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Triumph for Perth Soroptimists’ Money Matters Launch and International Women’s Day Event

Published on: Published in: 2025-26

Inspiring launch of Perth Soroptimists’ 2026 flagship project, Money Matters, celebrates women’s creativity and empowerment.

Leading Soroptimists, each with a purple sash for International Women's Day, with the event's keynote speakers and performers.
L-R: President, Gameeda Barnard, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Scots Poet of the year 2024 Jim Mackintosh, Cabinet Minister for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville, Soprano Jasmine Munns, Programme Action Officer Moraig Henderson, and past-president Jean Black.

       It was an honour to hear our key-note speakers, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, and Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews. Both recognised that we must do more to ensure women’s financial literacy as part of independence and opportunity. They called for greater literacies for women: financial, creative and beyond, while reminding us how vital matters of opportunity and equality are.

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone highlighted the need for financial and creative literacies in her keynote speech.

        Dame Sally reminded us of the pivotal but often-overlooked role played by women in Tayside’s Timex factories. These women and technologies were a pre-cursor in the 1980s to Dundee’s global reputation for computer gaming. Ms Somerville spoke of the various contexts in which financial literacy was sorely needed, and how timely the Soroptimists’ project is in this regard. Perth Soroptimist President, Gameeda Barnard, and Programme Action Officer, Moraig Henderson, explained how a club member’s sudden widowhood brought challenges around financial independence which inspired the idea behuind the Money Matters initiative. Financial confidence and competence are matters for women of every age and every social background. 

 Scots poet of the year 2024 Jim Mackintosh shared thought-provoking pieces about Sarah Everard, and about female role-models from his own life. Accomplished Soprano Jasmine Munns provided a perfect close to the proceedings with aptly chosen female anthems. Her rendition of Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman was met with rapturous applause.

 

Powerful singing from Soprano, Jasmine Munns.