"When you’re young, you have a lot of dreams and you have a strong sense of idealism that a lot of older people would like to discount. Hold on to that sense of idealism because it serves as a compass for your morals.” - Cheska Kapunan Our delightful hosts Yani Tabunan, Khushboo Mishra, Nitya Bardhan, and Cheska Kapunan navigate through being young job seekers for the 4th episode of Girl Power Talk’s podcast titled ‘Finding Joy, Love, and Passion in your job’. It’s not easy - and more so when you’re a woman. But to turn a deaf ear to the pointless comments about how unnecessary a woman’s income is to the family and to keep going takes a different kind of strength.  At Girl Power Talk, neither your age nor your gender is taken into account as you soar across different areas of work. You are free to experiment and learn as much as you’d like! All of this whilst being paid seems like the perfect job, doesn’t it? Our hosts thought it was ‘too good to be true’. They received the experience of a lifetime by working at Girl Power Talk.  Tune in to this gripping episode to listen to how wonderful it is to be a part of a dream work culture with people you love! This is one episode you wouldn’t want to miss! Hosts - Cheska Kapunan, Yani Tabunan, Khushboo Mishra, Nitya Bardhan Want to share your story? Visit - https://girlpowertalk.com/podcast/

You might wonder how Maria Clara, a fictional character of the 19th century and the ideal feminine hero of the Philippines influences the lives of the youth today. In the third episode of the Girl Power Talk podcast, a fiercely passionate panel with young adults from all over the Philippines–Jesse, Dennise, Kurtney, Anjo, Cate and Rafiel, along with host Cheska Kapunan–discuss just this. Maria Clara may not be the most relevant model today, but her vastly admired personality still embodies feminine ideals that are widespread throughout society. How often do we find ourselves influenced by the projections and personas all around us? Give it a thought and you’ll notice how people often gravitate towards placing others into boxes and stereotypes, limiting them to orthodox gender roles. Maria Clara stood to be the much-admired example of what every Filipino woman should be–beautiful, obedient, graceful, demure. While her name may not directly be heard in the echoes of a household, these ideals tend to remain true for young girls as they’re growing up. Pulled away from doing anything considered masculine as children, girls are often encouraged to pay more attention to dressing modestly or talking politely. Ironically, expectations that have carried forward are based on a fictional character written by a man! At the same time, it also plays into how opposing standards were imposed on men, who were and unfortunately still are sometimes expected to be assertive, emotionless, and always capable of being leaders and providers. This engaging discussion moves to a starkly different Filipino woman–Gabriela Silang–a lionhearted military leader, symbolizing strength and amplifying her voice. Through the changing times, women have also become open to raising their voices and speaking up for what matters to them. Gabriela’s principles capture the essence of this change. The team members talk about how each of us should proudly exhibit who we are and stay true to our unique personalities. While both these women signify distinct values and characters, they symbolize how being a woman is not just limited to one thing but rather a specter of possibilities, waiting to be discovered. They emphasize how it’s more important to be comfortable in your own skin and do things that you truly abide by, rather than trying to please others–something commonly expected from women. From bold and intelligent family members to inspiring Filipino women leaders like Leni Robredo, the panel covers a lively discussion on how more and more women in the Philippines are evolving to speak up for themselves and be equal contributors to society. They serve as the next set of role models for many growing Filipino girls and women today. In fact, when women are empowered as they are, each one will shine through as an inspiration and collectively drive the change that society needs today. Total time: 37:58 Host: Cheska Kapunan Participants: Jesse Barcena, Dennise Rialp, Kurtney Garcia, Anjo Agbay, Cate Paspos, Rafiel Semana Editor(s): Noorain Saleem, Neel Patki, Mahesh Sathe Visit us at https://girlpowertalk.com/ Join our community https://girlpowertalk.com/apply-now/ Share your inspiring stories at https://www.instagram.com/girlpowertalk/ or drop us an email at info@girlpowertalk.com to feature on our Instagram page and also get a chance to win our merchandise.

