Financially Fearless Mamas
As Mother’s Day approaches, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the hardworking mums who are making a difference in the world of finance. From fintech founders to financial executives and money coaches, these women are blazing trails, breaking stereotypes and inspiring future generations. One thing that unites them all? A desire to leave the world a little better than they found it.
Trenna Probert, Founder & CEO Super Fierce
Trenna is the founder of Super Fierce, a social enterprise that helps individuals to optimise their retirement by choosing a better superannuation fund and donates 10% of their fee to the Fierce Impact Fund. Their not-for-profit sister company that funds social impact initiatives that support Australian women in need.
Trenna’s thoughts on Motherhood
What's the best thing about being a Mum?
I’ve always seen motherhood as a gift. Not only have I learnt that I am stronger and more courageous than I could have imagined, but I also love the gift of having to focus beyond oneself. It is a privilege and such an important if fleeting role, guiding a new soul, and helping them to grow into the magic that resides inside. If they fly and don’t return, I will have succeeded. If they fly, but choose to return on their own terms, I will be the luckiest woman in the world.
How has motherhood changed your life?
My heart now walks the earth outside my body every day. And that requires me to let go every single day. To breathe, and move through the world purposefully, with courage, faith, and hope. It can be scary if you allow it to be. But I love living beyond the constrains of my own mind and body; beyond the limitations of my own fears, capabilities, and dreams; to experience life, joy, adventure, and growth through the wondrous eyes of my boys.
What do you hope your children will learn from you?
My boys have already shown that they have learnt all they need from me. I may have made myself redundant!
My greatest hope was that they would grow to move consciously through the world with kindness, integrity, and courage. That they would take responsibility for how their actions impact others and find simple ways to put other people first without neglecting their own needs. And I hoped that they would be able to find joy in the small wonders of life that are so often ignored.
They are not perfect – and nor would I want them to be - but I am so proud of my young men. The greatest gift of motherhood is the joy of their company, and the fact I learn more from them now than I teach. We are adventurers and students in life together!
Dr. Lili Sussman, Chief Strategy Officer, WISR
Lili recently co-created WISR Today, a first of its kind app that uses the power behavioural science to help you understand your relationship with money and build health saving and spending habits. She’s also got a PhD in Political Science from Harvard, has lectured at Yale and worked with organisations like CBA, BCG and Social Ventures.
Lili’s Thoughts on Motherhood
What's the best thing about being a Mum?
The best thing about being a Mum is ordinary moments of LOVE - the deep love I feel for my daughter, and the love I see shining in my daughter's eyes. It sounds abstract, but it's such a real feeling that I get to feel in small, ordinary, frequent moments during otherwise busy days, and it is deeply nourishing when I stop and let myself pause and wallow in it. You never know when your kid will do something that just makes you fill with love, or when you've done something and you know your kid just felt love because of it. I always remember reading about people who have lost everything, who have gone through unspeakable traumas, and they say: what I miss most are the ordinary moments - e.g. I would give anything to just hear my kids fighting in the backyard again. You can honor what I have lost, by being grateful for your ordinary moments, those little moments where love bestows its gifts.
How has motherhood changed your life?
Motherhood was a shock and it was transformational. I realised that to parent is to role model, and that meant I had to do hard work to fix my own life. Changing nappies and dealing with tantrums is hard, but the hardest work I really had to do was to reparent and rebuild my inner self, and becoming a mum forced me to do that very different kind of work. It is easier to love my child more than I love myself, but the truth I had to learn is that I could not set a real example of resilience or self support or empathy, if I did not learn to love myself more - and that meant reparenting myself, changing my self-talk, putting down my armor, and learning much more emotional intelligence applied first and foremost to myself. I learned that kids need you to follow their lead, be interested in what they are interested in, but also they need you to love yourself, and pursue a full life filled with meaning and purpose for yourself, because that's the role model they want to see. Being a parent is the toughest gig in the world sometimes, but it's also the most rewarding. My life has changed so much because what's important now is less all the external milestones society says is success. Instead, it is learning how to be more myself with each passing year, and to lean into more connection and joy in all the small moments, to follow the unfolding of a much deeper wisdom.
