We are loving Wonder Woman for so many reasons right now, not least of which is that the new film set a box office record last weekend as the biggest domestic opening for a female-directed film, ever. In our minds, this makes filmmaker Patty Jenkins a superhero boss b*tch, which we can all also become by adopting one very obvious pose. According to Harvard sociologist Amy Cuddy, assuming the “Wonder Woman stance”—hands on hips, feet placed wide apart, shoulders back and chin up—can actually help you become more successful by making you feel more powerful and appear more powerful to others. In the studies she conducted, those who struck this pose were more likely to be hired for fake jobs than those who did not.
As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once put it, “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller,” but by assuming a “power pose,” you take up more space and, amazingly, increase your testosterone levels by 20% in the process. This makes you feel and appear more dominant, which is pretty cool, right? So, the next time you’re looking for a raise, a new job or any other step forward in your career, remember that your posture could mean the difference between a solid yes and a hard no. And while we wouldn’t recommend showing up to an interview (or the office) in an actual Wonder Woman costume, practicing at home in the mirror while in full character can’t hurt. Shop the look now at Target and no, we’re not joking.
