Yvonne So was listening to a country station on the radio one day last spring when she heard the commercial.
iHeartMedia and the global leadership organization Seneca Women were hosting a contest: “Seneca Women to Hear: The Search for the Next Great Female Podcasters.”
So is a fan of podcasts, but she is not a podcaster; she’s a full-time Tucson mom to three young sons.
But she was intrigued.
An editorial she read in the New York Times in March 2020 had really gotten her to thinking about how her role as mom and homemaker was often overlooked in society. The Times editorial reported that American women’s unpaid work at home was valued at $1.5 trillion — if the women were paid minimum wage.
“That’s 11 zeros,” said So, who spent 10 years working on Wall Street before starting her family. “What would it be like if women monetized all the free work they do. Economically, we’d be better off, and socially, women’s work and services would be valued.”
That was the premise of “Cashing Our Trillions,” the idea she pitched to the Seneca Women contest. It was among hundreds of entries that were whittled down to 10 winners including So.
“She proposed to tackle the topic of motherhood — but from a unique perspective: their contribution to the economy,” Seneca Woman co-founder and CEO Kim Azarelli said in an email interview. “Yvonne wanted to showcase mothers as an economic force, and address their special concerns.”
The winners were given six weeks of training in the Seneca Women Podcast Academy before launching their shows through Seneca Women Podcast Network on iHeart.
The first of eight episodes of So’s “Cashing Our Trillions“ debuted on May 11 with Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First (formerly known as Marshall Plan for Moms), which campaigns for equal pay for women and changing the way motherhood is seen and valued; and Girls Who Code, which aims to increase the number of girls in the computer science and engineering fields. So and Saujani talked about women’s roles in the workforce and the changes needed to make women feel more empowered in the workplace, including affordable child care and paid family leave.
Future episodes will dive into everything from activating moms to become more politically engaged to ways women can get funding for startups and make money off Web3 and the growing non-fungible token-based economies.
“I’m hoping this is a conversation started,” So said of the show, which she recorded from her bedroom closet while her three young sons — 11-year-old Jasper, 8-year-old Miles and 5-year-old Dean — were at school. “This is my love note to moms.”
“Cashing Our Trillions” is one of two winning podcasts that focus on finance and workplace issues; other winning podcasts focus on science, dating, TV, women’s health, Alzheimer’s, Latina life and global women’s stories.
“Our goal for ‘Cashing Our Trillions’ and all the other podcasts on the Seneca Women Podcast Network is to amplify the voices of women,” Azzarelli said. “We know that while 48% of podcast listeners are women, women hosts are underrepresented among top podcast hosts. We want women to be inspired, empowered — and most of all heard. Because when women’s voices are heard, we can begin to make a difference for women and girls. And when women progress, the world progresses.”
So’s podcast has a political agenda, as well, driven by her desire to empower women to get more politically active as a means of effecting change on the local and national levels.
“We have to politically activate moms because if you look at the makeup of our legislatures, there aren’t a lot of moms who are legislators,” said So, who grew up in New York and moved to Tucson six years ago. “If I’m given that 15 minutes, I’m given the mic, this is what I want to talk about.”
So, who has published a number of editorials in the Arizona Republic on issues ranging from expanding Asian-American studies in schools to the dangers Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders faced from hate crimes during the pandemic, said she also wants to shine a light on “how much moms are screwed over” in a society that doesn’t place value on their role.
“People don’t value the work that we do. I don’t think our American society values mom,” So said. “We point to American exceptionalism, to our people and our culture. Who cultivates that? It’s mom. It’s mom and caretakers and day care workers.”
Yvonne So, far left, and her mother Maureen So, make zhong zi, a traditional Chinese dish, with Yvonne’s sons, from left, Dean, Miles and Jasper. Zhong zi is a dish served to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, marked by the Lunar fifth day of the fifth month.
“Cashing Our Trillions” will feature guests who will focus on helping women find their political voice, which So said could be powerful and loud when it comes to passing national and local policies on paid family leave and universal child care. Those are among the key issues that could open doors for many women to compete in the workplace.
“I think moms are the CEOs of our families. We have the exact same skills as (Fortune 500) CEOs,” she said. “I think it’s time for society to value us and for us to be able to monetize that.”
You can tune into “Cashing Our Trillions” on most major streaming sites including iHeart (tinyurl.com/4jv4nusp), Apple (tinyurl.com/3fj5mkwv), Spotify (tinyurl.com/5n85r9kc), Stitcher/Simplecast (tinyurl.com/3hjyj4rc), Pandora (tinyurl.com/apabk8hy) and Amazon (tinyurl.com/34kacyjw).
Cheddar News reporter Ashley Mastronardi tracks the rise of the "mom-fluencer" or working mothers who have left their jobs to become full-time content creators. While not a new phenomenon, experts say the trend has gained momentum since the start of the pandemic.
