International Women's Day 2023

They drive, create, lead and show, how we identify us as a company: Find out what being a woman to them is and how they reflect on their lives.

Now, Meet the Women of Hairlust

 

How do you experience your life as a female expat living in Denmark in comparison to living in your home country?
I would say that Amsterdam and Copenhagen are very similar in many ways. Both places have always felt as a safe space to me, also as a woman. I have travelled around and definitely have felt safest in these two cities. The bike brings a lot of freedom and safety to me, I can avoid public transport or walking home, and it’s the easiest way to get around.

Do you have a favourite female mentor or role model?
For me it is really the female friends I’ve made in the recent years that act as mentors and role models to me. Talking with them, listening to them, sharing our ambitions, goals, views, opinions, helps me understand what is possible for me and where I can go. Each comes from different countries, different backgrounds, and learning more about how that had an influence on upbringing as a woman is very educational and fascinating. They teach me so much.

What part of life is most conflicted or unbalanced in terms of being a woman?
Lately I have been realising a lot that the medical field is very unbalanced as a woman. I still have much to learn, but research on for example endometriosis, birth control, menstruation, is so limited while so many female-born have to deal with it. Hearing from my inner circle how they dread conversations with doctors, because they won’t take their pain seriously or don’t understand it, is saddening. And even more so, that so much pain could be relieved if there was more research for it, but instead we are told to take a painkiller. 

How do you aspire to inspire other women?
I hope to inspire others to be more open and transparent with each other, share our struggles, our wins, and our ambitions. Rather to fear judgement or jealousy. 

Will you celebrate International Women's day this year? And if so, how?
I will! Together with friends at a beautiful dinner event. That evening we’ll enjoy food together by Jamain Brigitha aka "The Caribbean Housewife", and share stories. The food is authentic to her heritage, which overlaps a lot with my family’s background - rare to be found in Denmark and just so good!

 

 

How long have you been in Denmark and what brought you here?
I have been living in Copenhagen for 3,5 years. I decided to move to Denmark to study design, as Copenhagen is known for Scandinavian minimalism and approach to beauty.

How do you experience your life as a female expat living abroad in comparison to living in your home country?
I’m from Poland, which sometimes means not being able to be fully perceived as an equal to men. In Denmark, one of the most significant changes was to be free as a woman, which comes with the law of freedom with many aspects or just simply less beauty pressure. I would say freedom is one of the biggest changes for me personally.

What part of life is most conflicted or unbalanced in terms of being a woman?
One of the biggest issues for being a woman is balancing the soft, beauty-oriented, emotional part of me with a more rational and harsh approach to life. Different situations require me to have different approaches, and as the world is not necessarily very fair, sometimes it is hard to balance them out. 

Have you faced any barriers in your life due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?
There have been many barriers, sometimes strongly influenced by my gender. One of the examples is a new law in Poland, which doesn’t allow me to decide freely about some parts of my life.  On the other hand, sometimes being strongly sexualised or being judged by an appearance s can be sometimes very limiting.

What does International Women's day mean to you?
For me, it’s about celebrating women in the best possible way: to acknowledge, enhance and worship our uniqueness, strength, and beauty.

   

 

How do you experience your life as a female expat living abroad in comparison to living in your home country?
Denmark is definitely a more gender equal and free speech country, so I love being a woman here more than back home with higher respect and more possibilities for everything.

What does it mean to you to be an International woman in Denmark? Is there a difference that you can spot between Danish and non-danish women?
I don’t really separate myself from any women from any background. Danish women however, are more brave, and stronger, women from my home are relatively “soft” in a very traditional female way.

How do you aspire to inspire other women?
First but foremost, be myself and stay authentic. Because gender does not matter in the end, what matters the most is us being able to be ourselves. Human beings struggle the most while figuring ourselves out in this life, can easily be lost or try to be someone else, so I hope that me being myself can inspire other men or women to embrace themselves, and realise that uniqueness and difference make one so so precious.

What part of life is most conflicted or unbalanced in terms of being a woman?  How often do you think about this in your daily life?
Giving birth & raising children and work & career. I think about it so often, that it is keeping me away from having a family and starting a family / mom life. I admire those who are managing or managed this, but as a strongly career oriented woman, this is a big concern. 

Is International Women's Day celebrated where you are from?
Yes, it is very big and very much embraced, it was quite frustrating that people think this could not be a thing in a culture like chinese.

 

 

What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?
I was once told, that in your life, you’ll try 100 things, and even though 99 of them fail, and only 1 of them works, you can still be successful.

