What happens when we finally name the system?

In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by award-winning journalist, activist, and author Soraya Chemaly, whose latest book All We Want Is Everything: How We Dismantle Male Supremacy, is one of the most important books on gender and power published in recent years.

Soraya has spent decades researching and writing about gender, culture, and power — and in this conversation, we explore the structural forces shaping women’s lives, from the subtle ways society centers men to the political backlash against women’s independence happening right now.

We talk about why the language of “gender equality” often fails to capture the reality of the system we live in — and why naming male supremacy matters.

This episode is a deep dive into the cultural, political, and psychological forces shaping women’s lives today — and what it means to step outside those systems and choose ourselves.

In This Episode We Discuss

• Why Soraya chose to name the system male supremacy
• What it means to decenter men
• Why women are socialized to prioritize pleasing over knowing
• The hidden ways institutions are structured around men
• Why the backlash against women’s freedom is happening now
• The cultural forces shaping women’s confidence and ambition
• Why male flight from “feminized spaces” is reshaping politics
• The myth of meritocracy in elite education
• Why progress has happened — and why backlash follows it
• How everyday choices contribute to cultural change
• Why Gen Z women give Soraya hope for the future

A Powerful Moment

One of the most striking ideas Soraya shares is that feminism is fundamentally about decentering men — not out of hatred, but to enable women to live lives rooted in dignity, agency, and autonomy.

As Soraya explains:

About Soraya Chemaly

Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning journalist, activist, and author whose work focuses on gender, politics, and power.

She is the author of All We Want Is Everything: How We Dismantle Male Supremacy and Rage Becomes Her, and writes widely about the cultural forces shaping women’s lives.

Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Time, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post, and she writes the Substack newsletter Unmanned, exploring gender, power, and resistance in everyday life.

Buy All We Want Is Everything and discover more from Soraya: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Soraya-Chemaly/100698080

Connect With Soraya

Substack: Unmanned: https://substack.com/@sorayachemaly
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sorayachemaly/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ragebecomesher/

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© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

We live in a world where stress, anxiety, and burnout have become normal. According to the World Health Organization, workplace burnout alone was officially recognized as a legitimate occupational phenomenon — and it continues to rise year after year.¹ In the U.S., multiple studies show that more than 75% of adults report moderate to high stress, and anxiety disorders affect nearly 1 in 5 people annually.²

You don’t need to be “broken” to feel overwhelmed — you just need to be awake in a culture that is wired for distraction, comparison, and urgency.

In today’s milestone episode — Episode 50 — I’m not interviewing a guest. Instead, I want to insert a breath into your life.

You may not know this about me, but I’m a certified mindfulness meditation teacher. I trained in mindfulness because I was tired of the “drama department” in my own head, and because I saw again and again how inner tension was undermining confidence, performance, connection, and joy — especially for women who do so much, give so much, and expect so much of themselves.

In this episode, we explore:

What Mindfulness Really Is

Mindfulness isn’t emptying your mind or escaping life — it’s paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment, without judgment.³ At its core, it’s a practice that trains your nervous system to notice what’s happening before you react to it — and that is profound.

Why It Matters Right Now

The research on the benefits of mindfulness is robust. Studies show that regular mindfulness meditation can:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Decrease symptoms of depression
• Improve emotional regulation
• Increase focus and cognitive flexibility
• Lower physiological markers of stress
• Enhance a sense of calm and well-being⁴

For people experiencing burnout or overwhelm — the very things many women are trying to manage with productivity, perfectionism, and performance — mindfulness offers a gateway to presence, and presence is the foundation of creative, sustainable, and integrated living.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

This episode breaks down the core areas mindfulness cultivates awareness:

1. Mindfulness of the Body
2. Mindfulness of Feeling Tone
3. Mindfulness of Mind
4. Mindfulness of Mental Patterns
   And we use the breath — the most accessible anchor — to begin.

A Short Guided Introduction Practice

No long retreats. No complicated methodology. Just a practical guided breath meditation you can do right now.

