Amy Poehler's Advice For Young Female Directors Is Perfect For ALL Women
Raise your hand if you love love loooove Amy Poehler
No matter what the problem or issue is, it seems like Amy Poehler has the answer. Maybe it’s Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, from Parks and Recreation, or maybe it’s just Amy Poehler being herself. Either way, she always knows the perfect thing to say to leave us feeling confident and empowered, and her latest bit of advice is no different.
While promoting her new Netflix film, Wine Country, which she both directs and stars in, Poehler was asked if she had any advice for young, female directors. Since this was her directorial debut, and she’s 47 years old, she decided to give the best answer ever. The best part about her advice is that it’s entirely applicable to women in all professions, not just directors.
“Do it even if you don’t think you’re ready,” she says. “A lot of women wait until they think they’re really, really ready for something. And I’ve worked with a lot of guys who aren’t ready for what they’re doing.”
First, have you ever heard anything ring truer than the fact that women tend to proceed with caution in their careers whereas men typically don’t blink when it comes to getting ahead? It’s because they’ve been told all their lives that they can. And women are the primary sufferers of things like Imposter Syndrome and second-guess our career decisions to death.
Amy Poehler is absolutely right, and women everywhere can learn from this. Plenty of people on Twitter felt their own light bulbs go off, and praised her for telling it like it is.
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1127097928210944000
Personally speaking, I’ve worked in multiple industries — higher ed, a law firm, an advertising agency, and the most stereotypical, TPS Report Corporate America Company in history — and no matter where I’ve wound up, there has been a distinct difference (in my opinion) between male and female leaders. Meaning, men fall somewhere under the “Incompetent Boob But Hey, I’m Trying” umbrella, while women are typically more detail-driven, working long hours and missing family time, and always second-guessing their worth at work.
Basically, Amy ain’t lyin’. Knowing she’s at the helm of her new movie, Wine Country, just makes it that much more appealing. Not that any of us needed convincing when the cast features her, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Paula Pell, and Emily Spivey.
It’s like SNL meets Bridesmaids meets Sideways and it looks like a damn treat, which is perfect for Mother’s Day weekend. We can all watch it tonight, then show up to work ready to conquer the world on Monday, right? Right. Because Amy Poehler said so.
