What if women around the world had a single platform through which to support and “upscale” each other? That’s the goal for Dr. Dweck’s and Rachel’s guest on this episode of Busine$$ of the V. Amy Williams is Founder and CEO at Fem Foundry, a one-of-a-kind online resource of the sort she wished were available when she was navigating a lonely, challenging life passage.

Some 74% of women globally report that they have no role models from whom to draw inspiration – a troubling gap that Fem Foundry aims to fill with its free app, which is easily accessible to the 94% of women worldwide who own a mobile phone. Fem Foundry members convene at the intersection between community, learning and networking.

Amy shares a bit of her story and the series “of unfortunate events” that inspired her to create what she needed but could not locate on the web: a safe space for women to exchange support, ideas and learning. Fem Foundry is based around the pillars of health central its members’ lives: physical, mental, financial, social and spiritual. Learn how Amy marshaled her digital business skills to create an authentic, female-friendly platform on which information of all kinds is readily accessible to women in all circumstances.

With an entrepreneurial vision that’s expanding daily, Amy talks about her business model as well as the leading-edge, original research in which Fem Foundry’s conversations, classes and events are rooted. The women talk about role models as well as some breaking news regarding the reported impacts of Covid-19 vaccines on women’s menstrual cycles. There’s also a HOT FLASH report that will resonate with anyone who has felt down or anxious (and who hasn’t?) since the advent of pandemic.

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HOT FLASH: There has been a significant surge in cases of anxiety and depression since over the course of pandemic,according to Reuters news service. And the incidence is most prevalent among women.

TOPICS COVERED:

• About Fem Foundry and how it was conceived in the confluence of Amy’s career experience and a series of “cataclysmic” life experiences.
• Amy was deeply impacted by working in toxic, “old boys” environments that pitted women against one another and framed career advancement through a prism of scarcity.
• Fem Foundry is designed as a space for women to find refuge, support and support in a variety of realms: professional, mental, physical, financial, spiritual and social.
• Health (by all definitions) is at the forefront of the Fem Foundry platform, and integrated into all the life pillars the community explores.
• About how conversations at Fem Foundry are curated and the fact that everything on the platform traces to original research.
• Some 74% of women globally don’t feel they have access to a female role model.
• Dr. Dweck reflects on women who come to her as a “last stop” because they’ve been unable to find community or reliable resources to help them with a given issue.
• Anecdotal Insight: Women are talking both on the Fem Foundry platform and in the offices of doctors (including Dr. Dweck) about what seem to be impacts on women’s menstrual cycles after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.
• Hot off the Press: Two new reports about potential Covid-19 vaccines impacts on women’s health:
  • A new study published in the British Medical Journal reveals that some 4,000 women in the U.S. and 5,700 women in Norway have reported menstrual changes or unexpected vaginal bleeding since receiving Covid-19 vaccines.
  • According to a recent report in HealthDay,  two new international studies (from the UK, U.S. and Norway) offer reassurance that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccines significantly outweigh any fertility or reproductive risks.
• Fem Foundry’s community demographic: The research they’ve conducted was based on women between ages 17 and 65 in 19 countries over the course of five years. Transgenerational relationships have formed out of this diversity of women members.
• Fem Foundry’s predominant demographic is currently women ages 25-40, but the goal is to widen the audience and serve women up to the age of 65.
• Monetizing the platform: Fem Foundry is currently “pre-revenue” with global ambitions to unite women and open up a robust conversation that will ultimately be subscriber-based (with price points available to be inclusive of all income levels as well as a pay-as-you-go option and a grant system).
• The Fem Foundry platform is mobile, which is key since 94% of women globally have a mobile phone. Amy expect there will eventually be ads.
• What Fem Foundry offers: Information and community, an Academy with educational resources, event hosting and access to the “metaverse” of NFTs.
• Are Men Allowed? The answer is: Yes! Amy wants to be inclusive and also there are many men who are themselves “diehard” feminists. That said, it’s one strike and you’re out for men who do participate on the platform. Providing safety is the No. 1 priority.
• Dr. Dweck recalls med school role models and how she was drawn to them based on their individual strengths without regard to gender.
• Words of Wisdom: Amy believes humility is foundational and out of that comes an openness to admitting that the road is winding – the kind of honesty that enables women to advance and flourish as a community of support.

QUOTES:

(01:00) – “When it comes to issues of concern, women need women. Women like to have community.” (Dr. Dweck)

(05:14) – “A series of unfortunate events became an idea for what is now Fem Foundry.” (Amy)

(07:08) – “I never wanted another female to go through what I went through … I wanted people to have a space to be able to find what they needed and those connections.”

(11:38) – “We’re trying to put leaders in place on a global platform where (they) can jump into conversations as experts in their field.” (Amy)

(15:25) – “There’s been a huge increase in both depression and anxiety and mental health ailments during this pandemic. In fact, women are more likely to experience this. There has never been more of a need for community than during this time.” (Dr. Dweck)

(16:36) – “The media marketing professionals would have us believe that post the age of 30 women fall off a cliff and somehow don’t exist, which we know is not the case and is utterly ridiculous.” (Amy)

(20:11) – “Our aim is to be able to enable and upscale every woman on the planet.” (Amy)

(27:38) – “I had loads of mentors, many of whom were men. I just sort of negated the whole gender thing … and went with who they were as individuals.” (Dr. Dweck)

(30:43) – “We have to be more open and honest. That’s ultimately what makes other people feel better … Everybody has their journey and just because it looks good from the outside, that doesn’t mean that’s the reality.” (Amy)

BIO:

Amy is an innovator, entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Fem Foundry – an inclusive digital networking, learning and media space for women. With a background in senior leadership across the media and marketing spaces, she believes that all women, and those who identify as such, deserve the opportunity to upskill, develop professionally and personally and to feel confident and welcome in the spaces that enable them to do so. She has built and operated digital businesses creating disruptive growth strategies and leading global divisions into new realms, promoting diversity, inclusion and parity at every stage.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

Website: www.fem-foundry.com