"When I was a sex worker, I was outed by Governor Chris Christie and the NJ District Attorney. They accused me of being a Madam and published a map to my home. It was terrifying - but because of that experience I am a formerly incarcerated sex worker and a role model and spokesperson for not just the Trans community but for all women." - Ceyenne Doroshow is the author of "Cooking in Heels" which she published with the help of the Red Umbrella Project.
Donna Hylton
"If I weren't a woman I wouldn't have been raped as many times as I have. I would have been a handsome man instead of pretty woman who was objectified and abused." - Donna Hylton served 27 years in prison and now is a community health advocate and founder of From Life To Life LLC.
Sarah C. Morrison
"I might have become an Ambassador if I had pushed a little harder. I retired as the Consult General for Florence, Italy. But if I weren't a woman I think the State Department would have seen me differently and I would have been promoted more quickly." - Sarah C. Morrison is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Liberia and a retired employee of the Foreign Service.
Susan Stine
"Now when I go running I feel myself tensing up if I pass a bunch of male construction workers - just bracing myself for some rude comment. But really, I didn't become aware of gender discrimination until I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. It is a very machismo culture there and I couldn't go out at night by myself and really had to think about what clothes I wore on the street. To protect myself I learned how to avoid eye contact. When I came back to the United States I read Sheryl Sanberg's book Lean In and realized that women are viewed differently in the workplace." I also became aware that I wasn't making eye contact with men and had to unlearn the protective habit I had developed in the DR." - Susan Stine is a Returned Peace Corps volunteer and Programs Assistant at the InterAmerican Foundation.
Kelsey Weber
"Because I'm a woman I was able to be part of the sisterhood in Senegal. It's a Muslim country and outside the home the women are mostly reserved, but I had the opportunity to be with them at home, in kitchens and in front of the Mosque. This way I was included in the daily ongoings and the conversations about their lives. " - Kelsey Weber is a recently returned Peace Corps Volunteer who is studying to earn a Masters in Global Human Development at Georgetown University.
Angie Harris
"I think the reason I've worked with international and refugee populations is partly because I am gay, and understood what it was like to live on the edges of society. In Peace Corps and afterward I was an ESL teacher and helped refugees build confidence by teaching them English so they could be heard and understood." - Angie Harris is the Director of International Programs at The Dollywood Foundation.
Rosemary Straley
"Young women have no idea how hard women of my generation had to work to break into so many fields. After earning my Ph.D. at Harvard, the 14 other students in my class, all of whom were men went into Government Jobs at a GS14. At my State Department Job in the Government Accountability office I was told, "There are no women at GS14." and was demoted to a GS13. A year later they said, "You have now been promoted to a GS14." And I said, "No. I was always a GS14 now you finally re-instated me." - Rosemary Staley is a former State Department Officer, Peace Corps Country Director in Cameroon, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and the National Coordinator of the Hillary Support Network.
Judy Gabbie
"My mother, because she was lighter skinned, managed to buy a house in an all-white neighborhood in Indiana - she wanted me and my sisters to integrate into the white schools. On the night of our house warming party our neighbors, who turned out to be Klan members and not the brightest people, burned a cross into their own yard and nearly lit both of our houses on fire. My teachers said that "Negro" students weren't smart. My mother, like Michelle Obama, taught us, "When they go low, we go high". Then I won the 6th grade Math contest. Oh they hated that and hated that I went to Harvard. If we weren't an all female household I think they would have killed us." - Judy Gabbie just returned from serving in the Peace Corps in Mexico.
Sil Lai Abrams
"I grew up a motherless daughter. My book is about my journey and search for my own racial identity. What took me 46 years to find out, my daughter can learn in 350 pages." - Sil Lai Abrams is a domestic violence awareness activist, the author of "Black Lotus: A Woman's Search For Racial Identity" and the founder of TruthinReality.org.
Takiya Nur Amin
"Nobody ever asked me if this is what I wanted to be. Being a woman is just my reality. But I have been ignored, maligned, and abused because I was a girl and now a woman and that has made me so aware and sensitive of oppressed people everywhere." Takiyah Nur Amin, Ph.D is an assistant professor of Dance studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
Alison Abrams
"I was lucky they caught it early. I had cervical cancer and three surgeries and the experience was a real eye-opener. It was an opportunity to look at death and my own mortality." - Alison Abrams
Bonnie Novella
"Sometimes I just can't imagine my life without my son. By the time children are 18 months you notice how unique they are and it is such an amazing experience watching them grow. He is 21 years and in the National Guard and was deployed for the day he finished training. Fortunately he is not in combat and we Skype once a week." - Bonnie Novella is a real estate investor in Schenectady, NY.
Tattum Yvon
"I had a miscarriage. It was rough." - Tattum Yvon is a fashion stylist.
Kasey Adams
"Why live my life in fear? I was physically and verbally assaulted by a man while I was in the women's restroom. I figured if it could happen there, in a small Southern town, it could happen anywhere. It was a wake up call. I decided I needed to change my life and I moved to New York City. " - Kasey Adams is a photographer and lighting assistant.
Natalie Williams
"Joan Rivers took a photo with me not long before she passed away and she told me, "You passed. You look hot." I was so excited to get a thumb's up from the fashion police. I love fashion; the lipstick, the nail polish, the sexy little lingerie, the swimwear. This is how I express myself. I love being a woman."
Hortense Bell
"I was a Pentecostal Preacher for 40 years. Now I'm too old, I'll be 92 next Christmas. My arthritis and sciatica make it hard for me to walk and get around so I have to take it easy. But God has blessed me and people always help me when I need help." - Hortense L. Bell sells clothing at the Brooklyn Flea Market.
Nicole Lowry
"I've done a lot of things that women don't typically do. I made a conscious choice not to have children. In my twenties I raced stallions in the dessert with an Egyptian man. In 2008 I became one of 200 women who have summited Mount Everest. All these adventures, and all these decisions have shaped me and my idea of what it is to be a woman." - Nicole Lowry.
Nicole Hockley
"That protective instinct that comes from becoming a mother - you want to be your best for them. Feeling the movement of the babies inside you and knowing you are growing a person is overwhelming, humbling, exciting and scary. I have two boys, one is no longer living. He was murdered when he was six years old in the Sandy Hook School shooting." - Nicole Hockley is the Founder and Managing Director of Sandy Hook Promise.
Dannie Getz
" I was sitting in a business meeting, during which I shared my honest opinions. Afterwards the women who were also in the meeting asked why I had to say things so harshly. That I wasn't being nice. I answered, " Isn't it more respectful to give my honest opinion and not sugar coat it?" If a man speaks his mind, even if he used the same exact words as I did - he would not be told he wasn't being nice." - Dannie Hetz Founder + CEO of TOPRO.
Sweta Vikram
"When my mother died, my response was to heal the world. I started to connect the dots in my life and took up the matriarchal role of being the nurturer. I often wish my mother was around to see my transformation. My husband says, "What makes you think she isn't?" - Sweta Vikram is a writer and wellness entrepreneur. Her 11th book, just released this week, Saris and Single Malt is now available for purchase.