No need to spend time lurking your favorite accounts to figure out where they get their inspiration—we did all of that work for you.
Here at Career Contessa, we think social media feeds should be less about comparison and more about supporting and keeping-in-touch with incredible people. We love that the people and companies we follow have feeds that are nothing short of witty, inspiring, roast-fully sarcastic, sassy, motivating and uplifting all at the same time. To share the love, we compiled a list of our very favorite accounts—so grab your phone and get ready to "follow" along. (Haaa, get it?) It's ok, we eye-rolled, too.
Here's our decisive list of the accounts every empowered woman simply must follow.
All the female filmmakers who weren't nominated at the Golden Globes (thank you, Natalie Portman). A stream of incredible female-directed films, helping you support all the women in cinema.
Self-described as "Migrant. Queer. Poet." plain and simple, Sonia Guiñansaca also happens to be Culture Strike's Senior Manager of Artist Engagement. Oh, and an author. Unsurprisingly, Guiñansaca's feed is nothing short of inspiring and empowering—and always authentically her.
Seriously, where would we be without Girls At Library? GAL (for those in the know) is one of the best resources today for insightful interviews with intellectually savvy, creative women. This is a site that celebrates women who read and makes us want to read a lot more in 2018. Their Instagram account is there to make sure we stay on track.
A platform dedicated to showcasing absolutely incredible Asian-Pacific Islander women throughout history, whose stories have been left untold, or whose legacies have been forgotten with the passage of time. The feed is set up as a photo-journalism style of storytelling, and each post will uplift and motivate you—by remembering all of those who have come before us.
We're cheating a little by combining two Instagram accounts here, but we think that Turshen and Bonney won't object. As life partners and occasional collaborators, this duo is changing the way we talk about women. You probably know Bonney from her site, Design*Sponge, while Turshen is a coauthor of numerous cookbooks (including, ahem, Gwyneth's) and a former host of Radio Cherry Bombe. On top of that, each published incredible books last year with their own unique spin (Turshen wrote Feed the Resistance + Tips for Getting Involved and Grace Bonney is responsible for In the Company of Women). So yeah, they'll make you want to tackle some projects of your own.
We're obsessed with all that is Ladies Get Paid (and love partnering with them on various projects), but above all, we're diehard fans of their Instagram account. Every time a post pops up in your feed, you'll find yourself fist punching the air within five seconds (prove us wrong, we dare you). The account's about women's empowerment—with a capital E plus an exclamation mark or two—but Ladies Get Paid takes it a step further than that by offering resources you need to take charge of your work and life, too.
Up until recently, Welteroth was the editor behind Teen Vogue* which, if you haven't been paying attention, is one of the most daring publications right now when it comes to speaking out against gender inequality. And now, we are eagerly awaiting the drop of her "part-manifesto, part-memoir" More Than Enough.
*Since we're on the subject, you might want to follow Teen Vogue's newest sibling publication, Them, while you're at it.
Unbothered has garnered tons of fanfare, and for good reason. It's a social offshoot created by Refinery29 that's specifically targeted at (and run by) Black millennial women. This is one of the feeds we've needed more than anything—where you'll find the real perspectives, real feelings, and real bodies of real women—that will lead you to demand "more voices like these, please."
She's a poet and we all know it. She's also an artist, photographer, and feminist. Her words have uplifted, challenged, and comforted so many of us—whether they've helped us embrace love, loss, revolution, or our own femininity—and there's plenty more to come right there in her account. To be honest, there are few things better than scrolling along and finding one of Kaur's aesthetically (and soulfully) pleasing poems pop up to brighten your day.
In the last few years, Gay's collections of essays have helped redefine how we see 21st-century feminism. We also have her to thank for this mic drop quote: “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all." Hit her feed to follow along with her book tour, see what she's reading personally, and just generally feel a bit closer to one of the most unique and unparalleled voices of our age.
A bold, real, relevant and necessary feed run by Liz Plank, an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and author of the upcoming book For The Love of Men: a Vision for Mindful Masculinity. Sometimes she's sassy, sometimes she trolls us all with a meme, sometimes she roasts people, and sometimes she graces us with an uplifting dose of motivation. Regardless, it's (dare we say "magically"?) always just what you need.
