Check out this excerpt from Mei Mei Fox’s article 7 Female Founders Tackling Male Dominated Industries on Forbes.com.
Mary Ann Hawley, the founder and CEO of UnifyImpact, is disrupting the financial industry by providing sustainable investing opportunities to everyday individuals. She believes that we all should make investments that benefit people and the planet as well as our bottom line. UnifyImpact allows members to look at publicly listed companies’ sustainability performance and see which companies are in alignment or in opposition to their values.
“I created UnifyImpact because I am concerned about the world we Baby Boomers are leaving behind,” says Hawley. “Millennials and Gen Zers have every right to be disillusioned and skeptical about the legacy that we have passed onto them. They also have the ability to create real change as they become the next generation of wealth holders. They are technologically savvy, vocal about what they believe in, and the new thought leaders.”
The arrival of Covid-19 had a huge impact on the way UnifyImpact came to life. The company was in its infant stages when the pandemic began. Luckily, the team was remote and spread around the world from its earliest days. Hawley also was encouraged that the trend towards sustainable investing strategies continued as the economic recession deepened. Many people even used the dip in markets as an opportunity to make changes to their portfolios in order to make their investments more sustainable.
As a woman breaking the glass ceiling in a male-dominated industry, Hawley has noticed how some men share the vision that sustainable investing is smart investing, whereas others tell her that unless she does things “their way,” it will be a disaster. “Most men in the industry either dismiss my ideas or embrace them,” she says. “Either way, I stay dedicated to empowering the next generation to understand sustainability and make more informed decisions.”
Hawley advises women looking to dominate traditionally male industries to, “1: Take your time. Let your concept grow to a place of maturity so the product you build lives up to the sales pitch. 2. Don’t criticize or undermine your own vision in front of your team. If you have a great idea and you stand by it, the right people will follow. Honesty is potent. Knowing your soul intimately transcends gender and will make you stand out.”
Read the full article here.
More about UnifyImpact
UnifyImpact is a platform designed to help individual investors make sustainable investment decisions. The web-based application rates public companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to help investors make informed decisions that align with their personal values. Members can create a profile based on values that are most important to them, track the progress of companies they’ve invested in and read up on news based on their investment portfolio. Sign Up For Free to get started!
