Monday, March 08, 2010
31 Days of Amazing Women: Kathryn Bigelow
Being the first still matters—so wherever you are, pump your fists in the air and shout WaHOOOOO for Kathryn Bigelow who, last night, became the first woman in the 82 history of Academy Awards to win Best Director.
I was thinking of the importance of “first” on my way in this morning, and one strong emotion pulled at my heart strings.
I am a road race junkie. Love running in them—10Ks, 10 milers, half marathons, marathon. Love ‘em. Any given spring in DC, I’d have my name on a half dozen races, so I am no stranger to them. And yet, there is this moment in the race that always gives me goose bumps. Its the moment when the course loops back on itself, and those of us halfway through the pack, begin to see the race leaders coming towards us. I always find myself waiting for something, searching for something. And then I see her—the first female, single and alone amongst a group of groovy, thin, fast guys, staking her ground in the competition. I hear the WAHOO’s from other women (ahead of me) as they have seen her first. A sense of pride comes over me, and I run that much faster.
So, we love Kathryn Bigelow for being the first woman to ever win this prestigious award, for motivating all the rest of us to be that much better, and and for giving us new role models. Rock ON. Also, I love her even more because in her acceptance speech she recognizes that the key to being a great director is collaboration. More than 100 women have told me in the last year that they don’t feel like a leader because their successes are not about them, per se, they are the output of collaboration. Rock ON for showing us that the “best” comes through collaboration.