Ummmmm, do we love her or do we LOVE her? Issa is our daily reminder that it's OK to just be you. More than OK, actually—it's essential. So make like Issa and embrace your awkward, insecure, badass, beautiful, paradoxical self, ladies. (Also, how do we have as much fun as she does? Like, every day? And while we're at it—can we be invited to the next Malibu party?)
Want to get some help with money—but with a side of fun and sass? We're big fans of Tori Dunlap and her brand Her First $100k for teaching us about money—making it, saving it, investing it in quick bite-sized Instagram chunks.
"Wear what you care about." Prink Shop isn't exactly a brand even though technically they sell goods. Instead, a better description might be "the visual and playful manifestation of activism that we all need in these often dark times." Mouthful, right? Just follow them and you'll get the idea. Oh, and about those eye-grabbing totes and tees: the team donates 30% of their profits to relevant causes (so you don't have to feel too badly about buying everything they post).
The UN entity dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment is a must follow. Not only do they have motivating quotes from inspiring women, but the world data they share is incredible. Their feed is equal parts inspiring, shocking, devastating, and hopeful.
Started by a rad group of women including Amanda De Cadenet, Inez van Lamsweerde, and Amber Valetta, GirlGaze is a simple yet effective project: by showcasing photography and films made by Gen Z women, they seek to narrow the gender gap in a male-dominated industry. So basically, by following their Instagram account, you'll flood your feed with the work of underrepresented women photographers and creatives. Sounds pretty glorious to us.
Trust us, you've seen her in something. Whether it was on Girls, one of her earliest roles, in Parks and Recreation, or more recently, in Battle of the Sexes, Natalie Morales has been sneaking into your consciousness, one comedic quip at a time. But it's her refusal to play by the rules—or even acknowledge that some rules might exist—that lands her firmly on this roundup. She's written outspoken op-eds about the problem with us romanticizing Cuba (her home country) and last June came out as queer in a letter on Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. We have a feeling she's got plenty more to say.
As a band, Best Coast exploded onto the indie music scene thanks to beach-lazing, teenage daydream lyrics like "So when I'm with you, I have fun." But the Instagram account—actually run by Bethany Cosentino, the band's frontwoman—is less about fun, more about honest responses to the post-Trump world and current sexual harassment issues. Cosentino has spoken out about her own experiences in the music industry with male aggressors and serves as an advocate and ally for women everywhere.
This account is all about intersectionality, self-love, and loving other women, too. And, of course. Intersectional feminism is the name of the game. Following this account feels like an act of rebellion, but you're joining an entire empire of your sisters at the same time. Every post pulls us all a little closer together. Oh, and all those incredible feminist t-shirts you've been seeing around? Yeah, you can definitely find them here.
How could we not include Gloria?! Feminist author, activist, and organizer, Steinem's feed features other women innovators, wise words of wisdom, as well as gorgeous images.
We're not really sure how Dee Poku manages to do everything that she does, but we are sure that she is a total badass. Leave it to her to come up with gems like, "If #feminist was 2017’s word of the year, I think #sisterhood be 2018’s." Beyond her personal account, she also runs The Other Festival, in celebration of all female creatives—focusing on embracing "Other", and embracing you. Oh, and she's Co-Founder and CEO of the W(IE) Network, a network for women to help lift each other up in our careers.
Seriously wondering how many times we've mentioned the podcast, Call Your Girlfriend on our site, but also not embarrassed about it. Well today, we're switching things up by giving a direct shout-out to Aminatou Sow, one of the show's cohosts (she puts it together with another of our favorite women, Ann Friedman). If you've listened to CYG, you know that Sow is the friend we all need. This Instagram account will help you get your fix in-between podcast episodes.
We could list a bunch of adjectives to try and describe Dawson, but the only one that really does her justice is: warrior. An absolute warrior. She will motivate you, comfort you, and inspire you to take action. Most of all, she is always unapologetically herself. And we absolutely love that.
I mean, duh. Because if we don't love our own feed, what are we doing here?