What do you hope your daughter will learn from you?
I hope my daughter learns that we've all got big strong hearts and that the core of the human is a loving heart. Wouldn't we all be better off, if everyone had unconditional love in their lives? We can live that way everyday more than we think. Safety and understanding and genuine open curiosity is a gift we can give to others, and it just creates more return gifts. Humans have this superpower of empathy and emotional connection, which will become more and more important in the age of AI when machines can take care of IQ stuff and we can focus on both EQ and creativity. I don't think she's going to learn it from me - I think more likely I'm learning this lesson from her! But I do think it's probably the biggest life lesson for us both, to know that humans are essentially good, and that we have the power to tap our own power and into the good of others simply by switching our EQ on.
Rebecca Maher, Managing Director at MoneyHappy
MoneyHappy provides financial education, training and 1:1 coaching to help educate and inspire young professionals to thrive financially so they feel less stressed and happier in their job. Rebecca herself has worked in Financial Services for 12 years across financial planning, coaching and advisory roles. She’s also a regular financial commentator in the media including Money Magazine, New Idea and weekend Sunrise.
Rebecca’s thoughts on Motherhood
What’s the best thing about being a mum?
It’s hard to pick just one! But the endless bubbling over of family life, experiences, firsts (first tooth, first day of school), and lasts (last nappy, last pram) is so fulfilling. Life is busy, always busy, but it’s full, lovely, and exciting too. Endless cuddles are pretty good too! (While they last!)
I read somewhere the other day that you don’t loose yourself when you have kids, you become a stronger and wiser version of yourself. I know everybody’s experience with motherhood is different, but for me, I think that’s true. Especially as your kids get older and mature and their needs change. Suddenly they’re coming to you for advice on all manner of things. And in the process of giving them advice on how to deal with life’s challenges you also get a refresher course in how to take your own sage advice!
How has motherhood changed your life?
I became a mum at 27 and it certainly changed my life! I’ve now got two gorgeous girls 6 & 9. Aside from the overnight radical change in my day-to-day life, it changed how I defined success for the better and put me on a journey inward to understand myself. Before becoming a mum, my definition of success was very much tied to the external, what job I had, what income I was on, how far away / or close to my goals I was. I was either on track or going backwards. It was so inflexible to life’s ups and downs and roundabouts. When you’re a mum the job is never done and mothering is a lot of the time invisible, behind the scenes. So, it’s hard to measure success in the same way, by looking at what you’ve achieved each day. I had to look inward, reinvent and redefine what success means for me: health and happiness for myself and family, a happy home, followed closely by financial security and the freedom to choose where and how we live. And learn to lean into what I now call the seasons of life. Being a mother is life changing no-doubt, but it’s a role I’m eternally grateful for.
What do you hope your children will learn from you?
I often think about the role model I want to be for my girls. I hope they learn lots of what I’m putting down! But one thing I work on with them a lot is gratitude. I’ve learned in life that gratitude is a powerful mindfulness tool that’s fundamental to happiness and wellbeing in virtually all areas of life. I hope they see the many things I am and do in life, including my important role as their mum, and see that’s the kind of life they can choose too. As someone wiser than me once said, you miss all of the shots you don’t take – so I hope they learn to always keep swinging.
Shivani Gopal, Founder & CEO Elladex
Shivani is a powerful voice for women’s equality and inclusion in Australia. She’s a passionate feminist, serial entrepreneur and a finance expert on a mission to create a more equal world. She founded Elladex a learning and mentoring app to super-charge the career of ambitious individuals.
