Torch-Bearer for Women Empowerment and Transformation
Pauline Kirk is the founder and CEO of Femvestorsglobal, an organisation dedicated to supporting women across the globe with financial education so they too can become financially fabulous. Her mission is to change the financial statistics of 100 million women. She is a strong advocate of women supporting women. Pauline created an eco-system in her community, for every woman she supports with financial education, 80% profits are either dedicated to women’s empowerment programs or children’s education programs, all of which are listed on her website.
Pauline learnt financial education the hard way. She was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy in her 20’s and had to pay off large debts. When she did eventually have money, she was taken advantage of by financial advisors who invested her money in poor products with expensive fees. As a result, Pauline spent 15+ years learning about saving and investing and put a percentage of her salary away for her future. This is why her mission is to ensure that others are not subject to a similar fate.
In addition to providing financial education for women, Pauline also owns a Supply Chain Management Consultancy as well as volunteering and mentoring other women outside of finance. She is a Senior Leader for the Tony Robbins Institute, wife, step-mum and a lover of coffee and ice-cream.
Pauline spent over 20 years in the Supply Chain industry and worked for several blue-chip organisations such as BHP, Deloitte, Marks and Spencer amongst others, in addition to 5 years serving in the British military. Pauline has worked in male-dominated environments throughout her career. Pauline references “The stigma is that you are only hired to achieve gender targets. Management received bonuses in recruiting women like myself into senior roles. As a result, my credibility is naturally in question with other team members. I constantly worked long hours to prove my worth and to be accepted into the ‘boys club’.”
Her corporate life to anyone from the outside, may have looked glamourous with the 5-star hotels, travelling business class across the world and visiting new destinations. The downside was the continuous long hours, late-night conference calls and early starts to the day. There were times when she had not gone to bed or slept at the office for deadlines and a 90-hour work week was not uncommon. She says “there is no point in striving to have more money and being miserable and unhappy.”
The biggest challenge Pauline faced was inclusiveness and being stereotyped. Having been subject to workplace discrimination on more than one occasion and being considered aggressive as well as emotional, just for speaking in a decisive manner are some of the challenges she faced.
Pauline is a great believer that Governments and Corporations need to work together, make childcare affordable or alternatively provide on-site facilities to support families choosing to work. In addition, provide salary transparency at all levels of the organisation, increase the flexibility on caregiving obligations and provide mentorship programs that help women advance professionally. Women need a safer workplace, along with strong government and corporate policies to prevent discrimination and harassment.
She stated “Covid was a wake-up call as I became stuck on the meaning of life, I believed that I was destined for more.” Then a friend recommended Tony Robbins, which changed Pauline’s life by providing clarity around her mission and purpose.
In late 2020, she attended her first Tony Robbins event and has remained in his community ever since. “Life is a choice; if we are not happy, it is up to us to change it”, exclaims Pauline. She looks up to Tony Robbins and is inspired by him on a daily basis as he is the person responsible for shaping Pauline into the woman that she is today. “Oprah shaped my life at a young age, and Jamie Kem Lima’s book ‘Believe It’ is also a source of inspiration.”
She shares that one of the biggest roadblocks to success is a person’s perception of fear of failure. She sees failure as an amazing opportunity and has her acronym of FAIL, which is ‘First Attempt in Learning’. “I want to fail and fail fast; the quicker I do, the quicker I can learn, grow and use this as a stepping stone to ultimate success.” The actions we take in the face of failure are critical to our ability to recover from it, so we can be the best we can be.
Finally, she shares that self-awareness is the most important life skill we can have. “I reflect on what is in or out of my control and how I respond to it. Self-awareness has the potential to enhance every experience we have.”
