

Following up on the interview with Dr. Nicola Sharp-Jeffs - Founder & Chief Executive of Surviving Economic Abuse - this episode looks at how victims and survivors are struggling to access insurance, and what the sector can do about it.

If you work in insurance and would like to know more about how your company can support victims and survivors of economic abuse, please do get in touch: [email protected]

And you can find out more about economic abuse at survivingeconomicabuse.org

Dr. Nicola Sharp-Jeffs is Founder and Chief Executive of Surviving Economic Abuse and an expert in economic abuse within the context of coercive control.

In this episode, Nicola joins the podcast to discuss the impact of economic abuse - control over economic resources - which is experienced by the majority of victims of abuse.

Banks and other financial institutions are vital in supporting victims and survivors. In fact, Nicola explains that victims will often talk with their bank about the situation before speaking to other authorities like the police about the abuse they have experienced.

Take a listen to find out what financial institutions can do, and the important progress made in the UK in recent years.

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If you, or someone you know, are experiencing abuse, you can find out more about economic abuse and how to safeguard your economic wellbeing at SEA's website: survivingeconomicabuse.org

SEA does not provide direct support or advice to victims. However, if you are experiencing economic abuse within the context of domestic abuse or are supporting someone who is in that situation, immediate help is available. In the UK, contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or the Men’s Advice Line on 0808 801 0327. If you are in immediate danger, call the police on 999.