"GO GIRL GO!" PODCAST - EPISODE 1 JUDITH WILLIAMS

Whoop, whoop: Judith's podcast is finally here! In the first episode, the host reveals how her parents motivated her after setbacks and why men still prefer to hire men for jobs. Also: very personal insights into her career - and why even a shitstorm didn't throw her off track.

... 84 percent of all start-ups are founded by men
... there is not a single woman on the board of 60 percent of DAX companies
...only a third of women are represented in the Bundestag.

Actually a bit out of time this 2021, right? Reason enough for Judith to start her own podcast “GO GIRL GO!” to start and get to the bottom of exactly these topics!

Is it because of the much-vaunted “incompatibility” of work and family? (And if so: How can we make it better?) Or are women also getting in their own way to some extent? (Keyword: self-doubt!) Or are there completely other reasons that we should urgently talk about? 

In the first episode, which goes online to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8th, Judith tells us what listeners can expect from her podcast (look forward to some pretty impressive guests...) and gives a very personal insight into the hurdles she herself had to overcome on the way to the top.

But first of all: How did Judith actually come up with the name? In the first episode she reports that she thought of it very quickly. Because she immediately remembered what her parents said when she doubted herself back then. “GO GIRL GO!”, they said – and they “almost threw her out of the house,” as Judith says with a laugh. This encouragement gave her an incredible amount of confidence in herself. The mother of two now gives exactly this saying to her daughters - and now also to all other girls and women with her podcast.

And why is it that Judith has been supporting her for years? Women Empowerment makes you strong? In the podcast, she reveals that as the oldest of three sisters, she always had the feeling that she "had to and wanted to" take responsibility for the others: "I always looked at what was holding me back and how I could get it out of the way so that the others didn't have the same problems or dealt with them better." That's exactly what she wants to achieve with her podcast: "I see women as sisters and I want to say to everyone out there who doubts themselves: Nothing is impossible!"

Judith sees one reason why women in business still come up against a glass ceiling simply in the fact that many decision-makers are men. "Men prefer to hire someone they can read very well. They rely on security if they have the feeling that there is a copy of myself there." A woman, on the other hand, would have more fears.

Society still has a precise image of what a woman should be like and what task she should have. “Do the words power and woman even go together?” asks Judith rhetorically. "Let's take a powerful woman: How do you see her? And how do you see a powerful man? What emotions are awakened?"

In the first podcast episode, Judith tells us what she experienced when she didn't live up to these expectations. When she became a juror on “The Lions’ Den,” she “got into a shitstorm very quickly.” Women asked her what their children did when she was on the show. “The first few episodes were tough,” admits Judith. In the meantime, a lot has happened on the topic and many have realized what it is Empowerment actually means. "It's not about making women feel guilty about staying at home with their children. It's about inspiring women and encouraging them to want to do something. It's about choice."

Judith wanted to cancel the request for “The Lion’s Den” at first, as she reveals. She was afraid that from now on the press would only perceive her as a “tough businesswoman”: “Of course I am disciplined and determined, but above all I go through life with a lot of heart.” Another reason for her reluctance was her lack of a traditional career path, including business studies and business plan expertise. It was only a sentence from her husband that finally opened her eyes: “The world of work has so many colors, and you bring your very own into it.” Judith finally agreed – and the rest is history.

"I think that's the core thing that we women have to finally accept: make peace with not being perfect. Don't start living just because you think I'm the right weight, dress size, look, or have the right degree. What you're already bringing to the table is great. And pat yourself on the back more often. That's something we can definitely learn from men."

If you also want to find out who helped Judith in her early days to balance family and career, how she now supports her own employees to get ahead and what she does in her free time, be sure to listen to the first episode of the podcast “GO GIRL GO!” pure!