Judith Williams campaigns for women empowerment with her podcast “Go Girl Go” and gives strong women a space to talk about their career, emotional world and work-life balance. In an interview, she revealed why the podcast was long overdue and what changes society still needs.
The exclamation “Go Girl Go!” for Judith Williams, 49, is more than a simple string of words. For them it is a childhood memory. A motivational phrase that her parents gave her along the way. And now there is another meaning behind it: The entrepreneur has started a new project with the valuable support of her parents and the exclamation that is symbolic of it. Your eponymous podcast aims to do just that: motivate young women to believe in themselves.
In an interview, Judith Williams explains why gender roles will soon be a thing of the past and which values are central to empowering young people.
Judith Williams: “I want to encourage women to believe in themselves!”
Brigitte: With “Go Girl Go!” you have created a podcast that picks up on the careers of business women and is supposed to encourage them. Do you think it was long overdue?
Judith Williams: Yes, absolutely. In “Go Girl Go” wonderful women from the most diverse areas tell which stumbling blocks they had to overcome in order to be successful in the end. I myself have already taken a lot with me from this experience and the many tips that my interlocutors have at hand. I am therefore convinced that such examples help young women in particular to find their own way.
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Does the term superwoman bother you? After all, career-oriented or successful men are never described as Powerman …
No, there are completely different clichés that bothers me more. But even if this drawer is superfluous at some point, we have achieved a lot.
Have you had to listen to tasteless or thoughtless comments during your remarkable career?
Our mindset has, thank God, become more sensitive on this point. Men also experience how valuable it is for everyone involved to be treated with respect on an equal footing. We women trust each other more and stand up for our rights. Digitization does the rest that thinking in terms of gender roles will soon be a thing of the past. I am therefore looking forward to wonderful encounters with men and women who want to achieve something together.
You have two children. Have you ever been put in your way because of this? As a parent, unfortunately, you are often told that you are not flexible enough.
Many employers have already positioned themselves differently because the compatibility of family and work is an essential point for employees. And if you as a company want the best employees in your ranks, you have to respond to these understandable and legitimate needs.
From a company perspective, it is completely wrong to forego half of the potential employees, who are often very well trained and highly committed. In my company, we therefore consciously support mothers – and of course fathers as well. We have set up our own company kindergarten in Innsbruck and enable flexible working hours. We want the best employees who enjoy working for us. The gender does not matter. However, I would like to see more support from politicians, especially with regard to schools, there is a lack of forward-looking and innovative concepts that relieve families.
What do you think still has to change so that career and family are no longer a balancing act?
Fathers and mothers share responsibility for children. That is why companies have to organize themselves in such a way that family and work are no longer a balancing act for all employees. But I’m very confident about that. Companies that do not face this social responsibility will find it increasingly difficult to attract the best employees.
Do you personally already see positive change? That women believe more in themselves or that this cliché thinking is slowly disappearing?
Many terms such as power, influence and strength still have masculine connotations, but a lot is moving. For the younger generation, gender roles are often no longer an issue. Society will get used to the fact that women are also allowed to have power and power.
Your parents played an important role in your career and motivated you again and again. What do you think is the best motivation parents can give their girls on the way?
The best role models are parents who lead a partnership on an equal footing and who show that everyone can achieve their goals. And that gender doesn’t matter at all. We need to instill good self-esteem, a level of discipline, and a degree of resilience in our children so that they have a solid foundation on which to move forward in life.
All episodes and further information on the “GO GIRL GO” podcast can be found here.
This interview originally appeared on GALA.
Sources used: own interview, instagram.com