Resources & Science Mentioned

¹ World Health Organization — Burnout as an occupational phenomenon
² APA Stress in America Survey
³ Jon Kabat-Zinn — definition of mindfulness
⁴ Multiple peer-reviewed studies showing the benefits of mindfulness practice

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💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

Scrolling through social media and feeling that familiar sinking feeling? That's not accidental—it's engineered. But the real cost of comparison goes way beyond just feeling bad for a few minutes. In this solo episode, Eimear reveals three hidden costs of the comparison trap and shares one research-backed protocol that actually works to break free from the cycle.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00] Introduction: The comparison trap and why it's engineered [02:30] Hidden Cost #1: The opportunity cost of your attention [06:30] Hidden Cost #2: The goal hijacking phenomenon [10:30] Hidden Cost #3: The confidence compound interest you're missing [14:30] Why willpower doesn't work (and what does) [16:30] The Values Clarity & Replacement Protocol - Step 1: The 10-Minute Values Compass [19:00] Step 2: Creating your "Instead Of" list [21:00] Step 3: Implementation intentions that actually work [24:00] Your 7-day challenge

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Every time you switch your attention to scroll, it takes 23 minutes to refocus on your original task fully
• Exposure to others' goals on social media actually changes your own goals without you realizing it—leading to "borrowed dreams"
• Comparison breaks the confidence compound interest cycle—you're gathering evidence of others' success instead of building your own
• You can't just stop comparing—you have to replace it with something that honors your actual values
• Implementation intentions (if-then planning) make you 2-3x more likely to follow through on behavior change

KEY THEMES

• Understanding the hidden costs of social comparison beyond mood
• The neuroscience of attention and distraction
• Values-based decision making vs. comparison-based living
• Building confidence through action rather than observation
• Creating sustainable behavior change through replacement, not restriction

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Free and low-cost confidence-building resources: https://stan.store/eimearzone
• Research cited: Dr. Gloria Mark (UC Irvine) on attention residue
• Dr. Albert Bandura's self-efficacy research
• Leon Festinger's Social Comparison Theory
• Peter Gollwitzer's implementation intention research
• Cal Newport's work on deep work and attention

KEY RESEARCH SOURCES

• Mark, G., et al. (2005). "No task left behind? Examining the nature of fragmented work"
• Festinger, L. (1954). "A theory of social comparison processes"
• Bandura, A. (1997). "Self-efficacy: The exercise of control"
• Vogel, E. A., et al. (2014). "Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem"
• Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). "Implementation intentions and goal achievement"
• Hunt, M. G., et al. (2018). "No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression"

Share Your Thoughts

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Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

What happens when a woman experiences a problem firsthand — and decides not to tolerate it?

In this powerful conversation, Eimear is joined by Vanessa Karel, founder of Greether, an award-winning, global travel platform built by women, for women — centered on safety, trust, connection, and economic empowerment.

After being stranded alone during the pandemic and experiencing the vulnerability so many women know too well while traveling, Vanessa didn’t just adapt; she built a solution. Today, Greether connects female travelers with verified local women (“greeters”) in over 100 countries, creating safer, richer travel experiences and paid opportunities for women worldwide.

This episode marks the first in a new guest interview series, spotlighting women founders who are actively solving for women — not waiting for permission, not asking to be included, but building what we actually need.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why women’s safety and connection still aren’t centered in global travel — and how Greether changes that
• What it means to solve a problem you’re living, not just theorizing
• How Greether works (and why it’s more than a tour guide)
• Why connection matters just as much as safety
• Employing women globally through ethical, meaningful work
• The discipline required to turn an idea into a real company
• Asking for help, being a beginner, and choosing yourself before you feel “ready”
• Why building for women is sustainability

This is a conversation about courage, discipline, asking, starting scrappy, and refusing to shrink — even when the path isn’t clear.

About Our Guest

Vanessa Karel is a Latina entrepreneur, speaker, and the founder of Greether, a women-first travel platform connecting female travelers with trusted local women around the world.

Greether has been:

• Named Best Travel Startup of the Year
• Recognized by the UN World Tourism Organization as one of the most empowering female-led travel companies globally
• Featured internationally for its impact on women’s economic empowerment and safety

Vanessa is passionate about building technology that serves real human needs — and about creating income opportunities for women across cultures, ages, and backgrounds.

Ready to experience Greether?

Special discount for listeners of Girl, Choose Yourself! Enjoy $10 off with code Chooseyourself valid until December 31, 2026

🌍 Website: https://www.greether.com

Connect with Vanessa & Greether

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greet.her

💼 LinkedIn (Vanessa): https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessakarel

📧 Email: vanessa@greether.com

📧 General: info@greether.com

Interested in becoming a Greeter or traveling with one? All bookings and appli

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Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

January asks us to reinvent ourselves overnight.
But our bodies, and the natural world, tell a different story.

