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#SmartGirlsAsk Changes the Conversation on the Emmys Red Carpet

Topics: Negotiation

Why should we care what journalists ask celebrities on the red carpet? Because if all girls see are women being valued for fitting into a designer dress and having access to the best professional grooming money can buy, it’s just a little bit harder for them to picture themselves growing up to find a seat at the conference table. In the past year, the #AskHerMore campaign on Twitter has encouraged journalists to ask actresses about their accomplishments, not their manicures; last night, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls organization took the trend one step further with #SmartGirlsAsk.

emmys 

(Photo Credit: han s/Flickr)

These are a few of the best questions to make it to the Emmys red carpet last night:

Do You Know What You're Worth?

Still not sure why we should care what celebrities think or wear? Consider this: PayScale’s Salary Negotiation Guide shows that women who don’t ask for raises hold back because they’re uncomfortable discussing money – and for good reason. Research shows that women who negotiate run the risk of being seen as aggressive. Ask for what you deserve, in other words, and you might just find yourself branded as “too masculine” to be likable … and too unlikable to be worth granting a raise.

But, how do we get these messages about gender and behavior in the first place? For most of us, it’s subtle and constant, a stream of images ingested via television and magazines and other media.

Bottom line, it matters what we see and hear. Change the conversation, and you can change the truth behind it. Plus, what’s worth more to us our daily lives: beauty tips from millionaires who can afford things we can’t, or practical advice on how they got to where they are in the first place?

Tell Us What You Think

What would you add to these questions, if you could? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
Read more from Jen

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