It’s no secret that 2015 has already been the year of the powerhouse female and a big year for girl power.
With the 2016 presidential election coming up and a strong push for equal pay, it’s no wonder that women are dominating the game. With all of this feminism and strong, independent women buzzing through news feeds and time lines, it’s hard to not be inspired by these rock stars.
Of course, a successful woman who paves her career path on her own motivates us. But, the women who make strides to make a difference outside of their career and give back to the world also inspire us everyday.
Angelina Jolie:
While tabloids may try to sway you in believing Angelina Jolie is just another husband stealer and basket case, it’s not the truth (the real question is why are you reading that trash anyway?) Angelina Jolie is not only an actress, but a philanthropist and humanitarian for people across the world. She isn’t only concerned with that’s happening in our backyard, but what’s happening across the ocean.
Since the early 2000’s, Angelina Jolie has been promoting activism for refugees, being named the UNHCR ambassador in 2001. Since then, she has donated time, money and energy into promoting education for young girls, support for underprivileged countries and showing women what courage is all about. In 2013, she went under the knife to have a double mastectomy after her mother had died of breast cancer. This decision to decrease her chances of the disease from 87 percent to 5 percent gave her peace of mind that she’d be around for her children.
If that doesn’t inspire us, what will?
Hilary Clinton
You may not care about politics at all, and only tune into the news to see what stupid thing Donald Trump is going to say next but Hilary Clinton is slaying the political world, one jump suit at a time.
Although Monica Lewinsky may have violated girl code oh so many years ago, Hilary has remained nothing but a classy, passionate and strong woman in the spotlight. She stood by her man endlessly, even if the rumors made every headline across the world.
Her and her family have donated countless hours to helping people through the Clinton Foundation in countries across the world. Hilary has also spent her philanthropic time speaking about women’s empowerment across the nation and across the world, in countries where women may not have a voice.
And she’s running for president.
Any woman who has the courage and ambition to be the first female to do something has my attention. Politics, especially the White House, have been a male-dominated playing field since the founding fathers implemented the Constitution. Hilary Clinton is going head first into the deep end, with the intention to make history.
Chelsea Handler:
Funny girl and all around badass Chelsea Handler is everything a woman should want to be. She’s funny, cut-throat and has no apologies for being exactly who she is. Her no filter attitude and no boundaries sense of self is enough to empower any female to be true to who they are… but there’s more to Chelsea Handler than just punch lines.
For a long time, Chelsea Handler was the only female late-night TV show host. The late-night television sector is a predominately lucrative one for the media industry, and one where we’ve seen a crazy turnover recently. But, there was only one girl to own the ratings and one girl to have her own show… and that’s Chelsea Handler. Her long running show on E! Chelsea Lately was a motivation for females everywhere that anything a guy can do, a girl can do better.
Behind the scenes, Chelsea Handler is compassionate and never says no when it comes to being charitable and donating to various foundations. Over the years, she has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to campaigns and organizations. When her show Chelsea Lately was changing studios, she auctioned off a selection of personal items from the show and donated all proceeds to a Human Rights Campaign organization that supported LGBT rights.
Sophia Amoruso:
You may not know who Sophia Amoruso is, but you should. She is the founder of Nasty Gal, the ultimate clothing brand and also the woman behind the “GirlBoss.” She is the ultimate poster girl for finding what you love and making it your career. She started out loving vintage shopping, and turned her small eBay store into a million dollar brand. And, she did it all on her own.
As if giving us the word GirlBoss isn’t empowering enough, Sophia Amoruso realized her own struggles and used them to help other people. She started the GirlBoss Foundation.
Announced through her social media accounts, the foundation promotes feminist creative growth and empowerment by giving women the access to make their dreams a reality, like Sophia’s. The foundation accepts applications from women who are involved in fashion, design, music and the arts and have a change to win a grant of $500-$15,000. The winners also receive immense exposure through Nasty Gal’s already prominent and growing name.
Now that’s how we do it.
