If you’ve ever seen a red carpet event (think Golden Globes, Emmy’s, Oscars), you’ve heard the same questions asked over and over again: “Who are you wearing?” “How long did it take you to get ready?” “Give us a twirl!”

Of course, these questions are reserved for the female celebrities. While the male celebrities are asked about their character development process or what it was like to work with a certain director, the women are asked to talk about their dresses, their manicures, and their clutches. While red carpet events are certainly a good opportunity to learn about new designers and products, viewers (and actresses!) often express frustration that these questions are generally only targeted towards the female celebrities, and that actresses don’t get nearly as much time to talk about their work.

This year at the 2015 Emmy Awards show, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls Organization decided to do things differently. Smart Girls (created by comedian Amy Poehler and producer Meredith Walker, with the motto “change the world by being yourself”) asked people to submit “compelling questions” through twitter along with #SmartGirlsAsk. People submitted questions like, “who inspired and motivated you when you were starting out?” “What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?” and “Do you have any advice on how to handle failure?”  Actresses’ faces lit up when they heard these questions – and their answers were personal, insightful, and full of positivity and advice. What a breath of fresh air! (Check out some highlights here.)

I hope that reporters and interviewers take their cue from Smart Girls and continue to ask female celebrities substantive and meaningful questions. It’s more fun for everyone!

If you’d like to learn more about Smart Girls, check out their website (full of videos, interviews, and posts from girls all over the world!): http://amysmartgirls.com/

– Anna