Menstruation is a normal body process that happens to women every month– so why is there such a stigma in talking about it? From widespread myths, like a woman should avoid physical activities when she’s on her period, to cultural taboos where women are deemed as ‘dirty’ or ‘impure’, this type of disinformation pervades globally. At its root, this stems from the lack of basic education in tackling the subject of menstruation, so in this episode, the brilliant and powerful women of Girl Power Talk discuss exactly this, touching upon how misconceptions and limiting beliefs on menstruation may affect or lead to damaging a teen's or woman's self-worth. Together, in this podcast, this sisterhood speaks up against period stigma and promotes acceptance of the menstrual cycle, normalizing its conversation. Rachita Sharma, CEO, and Co-Founder of Girl Power Talk hosts this podcast as she converses with Ishita, Simran, Jesse, and Jasmita; four bright, independent, and diverse women to discuss their personal and cultural experiences with menstruation. Together, they recall their first-period experiences, from coming home from school with bleeding underwear and crying to their mom, to feeling angry and scared over having to bleed every month. Other issues that were touched upon in this episode were the severe lack of menstruation education in school (10:32), men’s assumptions about menstruation (15:55), misleading television ads (23:20), and celebrating womanhood (42:17). Behind the candid and light-hearted stories in this podcast is a deeper reflection on how societal conventions sabotage our understanding of our own bodies. Because of the assumptions, misconceptions, and superstitions, the guests of this podcast also share the difficulties in not being able to share their experiences, for the fear of being judged or seen as impure. At its most extreme, the guests also share that women during their periods are forbidden from attending religious practices and are seen as a bad influence. In some places, parents even make their daughters sleep on the floor just because they are on their periods! This widespread cultural taboo has significantly affected the confidence of many young women, as shared by the guests of this podcast. This has led to women being self-conscious of their own bodies, feeling embarrassed, and limiting themselves from doing activities like dancing and sports for fear of being judged. In turn, this has also led to bullying and in some instances, has led women to ask themselves: what is wrong with me? But the thing is, there isn’t anything wrong at all! At the end of the day, our guests in this podcast encourage you to have a healthy connection with your body and embrace your femininity, while not letting your menstruation limit you. In the same breath, they highlight that each woman’s experience differs from the other, so you don’t need to compare yourself to other women. And hopefully one day, we wouldn’t have to stuff pads into wrappers or watch commercials with blue droplets, because there are better, healthier, and normalized conversations on menstruation that occur within the family and outside in our social circles. Find what’s best for you, listen to your body, and be the catalyst in openly speaking about menstruation in order to break the stigma and spark healthy conversations. Let’s support one another and #loveourbodies. Host: Rachita Sharma Participants: Jesse Mariz Barcena, Ishita Sharma, Simran Singh, and Jasmita Shah Editors: Noorain Saleem, Neel Patki, Mahesh Sathe Visit us at https://girlpowertalk.com/ Join our community https://girlpowertalk.com/apply-now/ Share your period stories at https://www.instagram.com/girlpowertalk/ or drop us an email at info@girlpowertalk.com to feature on our Instagram page and also get a chance to win our merchandise.

What is hard? Growing up or being a grown-up? Beginning our passion-filled series with a big elephant in the room: Adulting. In the process of growing up, one feels a gazillion emotions and by the time you are an adult, it’s like all those experiences decide to party in your head every night you go to sleep. It is like a rom-com action comedy-drama stage show where every emotion hastily comes and performs their sets but doesn’t leave. Been there, done that? We feel you! Rachita Sharma, CEO and Co-founder of Girl Power Talk, and the host of the podcast talks to 5 young, independent, talented, and diverse women who come from different backgrounds, but share many similarities irrespective of the geographical and cultural boundaries. Their sole purpose behind starting this series is to share real stories that connect to a huge pool of like-minded people who believe in making a difference through their voice by using it to speak about issues that genuinely matter. In the very first episode, they touch upon several issues related to Adulting such as misconceptions about adulting while growing up (14:39), the need to be diplomatic as adults (22:11), enjoying solitude (37:33), and their advice to young children who are adulting as per their experiences (51:38). What actually differentiates growing up from being a grown-up is the fact that with the latter, you are expected to imagine or pretend to ‘act’ at a certain age. The process of ‘growing up is mostly a weird mix of restricted minds and liberating actions. Quite hysterically, the opposite of this is when you become a full-fledged adult. A grown-up has responsibilities; everyone is looking at them, judging them for every decision they make, every step that they take. Unceremoniously, everything just matters so much. And then the Internet quotes facts like ‘age is just a number and ‘one never stops learning. So, if growth is learning—learning from mistakes, learning from experience, learning from your own journey—the idea of letting the child within us live and embrace making mistakes deserves some attention too. Therefore, defining a stage where you call yourself a “grown-up” is not really possible. Adulting is subjective and is a natural process. Growing up is hard for some and merry for others. Veritably, our childhood experiences shape us into becoming the people that we end up becoming. Then comes the worst part: competition, insecurity, and a zero analysis of who we are and what our relationship with ourselves is. A sad reality that we all experience as adults is our inability to manage time, handle societal pressures and challenge traditional concepts of existence. The list is endless. Total Time: (56:53) CONTRIBUTORS Host: Rachita Sharma Participants: Jasmita Shah, Victoria Cesar Velazquez, Kurtney Garcia, Trisha Sinha Editors: Neel Patki & Noorain Saleem Want to share your story? Well, we can’t wait to have you speak with us already. Visit: https://girlpowertalk.com/podcast/ Learn more about Girl Power Talk