A Wagga woman has overcome significant trauma to launch a podcast tackling financial security for women and creating change amid challenges around the gender pay gap.
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Local financial educator Jenny Rolfe-Wallace, 54, recently launched her podcast "It's Not About The Money, Australia" and soaring past 1000 downloads after only seven episodes, she has been blown away by the response.
"The feedback from my guests has been amazing," Ms Rolfe-Wallace said.
She said her audience so far consists predominantly of Australian women, however she has also surprisingly noted interest from Ukraine, Russia and Georgia.
Ms Rolfe-Harris said so far the podcast which tackles gender equality and financial security for women has "raised awareness of things people perhaps haven't thought about before, which has been exciting".
The reaction is particularly poignant, given the challenges she has faced in recent years.
The founder of Sprout Education Group, Ms Rolfe-Wallace originally hoped to write a book that considered the topic of women and finances from a feminist perspective.
But those plans were thrown into doubt when in late 2019, Ms Rolfe-Wallace suffered a brain injury while away on a family holiday.
"I became very sick and as a result of that I had a couple of seizures," she said.
"That caused an acquired brain injury."
As a result, writing proved to be too difficult so Ms Rolfe-Wallace decided instead to turn her attention to podcasting to reach her audience.
After sustaining the injury, she said it took a significant time out of the office.
"It was a good 12 months before I was even in a position to consider re-engaging in paperwork," she said.
Ms Rolfe-Wallace said the injury was frustrating as she has "always loved working" during her 30-odd years in the financial education space.
She said before 2019, she would enjoy working up to 60 hours per week.
But after her injury, she now experiences high levels of fatigue.
"I only have a very limited number of hours that I can dedicate to any kind of intense cognitive thinking each week, otherwise it just exhausts my brain," Ms Rolfe-Harris said.
"That's why [chose to start up the] podcast, because I find [that it's] far less exhausting."
To help embark on this new journey, she enrolled in Introduction to Podcasting short course through TAFE NSW.
In March, Ms Rolfe-Wallace launched the podcast which dives into why Australian women are more likely to experience lower levels of financial wellbeing.
She said the podcast also aims to dispel myths and advocates for systemic solutions to create a nation where gender doesn't determine financial outcomes.
"Everything we talk about is grounded in research, because that's my background," she said.
Ms Rolfe-Wallace has expanded the podcast to include a vodcast element and is currently studying Certificate IV in Screen and Media - Radio and Mobile Journalism - through TAFE NSW to further expand her skills.
She praised the teachers for their steady support along the way.
"They encouraged me to achieve my goal by launching my podcast last month," she said.
"If I can do it, anybody can."
Ms Rolfe-Wallace is also thrilled at what she has already been able to achieve through the podcast.
She said it has been a "huge achievement" for me as just to make these important conversations accessible is fantastic," she said.
"I've been able to speak to a range of guests such as Ana Kresina, author of 'Kids Ain't Cheap', and Julie Kun, an expert in financial wellbeing and financial abuse."
The Australian podcast industry is experiencing a surge in popularity, with nearly one in five Australians tuning in to podcasts every month, as reported by 2023 Roy Morgan research.
The data shows nearly 4 million Australians now download podcasts across a four week period, a rise of 13 per cent from 2022.
TAFE NSW is offering an Introduction to Podcasting course in an effort to help meet this rising demand and prepare aspiring podcasters for success in the industry.
The short course equips students with the fundamental skills of planning, editing, and interviewing so they can launch their own podcast.
Head TAFE media teacher Jessica Micallef said the exponential growth of the podcasting industry is creating many opportunities for employment.
"As Australian radio stations and media companies expand their podcast channels, the demand for skilled podcast producers is also on the rise," Ms Micallef said.
She said the Introduction to Podcasting course serves as a precursor to the Certificate IV in Screen and Media.
"Students participate in the course online or in person so it's very accessible," Ms Micallef said.
She said many different people are signing up for the course, ranging from school leavers to career changers.
"Many of our students go on to work in radio or podcasting or launch their own podcasts," she said.
To listen to the "It's Not About The Money, Australia" podcast, go to streaming services including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Podbean.