Shivani’s thoughts on Motherhood
What's the best thing about being a Mum
Snuggles, the quiet kisses on the head after a middle of the night feed, the laughs, the giant hugs, the moments your heart bursts when your son calls out "Mummy!", having the great privilege of loving and nurturing them. There's so much to love about motherhood.
How has motherhood changed your life?
Motherhood has made me stop and smell the roses. To experience joy by providing joy to my little ones, to find love, light and laughter in the smallest of things. On the other hand it's made me highly pragmatic too - I no longer have time for things that take up my energy that isn't absolutely worthwhile.
What do you hope your children will learn from you?
Some of my cooking skills + A LOT from my parents, some hindi (I hope! But it's not working out just yet..), and of course our values, and to teach my sons how to be incredible, resilient, resourceful, kind, contributive humans.
Karen Eley, Founder of Women Talking Finance
Karen is former financial adviser, certified Money Coach and financial educator at Women Talking Finance. Her mission in life is to support women and couples to become financially empowered.
Karen’s Thoughts on Motherhood
What's the best thing about being a Mum
#1 best thing is daily hugs!
As my children have got older, witnessing them develop into their own personalities, my role is as much ‘mum’ as it is mentor these days. Being an educator, I love the learning opportunities I can give my children as they grow and develop.
How has motherhood changed your life?
As a single mother managing myself, a house, and two kids, it’s forced me to become more organised. Working in financial services since University, I definitely drew on my more masculine qualities to ‘fit in’, but after becoming a mum, I think I reconnected with more of my heart and compassion and am a warmer person as a result.
What do you hope your sons will learn from you
That whatever they put their mind and dreams to, they can achieve. I really want them to see life as being limitless to their own imagination and thinking rather than limited. That the inner world of their thoughts and feelings is just as important as focusing on the outside world, and to be kind – kind to others and kind to yourself.
Other working mama’s in Finance who inspire me!
I didn’t get a chance to interview everyone who inspires me as a working mama in Finance. So allow me to give a brief shout out to these fierce and fabulous ladies:
Gemma Dale, Director, NABTrade
Gemma is the host of Your Wealth podcast and is a regular market and finance commentator on Your Money, Sky Business plus she’s featured on Sunrise, AFR, ABC TV and Radio, Channel Ten and other media. Gemma is also a regular presenter at major industry events including ASX Investor and Adviser Days, Kanga Conference.
Julia Lee, Equity Investment Strategist, State Street Global Advisors
Julia Lee is one of Australia’s best-known equity strategists, board directors and financial experts providing financial commentary to SKY News, Bloomberg, CNBC, ABC, Sunrise and on the radio and internet in addition to her role at SSGA. She’s previously run her own company Burman Invest and worked with companies like Bell Direct & Hubb Financial Group.
Christina Hobbs, CEO & Co-founder, Verve Super
Christina co-founded Australia’s first superannuation fund for women. Her passion in life is making capital and our financial systems work for all people. Prior to founding Verve she worked for the United Nations for 10 years and has been a board member at Future Super and Global Women’s Project.
Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, CEO Financy
As the CEO of Financy, Bianca helps women and organisations become part of the solution to gender financial inequality. This includes the Financy Women’s Index which is a quarterly economic scorecard on women’s financial equality and economic progress in Australia. Prior to founding Financy, Bianca was a finance journalist with Fairfax media.
Effie Zahos, Editor-at-Large, Canstar
Effie is one of Australia’s most recognisable and most popular financial commentators with over two decades of experience in consumer finance topics including banking, finance and property. Her super power is making money matters simple. She’s an author, editor and board director.
Shemara Wikramanayake, MD & CEO Macquarie Group
Shemara started her career as a lawyer before joining Macquarie group and working her way up to CEO in 2018. She’s well known for her efforts in implementing creative strategies to finance low carbon emissions and advocates to increase renewable energy production. She’s the only female and highest paid CEO in the ASX20. She’s also been named as one of the most powerful women in the world by Forbes.