Opinion: Investing in our women for our future generations

I’ve worked in the NGO sector for over 20 years and have always felt that the work I do has helped to fill the gap that the public sector couldn’t. A space where I could authentically support and empower women, and not just see them as another number or another statistic. I’ve always been motivated by my desire to nurture women to see them not only survive but thrive. Over the years I’ve realised this isn’t something that one individual can achieve. It requires real systemic change if we are to achieve true female empowerment with tangible results. 

I started the Warrior Woman Foundation in 2020, my second not-for-profit venture working to help young women. I wanted to now work on trying to help women in the 17-25 age bracket achieve independence through financial well-being with a specific focus on financial literacy. I’ve seen firsthand the way that financial literacy and healthy habits can transform someone’s life and prevent the cycle of social inequality from reproducing itself. This motivated me to start the Warrior Woman Foundation and make a real difference by getting to the root cause of the issues facing these young women. 

The Warrior Woman Foundation is an organisation dedicated to helping young women break the cycle of inequality by mentoring them and empowering them to achieve financial independence through financial literacy. The foundation also has a holistic philosophy centred around connection, support and education. The foundation came about when I saw the need for support for women once they had aged out of the foster care system as many had become institutionalised by the system and unable to develop healthy habits due to a lack of direction and stable mentors or support people in their lives. The Warrior Women Foundation aims to break that cycle of inequality and poverty through early intervention rooted in education delivered in a supportive and empathetic environment. 

Despite the work that I do being important on an individual level, working in the NGO sector has widened my eyes to the need for systemic change to truly agitate for a better collective future for women. It’s pleasing to see this is starting to happen. I was so happy to hear that recently the Albanese Federal Labor Government has announced the expansion of Paid Parental Leave to include Superannuation, making motherhood and financial stability a possible reality for Australian women. For years women have struggled to manage the ventures of motherhood while trying and often failing to maintain their financial stability. Finally, our government has listened and provided systemic changes to provide a fertile space for women to have a better chance at economic security. It is these systemic changes and informed policy-making decisions that have enabled us to finally start to dismantle the popular culture tropes of motherhood we all know, with motherhood represented as a single and limiting choice at odds with the best financial outcomes for women. Now finally after years of fighting it seems it may just be possible for women to have both.  

As we approach this year’s International Women’s Day, I reflect on the theme for this year ‘Inspiring Inclusion’ and feel the sentiments of the theme deeply as I think about the Warrior Woman Foundation, what it stands for, and why I started the charity. Women’s rights are not just about the micro and the individual, but are about the macro, the system-wide change and the global activism needed to continue having wins and taking ground for all of us. Bettering the lives of women is not just up to the individual, it’s everyone’s business and we all have a role to play. While writing this, a quote by the incredible Gloria Steinem echoed profoundly in my mind “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation, but by the collective efforts of all who care about human rights”. This couldn’t be more true, with mentorship being the key to empowering the women of today to be our future leaders of tomorrow.  

If we don’t invest in the women of today and don’t empower them through mediums like education, leadership and business, what hope do we have? International Women’s Day has been running since 1911, and along the way, we’ve had some big wins and fought hard. But we can’t take those wins for granted and underestimate the power that it took to get us here. When we fight, we win. But when we do it together and empower one another along the way, that’s where the true magic happens. 

Jessica Brown

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essica Brown is the Founder of The Warrior Woman Foundation, winner of the 2022 Snow Entrepreneurs Fellowship and former NSW Woman of the Year Winner. As a former high school teacher working in Southwestern Sydney for over a decade, Jessica’s passion has always been assisting the students at risk of falling through the cracks of the education and welfare systems.

The Warrior Woman Foundation is Jessica’s second social empire after founding the Life-Changing Experiences Foundation in 2003 and its multi-award winning SISTER2sister program, which she led as CEO for 17 years. The Warrior Woman Foundation is a national holistic support model assisting under-represented, vulnerable young Australian women to become resilient, independent, and capable of taking their place in the world.

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