Lifestyle
Donas da Voz: Year-End Reflections on Female Empowerment
Livia Matos and her team celebrate achievements, overcome challenges, and reinforce female strength.
In a relaxed chat, the Donas da Voz team gathers for a year-end special. Livia Matos shares the behind-the-scenes, lessons learned, and challenges of almost two years of podcasting. An inspiring conversation about sisterhood, authenticity, and the importance of saying 'no' on the path to female empowerment.
The end of the year always invites reflection, and in the Donas da Voz special, Livia Matos, along with the Agência Apelo team – who have been with the project since the beginning – toasted to the achievements and challenges of almost two years of the podcast. In a relaxed and insightful chat, the team opened up about the behind-the-scenes, the lessons learned, and the transformations the project has brought, reaffirming its mission to empower women.
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The Donas da Voz Journey: Surprises, Struggles, and Authenticity
The Donas da Voz journey has been marked by unexpected moments and significant growth. Among the biggest surprises, Livia highlights the virality of a post about pet grief, a topic initially outside the scope, which reached almost 2 million people, showing a deep connection with the audience. Another high point was the premiere of a program with athlete Laís Souza, which garnered over 3,000 simultaneous viewers on YouTube organically, a remarkable feat without major media investment.
However, the journey wasn't all glory. Livia shared moments of fatigue and stress while balancing her career with the podcast. She emphasized the importance of team support, which empowered her and adjusted the recording pace, proving that not every day is full of excitement. Vulnerability proved to be a differentiator, as when Livia addressed personal topics like divorce and her current marriage. "People connect with you when you show your vulnerability, that you are a real person, with problems and sorrows," she states.
The Liberating Power of Saying 'No'
One of the central themes of the discussion was the difficulty, especially for women, in saying "no" and the guilt associated with idleness. Livia recalled a striking quote from interviewee Debastos: "schedule time to do absolutely nothing." This reflection highlighted that rest is vital, not a cause for guilt, especially in a society that overvalues constant productivity.
The team discussed how women, often educated to please, find it harder to set boundaries. Social pressure leads them to accept more tasks and feel guilty for moments of inactivity. The podcast emphasized that saying "no" is an act of self-love, not selfishness. "Knowing how to say no is liberating," Livia said. She also introduced the concept of "pedagogical embarrassment" – a tactic to disarm people who try to shame others, by reversing the situation and making them reflect on their criticisms.
Deconstructing Female Judgments and Myths
Donas da Voz set out to demystify various judgments women face. Financial independence, for example, is seen as an inconvenience by many, because a woman "doesn't need permission" for her choices. This freedom is often interpreted as a challenge to control.
Motherhood, Career, and Social Expectations
Still on judgments, the team addressed the pejorative idea of a "pet mom," compared to the old "spinster" trope, while "pet dads" are rarely questioned. An assertive woman in the workplace is labeled as "rude," "difficult," or "attention-seeking," while a man is applauded. Other criticized myths included the idealization of perfect relationships on social media, which generate frustration and unrealistic expectations, and the aesthetic and behavioral pressure on new generations, leading them to seek standardization and overexposure, often at the cost of mental health.
Sisterhood: The Antidote to Competition
Female rivalry, often socially encouraged, was questioned. Livia shared her experience in female leadership networks, where "successful women uplift others." She argues that although competition has been a model from an early age, women are "waking up and realizing that together they are very powerful." The podcast reinforces the idea that "one woman supports another."
Self-Knowledge and Self-Love as Goals
For 2026, Donas da Voz's main goal is to bring more sisterhood, unity, and support among women. The key to healthy relationships, whatever they may be, is self-love. "We have to know our worth, we have to love ourselves," Livia points out, emphasizing that this construction requires therapy and self-knowledge.
Being a successful woman, as the team reflected, doesn't mean a life without challenges. "Life isn't a strawberry patch," Livia stated, reminding us that everything has its pros and cons, and the important thing is to "get up and do it," transforming readiness into decision. Livia's biggest "no" this year was precisely reducing the podcast's pace, protecting her mental health and showing that prioritizing oneself is fundamental.
In this year-end toast, Donas da Voz celebrates female strength, resilience, and capacity for transformation, inspiring all women to remain empowered, authentic, and owners of their own voices.
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