In this episode, Eimear invites you into the quieter turning point that arrives in early February, when the light begins to return, and something inside us starts to stir again.

Through the Celtic festival of Imbolc and the story of Brigid — goddess, saint, healer, poet, and keeper of the flame — we explore how renewal actually happens: slowly, invisibly, and from the inside out.

This conversation is also a reminder that women’s stories, like our own power, are often softened, rewritten, or overlooked — and yet they endure. And maybe parts of you are ready to return too.

We also explore how cultures across the world mark this late-winter threshold, including Lunar New Year traditions, all pointing toward the same truth: life awakens quietly before it blooms.

If you’ve felt pressure to have everything figured out already this year, this episode is an invitation to soften, listen, and reconnect with what’s ready to grow now.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why January 1 rarely feels like a true beginning
• What the Celtic festival of Imbolc represents
• Who Brigid was before she became a saint
• Why women’s stories often disappear — and how they return
• The connection between seasonal rhythms and personal renewal
• A simple ritual to mark this turning point in your own life
• A poetic blessing for stepping into what’s next

Reflection for this week:
What part of you is ready to come back into the light?

Next episode: We begin a new season of conversations with extraordinary women who are shaping culture, business, creativity, and leadership in powerful ways — starting next week with our conversation with the founder of the travel app GreetHer, which is changing the way women travel and connect.

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who might need the reminder: the light is returning — and so are we.

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Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

Confidence doesn’t disappear by accident.

It’s shaped, slowly, quietly, by what we grow up surrounded by and taught to accept as “normal.”

The voices we’re used to hearing in charge.
The roles women are expected to play without comment.
The subtle signals about who gets to lead, who is meant to serve, and who should soften themselves to fit in.

This episode explores how those invisible defaults influence women’s confidence, ambition, and sense of what’s possible — and why so many capable women end up second-guessing themselves, shrinking their dreams, or feeling they’re “asking too much.”

It’s also a conversation about unlearning.

About what it takes to stop absorbing bias as truth and how we can raise the next generation to see what’s baked into culture, language, technology, and everyday life… and choose differently.

If you’re committed to building a bigger life and helping your children grow up with a stronger sense of self-trust, this episode will give you a lot to think about.

Listen if you’re ready to:

• Question the assumptions you’ve inherited
• Unlearn habits that keep you self-editing
• Model confidence and awareness for your children
• Stop mistaking conditioning for truth

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Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

If you’ve been circling the thing you really want — the book, the business, the bold new chapter — but you keep putting it off, this episode is for you.

In today’s episode, I break down what behavioral science actually says about procrastination (spoiler: it’s not laziness), share practical ways to get traction fast, and then I go into the part that doesn’t get acknowledged enough: the very real context women carry — from self-vigilance and workplace “editing” to the exhausting performance expectations we’ve been sold for decades.

This isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about getting honest… and getting moving.

In this episode, we cover:

• What procrastination really is (and why it’s not a discipline problem)
• The most common reasons we delay the work that matters most
• 3 practical strategies to break procrastination and build momentum
• Why procrastination hits differently for women — especially in midlife
• How visibility, self-monitoring, and cultural expectations keep women stuck on the sidelines
• Why “anti-aging” marketing has become yet another way to sell women fixes
• How to stop waiting and start your next chapter now

✅ Ready to get out of the Waiting Room?

Done Waiting is my 14-day guided audio experience to help you stop procrastinating and start moving — one brave step at a time.

🎧 Learn more + Get instant access here:
https://stan.store/eimearzone/p/done-waiting-

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📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

Many women move through life with a quiet, persistent thought in the background: something is wrong with me.

Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to keep self-acceptance slightly out of reach.

In this episode, Eimear explores how that belief takes root — not because women are failing, but because the standards we measure ourselves against were never designed with women’s lives, bodies, or responsibilities in mind.

When success is defined around linear careers, uninterrupted productivity, and constant emotional regulation, it’s no wonder so many women turn systemic pressure into personal shame.

This conversation is not about fixing yourself.
It’s about understanding why self-love so often feels conditional — and how to begin relating to yourself with more kindness, realism, and care.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly trying to “get yourself together” before you’re allowed to rest, belong, or feel okay, this episode is for you.

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Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.