Jenny Caven grew up in Southern Africa where she saw the impact of inequality and oppression due to apartheid.
Her sense of fairness and justice, along with a love of language, led her to study politics and journalism. As life brought other responsibilities Jenny found success in the corporate world. However, it was not fulfilling her need for self-expression or to ‘give back’ and that’s why, later in life, she chose to dedicate more time to writing and to working with Footage Foundation, a global feminist organization that uses advocacy and intervention to support women, and other marginalized groups worldwide.
In this episode, Jenny Caven discusses:
- life events in the past five years that caused her to reexamine her priorities, leave a successful corporate career, and pursue a new path in which she could have a greater impact on making a difference.
- becoming a member of the Footage team in 2022, supporting their work.
- how her extensive travels and her studies at university broadened her world-view and her recognition of the ways we connect with people whose languages and experiences are different from our own.
- working for an environmental journal and meeting her husband.
- her decision to pursue communications and corporate communications rather than traditional journalism.
- her childhood experiences in a family that moved thirteen times in thirteen years, and how this gave her “a good resilience to change”.
- the importance of being enabled and allowed to dream of what you want to achieve.
- not being limited by what others tell you you should be.
- and when we are in a difficult place, the possibility of imagining something better.
The Power of Stories Podcast by SayItForward.org is a podcast BY women, ABOUT women, and FOR women!
Listen to previous episodes with women from around the world here. SayItForward.org is the storytelling platform for women and girls to share their experiences, and to read about the experiences of others. The site is full of inspiring stories submitted by people from around the world.
