photographer: carly wollaert © | make-up artist: izabell simon from art of colors
stephanie knoors(she/her)
owner at workmode
about
i’m an entrepreneur and the owner of workmode, a female-focused co-working and community platform. through physical workspaces, we create environments where women work, connect and grow side by side.
alongside this, i co-created the self-made summit: a large-scale business event where women come together to talk honestly about ambition, leadership and the realities behind success.
my story is about building while learning, leading with responsibility, and believing that visibility – of both success and the process – is essential to changing what feels possible.
why do you think it is important that role models need to be visible?
role models need to be visible because they shape what we see as normal and achievable. when women in different roles, industries and stages of life are visible, it challenges narrow ideas of success and leadership. visibility doesn’t create pressure to perform – it creates permission to choose. for others to recognise possibilities for women, they first need to see women leading, building and making decisions in real, everyday contexts. that’s how beliefs shift, expectations widen and space is created for different paths to exist.
workmode
role models matter because they change what society considers normal, by making women’s ambition, leadership and complexity visible in everyday work and life.