“An attitude that’s tangible”
It’s been several years since rock singer-songwriter Ina Pross has been using her music to tackle the issue of women’s rights. Pross uses one of her latest songs released in August 2025, “Girls Wanted”, to support the shared-name project of two Alto Adige-based companies: Niederstätter and Sher. In this interview, Pross explains why this project holds personal importance for her.
Ina, the “Girls Wanted” project stands for “Talent Over Gender” and aims to empower young women. How do you see your role as a female musician in this context of empowerment?
As a female artist, singer, and songwriter, I experience every day how important it is as a woman to have the space to express yourself freely, and where you are also recognized for your work. Creativity knows no gender – it is born out of talent, experience, emotion and courage. The song “Girls Wanted” emerged from this concept. For me, “Talent Over Gender” means acceptance, opportunities, and appreciation based on one’s abilities.
So the project is important to you…
Yes, it’s really close to my heart because it encourages people – despite their gender – to believe in themselves and follow their own path. The project creates the exact space needed where people can be seen, heard, and empowered. I have firsthand experience with female oppression. I am both a mother and a very active musician, and music has always been a non-negotiable for me. And it’s exactly because of that that I am often criticized for being a bad mother. It’s a lot of painful pressure – this feeling that as a woman/mother, you are not allowed to be successful. But that’s why I’m fighting for the right to be exactly that – fighting until I drop (laughs).
Who is it that is behind these voices?
It’s usually from the older generations, who make comments like “You’re never home”. When a man goes to work in the morning and then stays out for a drink or to go to the gym after work, it’s acceptable behavior according to the society, but as a woman it’s simply not okay. But here’s what I think: every one of us women needs a healthy dose of selfishness in our lives. As long as our children are happy and healthy, we shouldn’t have to give up everything to be only a mother. And it’s all the more reason for us women to stick together and fight back.
Was the song written because Niederstätter requested it, or was it catalyzed by your own experiences?
The song is based off of my own ideas and experiences, and was already written when Daniela Niederstätter approached me about the project. I made a few small changes to the title and lyrics at that point to better line up with the project. The lyrics, “We all can dream, we all can shine,” for example: We are all somebody, and where you come from, how old you are, and what you look like doesn’t matter. Live and let live.
For me, music has always been a way to make attitudes visible and tangible. With “Girls Wanted,” I want to encourage people to believe in themselves and recognize their own worth. The sentiment of “Talent Over Gender” is one that I am working to convey through my music – this motto of the Girls Wanted project communicates a set of values that I strongly align with.
You said that women should stick together more. Is this type of solidarity one that you see in the music scene?
I sense a lot of competition in the industry, which I don’t understand. For quite some time now I’ve been hearing comments like, “You’re not South Tyrol’s number one rock queen anymore” or “Now you’ve got competition from Nina Duschek”. Comments like that just make me sad. We South Tyrolean singers are special and unique – every one of us – and we shouldn’t always be pitted against each other. This idea is also what inspired my new song “Better Together,” which ended up being a collaboration between myself and other great singers.
Aside from “Girls Wanted”, it seems like topics surrounding female identity are important to you as a general theme…
Exactly, I’m primarily concerned with women’s freedom. In 2023, I wrote my first song, “Mighty Queen”, as a tribute to mothers and everything they do. My aim is not to devalue men, and of course there’s always another perspective to every situation. But my own personal experiences and the majority of what I see in my day to day show me that we as women are still oppressed, still criticized for so much that we do. Then there’s my song “Let Me Be Free”, in which I say: Let us women just be free, leave us alone. …And my song “Bad Women Know Better” is a sweet display of the middle finger. My contribution to equality is through my music – I think even the smallest of efforts can make a difference, everything we do contributes to the cause. And it is constant food for thought for people.
How has “Girls Wanted” been received so far by your audiences?
I’ve already seen a lot of interest in the song, especially from the media. I think people are happy to see someone speaking out on the issue of equality. But I also see that sometimes I simply get labeled as a militant feminist or something of the like, which hurts because I am in no way anti-men. When I make that clear to people, they tend to be more accepting of where I stand.
What lyrical element of the song is most important for you?
There are too many to choose from, I think I was able to cover the whole spectrum here. (laughs) But if I had to choose one, it would probably be this one:
„Girls wanted – here we are,
Each of us just as we are.“
And why this line in particular? Because we all have a talent inside of us. So the message is to simply be who we are and do what we love to do – because that’s how we will succeed in doing things well.
Interview: Sarah Meraner