Why having a role model is important and remains so

“You can be anything”

In the Netherlands, 79 percent of girls have a role model. A Naomi van As, an Anna Nooshin, or a Carolien Spoor. I think that's nice, but also important. As a little girl, you need an example that makes you think: that's exactly how I want to be when I grow up. I had that too..

According to a study by Mattel, you know, the one from Barbie, it turns out that for 68 percent, a role model is the proof that you can achieve anything. I heard on the radio this morning that there is a plan to fine companies if they pay a woman in the same position less than her male colleague. And when I see a girl believing that she can do anything, I am sure that the glass ceiling is about to shatter.

But as you transition from girl to woman, it seems you lose the idea of a role model. 77 percent of adult women no longer have an example, according to the same study by Mattel. Too bad, right? I think so. I still have them, maybe they are a bit smaller, they don't look like the Spice Girls, and I don't hang posters of them on the wall, that would be freaky. But I do have them, one or two close by, the other a bit further away.

My mother was my very first role model, my example. I have my best friend Britt, who combines her quite impressive career in one breath with her love, raising her son, and being pregnant with the next baby. And in the meantime, she also takes me out dancing and drinking at a festival. But mostly she is so good at happiness. May is my role model in business. Her view of what is beautiful, how she sees Amayzine, her writing as if you are experiencing it yourself, that endless creativity (and I am in the process of adopting her vocabulary, which is enormous). By the way, I can recommend working for your role model, so you can observe up close. And when you observe up close, you see more than from afar. This sounds a bit like wisdom from the legendary late Johan Cruyff, but I just thought of it myself. And because I too have to believe in an ideal version of myself, I go for Emma Watson. She started as Hermione, but now works for the United Nations and does so much good for humanity that I always feel a bit silly with my automatic donation to charity.

Don't stop having a role model, don't stop letting someone know that they are a role model for you. Only 27 percent do that, while half of the women would feel better if they heard that. Just let them know who yours is. Barbie is starting a campaign for girls with the hashtag #morerolemodels. And to see for yourself how important it is for young girls to have role models, you want to see this video with Olcay Gulsen for a moment. So beautiful, so sweet. And don't forget: you can be anything.