Donor-Partner Q&A: Jacki Zehner, ShePlace and SheMoney
For our Donor-Partner Q&A, we speak to ShePlace & SheMoney’s Founder about how a recent trip to Greenland confirmed the state of climate emergency we’re in and why we must urgently be allocating investment dollars at the intersection of climate and gender.
What has been your journey so far when it comes to moving money with a gender lens and why does it matter?
This journey began almost two decades ago, after I left Goldman Sachs, when I began more actively deploying capital to various types of funds. I kept meeting with managers and almost all of them were men. I was left asking “where are the women?” In 2009 I funded a research paper called Women in Fund Management: A Roadmap to Critical Mass and Why It Matters and went on the road to talk to folks about it. So, why does it matter? Check out this paper. It stands the test of time.
What excites you about Heading for Change and how has it sharpened the climate and gender finance nexus for you?
I recently returned from Greenland on a climate trip with investors, sustainability leaders, philanthropists and scientists. Gathering at the edge of a glacier with glaciologist Dr. Heidi Sevestre and others, both seeing and hearing about sea level rising, you cannot help but be activated. The evidence is indisputable. We are in a state of climate emergency and women and children are disproportionately affected. We absolutely need to be allocating investment dollars at the intersection of climate and gender. Heading for Change is leading the way.
What reflections have you had about what might help move the field forward?
On this trip we spoke a lot about why more people are not doing more as it relates to giving and investing with a climate and gender lens. It may be that our heads and our hearts may not be moved enough to act, we don’t know what to do, and/or we don’t think what we can do will make a difference. The truth is, everything matters when it comes to moving towards net zero. There are so many things we can do, and I invite any reader to check out Speed & Scale, which frames all the categories of action and tracks progress. For me going to Greenland was my Matrix moment with respect to climate action. In this 1999 film, the red pill and the blue pill represent the choice between learning a potentially unsettling truth, or remaining in blissful ignorance. I took the red pill, and now that I know, really know, I cannot turn away. My hope is that a lot more people take the red pill. This is an existential threat to humanity.
What big questions do you have about this work?
What are the biggest levers that can be pulled by folks with different levels of resources? We need clear action steps for everyone.
How would you like to see philanthropy and investing advance the field forward?
We need philanthropy to fund communications, community and movement building. Those are tough dollars to raise in small amounts but every dollar really does help. Big philanthropy can play a huge role there. There has been ESG backlash as it relates to investing, and that is heartbreaking. The investment community, and especially the big capital allocators, really need to take the lead and take a stand. They cannot wait for demand to drive supply but the opposite. Create and market products that align investment capital with supporting bigger objectives. Additionally, I invite women with means to step in and lead. Lead with our voices and our dollars. Our future depends on it.
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