On the 12 August I was delighted to be invited by Melbourne Business School to attend their annual Women and Management Dinner, with this year being “How Women Can Change the World”
The key speakers at the event were Audette Exel CEO and cofounder of ISIS Foundation . ISIS is a financial services firm established some years ago to generate revenue for its own charitable foundation. Jill Reichstein Chair of the Reichstein Foundation , a philanthropic organization established by Jill’s father, Lance Reichstein many years ago was the other keynote speaker.
Jill cited some amazing statistics around poverty in relation to women and children. This included that 70% of the world’s women and children live in poverty, with 66% of women being illiterate. The other concerning and thought provoking statistic was that only 1% of the world’s property is owned by women. Given the sense of power that is attached to property and controlling property this statistic is very disturbing indeed.
It was an inspiring event, to have the opportunity to hear the stories of these two amazing women who have made such a positive impact on so many peoples lives both in Australia and overseas. The passion, courage and selflessness of these women to make a difference to the world were apparent – that left you pondering your own contributions. What else can I do? What is my area of expertise and passion that can make a difference?
The message that came through was that we can all contribute to having a positive impact on the world and we don’t all have to be as hands on as Audette and Jill. Jill used the words that we can contribute Time, Talent or Treasure. Some of us may contribute money, others maybe contribute their time to caring for others, or using there skills to assist charities with more business focused activities. Either way the take-away was to think about what contribution we can make.