Trust Unites: Empowering Women
In this episode (nr. 90), we welcome Carine de Meyere, the visionary founder and president of Women of the World. Carine unveils the essence of her life’s work: creating a global sisterhood aimed at empowering 1 million women and girls by 2030. With the backdrop of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, she shares her journey of recognition, ambition, and the critical role of trust in fostering connections and collaborations. This episode is not just an interview; it’s a profound exploration of the challenges women face in traditionally male-dominated environments and the transformative power of mentorship, leadership, and trust dynamics. Carine’s insights into the importance of female representation in leadership roles and the intricate relationship between trust and empowerment are both enlightening and inspiring. As we navigate through topics ranging from the impact of cultural differences on trust, the significance of female leadership in global peace and decision-making, to the urgent need for systemic change and female empowerment in politics and beyond, this conversation with Carine de Meyere is a compelling call to action for all of us to contribute towards a more equitable and trusting world. Tune in to TrustTalk for a journey that promises to challenge, inspire, and mobilize towards gender equality and sisterhood across the globe.
About her role in Women of the World
Women of the World is basically the result of my life. And very often when I have young women, when I meet them at a conference or they email me or they send me a message through LinkedIn, they’re like, oh, I want to be part of your women of the world. And I’m like, you are a woman of the world already. I’m just there i have created a global network of ambassadors in various countries which can help you grow your business, can help you raise capital for the entrepreneurial innovation that you have, but can also make you feel that you are part of a global sisterhood. Because I really think this is something that the Western world is lacking, and that’s the sense of sisterhood. I was actually launched in 2011, and then in 2015, I was part of the global launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And so alongside that with number five is gender equality i said, okay, by 2030, I want to be able to empower 1 million women and girls, and that’s what we’re heading for and I must say, I was just nominated in Paris during the Big Change Now Climate Solutions conference as one of the 25 global women as a role model and there were 35,000 people there and these are the kind of ways that I try to empower young women by being on those platforms and connecting with them.
About Women’s Imposter Syndrome
(…) during one of those female leadership trips, we visited LinkedIn, the head office and the head of diversity and inclusion gave a presentation and she literally said what it takes for a man to go through his career and a man had until age 40 to literally show to a company if he was partner worthy. A woman only had until age 30 because of the childbearing, of course, and everything, so women really need to work very hard in their 20s if they’re working in a big organization. They also were saying that they had now actually appointed mentors and sponsors for women, because they had showed that when a man was applying for a job, even if he only fit three of the ten prerequisites, he would just apply because he would think that he would learn the other seven things along the way. Women, on the other hand, were taking very much longer to apply because they wanted to make sure that they fit all the ten descriptions. And so what these mentors were focusing on was to actually make these women combat their imposter syndrome, because that’s really something that a lot of women have deep down inside. And so we are our worst enemy in that sense.
Women at the top of large companies?
(…) I’ve seen many, many initiatives now about diversity and inclusion. I think a lot of companies have been focusing on that, and I think that they’ve also seen that that is very much beneficial to the companies, ABNAMRO, ING but also Microsoft, you see it in all the industries. I also see what really helps, and I think this is what the Netherlands is very much in need of, having a female CEO or having a female prime minister. I mean, we are still in need of that for the Netherlands. I mean, the fact that childcare is still not being paid for by the government I’m now going on a trip to Saudi Arabia early May, and there is a crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, who says he created a vision 2030 but he said, I need the women if I want to reach that vision 2030. So that country is not creating, has no time to create a glass ceiling. Well, the Netherlands, I mean, I still see it happening. Women are they think they’re going for the top of Unilever it just happened,there was a woman, she could have been a great CEO. And then they bring in somebody from outside and it happens all the time.
Transcript Interview Carine de Meyere
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