Have you faced any barriers in your life due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?
There is no perfect recipe for being a working mom, and therefore it is easy to compare and process other mothers' choices if they differ from your own. Ever since I became pregnant, I have known that my child would enter an institution earlier than the average. I have met many wondering mothers who couldn't reconcile with my choice to pursue a career while being a good mother to my child. I love developing myself at work, my skills, and I look forward to meeting my colleagues every day. I believe that it makes me a good mom that I get my daily fix of being independent of anyone but myself. I think us women need to be better at lifting each other up, supporting each other, rather than questioning each other's choices.

What does International Women's day mean to you?
A global day celebrating other women, standing together and supporting each other - as a united force. 

  

 

How long have you been in Denmark and what brought you here?
I came to Denmark not too long ago. As part of my studies at my university in Germany I started my internship at Hairlust in Copenhagen 3 months ago for which I moved here.

Do you have a favorite female mentor or role model?
As cliché as it might sound, whenever I need a piece of advice or someone to listen to I go to my mother. She herself immigrated to a country across the globe when she was a young woman so she can relate to my struggles.

How often do you think about gender inequality in your daily life?
It is hard to not constantly think about it when many women around me struggle with this, even when I am not directly affected all the time. I don’t think I can associate a number to this answer but let’s say, it’s enough to let it influence the way I plan my future.

Have you faced any barriers in your life due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?
Being born as one of two daughters of South Asian parents comes with the pity of people in the community because I have no brother. Luckily my parents were never bothered by this and have always been supportive. This is also how I overcame the barriers others had placed: by proving them wrong. Being a woman does not make my achievements less valuable.

Which woman(en) inspire(s) you the most?
I grew up with my parents’ culture in which the sense of community and family is valued a lot. Due to that I got to be part of lives of many strong women. While their names have not hit the headlines of big magazines their impact on me has been even bigger. They have faced many hardships, dealt with loss and stood up to injustice that was deeply ingrained for generations. Despite all this, they have managed to remain the pillars of their family, their community. Their strength and courage remains unmatched and inspires me every single day.   

What does International Women's day mean to you?
My achievements and the ones of women in general do not exist in a vacuum, Women’s day gives me the opportunity to reflect and honour the efforts and sacrifices of women worldwide, especially of those who still have to actively fight for their human rights.

 

 

Do you have a favorite female mentor or role model?
Mentors or role models for me are mostly people close to me with whom I interact in daily life. For example, there are several professors at my university who I look up to, as well as my colleagues in my company who provide me daily with great examples of being professionals while still being empathetic and great leaders and managers.

What part of life is most conflicted or unbalanced in terms of being a woman?
I feel like safety is a big part that is conflicted for me, or more like feeling safe. Sometimes on the streets I feel a little unsafe being alone because of all the stories you hear of other women. It makes me feel vulnerable.

What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?
To always be myself, no matter the situation. People should like you for who you are, and if they don’t then they are not your kind of people. 

What does International Women's day mean to you?
Celebrating women for being independent, strong and themselves - celebrating the amazing achievements towards equality that have been made by the women before us and aspiring for an even better future. 

It's 2023 - do you think the shift to gender equality and equity is moving? Is it fast enough?
It is moving, the questions is indeed if it is fast enough. Even in western countries, the gender pay gap still exists which is just crazy to imagine. Policies are being put in place to help women, but I am not sure if these (e.g. quotas) are the right way towards equality. It is still moving everyday, but I don’t think it is fast enough.

 

 

How do you experience your life as a female expat living abroad in comparison to living in your home country?
For me living abroad in comparison to living in my home country is quite different. I moved away from my parents directly to a new country so I feel way more independent. When I come back home, I also return to my childhood. So it feels like coming home in a different way. Right now, my home is Malmö in Sweden. I have learned a lot in the last few years since I could not rely on my parents but with the help of my friends, I was able to tackle all challenges.

Do you have a favorite female mentor or role model?
I would say that my mum is my role model. She always encouraged me in everything I did. She always made me feel that I could achieve anything. I don’t think that she ever questioned if I could achieve something. To her, it was clear that I would go my own way and that is what she encouraged. I know my mum has her values close at heart and follows her heart and gut a lot of times. I tend to be more analytical about things, so to see someone following their heart is really inspiring to me. 

What challenge(s) remains for women today? How can understanding history help us to overcome them?
I believe I am really lucky to live in a country where people aspire to treat everyone equally. I know that not everybody is as lucky. Still, I am aware that women continue to face challenges in everyday life. For instance, the pay gap in Denmark still exists even though one might think that it shouldn’t be in Nordic countries.

It's 2023 - do you think the shift to gender equality and equity is moving? Is it fast enough?
I believe there shouldn’t even be a gender gap. Unfortunately, there is. With many things, change happens slowly. Nevertheless, I believe it is better that change happens no matter how long it might take. Through the connectivity of the internet, women all over the world join together. Together we are strong and together we can make a change.

 

If you want to read more on this matter and get more information about this years International Women's Day theme, you can do so on the official International Women's Day Website.