"I was passed over for a job because I was a woman. The hiring manager told me that he thought an African American woman couldn't be intelligent enough. He said that women aren't analytical or intellectual and that they tend to be unreasonable. That women tend to be too emotional to make difficult choices. The hiring manager was African American and he hired a man. Then a few months later he called me back because the man he hired failed miserably. He offered me the job and I turned it down." - Ty-Isha Harris is a clinical manager for a dental practice and is the New Jersey Chapter President of Mothers In Charge.
Arielle Randle
"When I gave birth my husband suggested I give birth at home. I though the idea was a little crazy but he really thought I would feel empowered by it so I did it. And I had a really short and intense labor. During it I said, "I think I am going die." I really did think I was going to die and then somehow you just do it, you just push through it. She was born on Christmas and we were all there and my Mother cooked us chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast." - Arielle Randle was at the DNC convention with Jews for Jesus.
Teddie Clark
"There was this driver's Ed teacher in high school that was known for saying and doing inappropriate things. And he said something inappropriate to me and he refused to apologize or acknowledge it. I had a meeting with the teacher and the Principal and nothing happened. I went to the Superintendent and all the way up the Board of Ed Chain. Nobody did anything, so finally we went to the press and my Mother spoke on television about it. The next day at school I was attacked on twitter, even my Judaism was attacked. I wound up having to leave that school." - Teddie Clark was at the DNC in Philly representing Jews for Jesus.
Evelyn Brown
" My existence as a woman changes my perspective. I am very passionate about injustice and empowerment. As a woman and as a woman of color - my life and my passions have been shaped by being a woman." - Evaline Brown
Dr. Evelyn K. Thomas
"When I was getting my PhD I got a lot of support from female colleagues. I'm a mathematician and when I would go to conferences there would be a supportive group of women there. If I weren't a woman, I wouldn't have had that kind of support." - Dr. Evelyn K. Thomas
Sheena Paige
"When I was caring for my Father, I had to basically scream to be heard by the medical professionals. But when a man would come on the scene they would listen to him. I think if I were a man they wouldn't have challenged me on everything. I think they expect women to be all yappy and yelling in order to be heard." - Sheena Paige
Brandi Guess
"I worked at a nursing home when I was in High School and I earned $5.25 an hour. Once I became a mother I had to quit my job because paying for childcare cost more than what I was earning at work." - Brandi Guess is protesting outside the DNC convention with the group Uptous Caravan.
Kate Hansen
"The longer I work in politics , well really the older I get, I understand how it feels to be chronically underestimated. And I say that knowing I come from a place of privilege. There are so many undocumented women in this country busting their asses in the shadows every day. I know there are a huge number of additional barriers for them, for women of color, for many others being unseen and underestimated." - Kate Hansen works for the Global Strategy Group.
Patty Padilla
"One of my roles in the Obama Administration was to be a lead advance person for Secretary Hilda Solis. She wanted another Latina on her team she could promote and trust, and that position propelled me to where I am today." - Patty Padilla is the Executive Director of Global Events for the UN Foundation.
Dalychia Saah
"I was never told about masturbation. I was never told about the clitoris. My family is from West Africa and I had a lot of internal shame about my body and about my sexuality. My first orgasm was a life changing experience- I was determined to learn about my own body intimately before anyone else did." - Dalychia Saah is a sex educator, and the co-founder of Afrosexology.
Allison Dellicarri
"Female athletes are praised for their bodies while male athletes are praised for their athleticism. I did a research paper in college about Title 9 and discovered that it helped women's programs but it didn't hurt men's programs the way many claim it did. There are girls who play football in High School but rarely do they have the opportunity to play football in college. Today only 2% of sports broadcasting is dedicated to women's sports." - Allison Dellicarri is a student at Marist College and an accomplished runner on their track and field team.
Olinka Foster
"After graduating from the University of New Mexico with a Biology degree, I applied for a soil science job in Farmington,NM. I was warned that the man who ran the lab, the Chemist, was difficult to work with. If he approved me, I had the job. He was a much older man, Danish and wore a pissed off expression. He was a brilliant scientist, and he approved me and went on to teach me how to soil testing by hand rather than with instruments. We also both loved photography and one day I said, "There's a Diane Arbus show in Los Angeles - I wish I could see it." And he said, "Then go."I said there was no way I could go. I have to work and I didn't want to travel that far alone. He said, "Don't be one of those people that never sees or does anything in your life because you're afraid. Life is short - just go. I'll pay for the train ticket and clear your schedule." I took the train by myself from Farmington to LA, it was a great trip. He was the first person I told that I wanted to go to nursing school. And he told me at one point that he approved me being hired because I was nice to look at. Maybe it was a sexist reason for hiring me, but working for him changed my life." - Olinka Foster is a Clinical Research Associate with Veterans Affairs and a BSN/RN.
Jena Booher
"After becoming a mother I felt I lost my identity - I struggled with feelings of failure, shame and insecurity. But getting through this has inspired me and lit me on fire and it's why I started Babies on the Brain, to support new mothers and families. Now, I have a sense of unstoppability. I used to say to my baby daughter, " I'm going to change the world" and then we would laugh together. But now, in the last few months, I say, "I'm going to change the world," and I don't laugh afterward. This vision that I have is much bigger than me." - Jena Booher is the founder of Babies on the Brain.
Mary Mitchell
"I was given the tribal name "Aqua" which means: Born on Wednesday. Wednesday was the first day I ever touched my foot down on Ghanian soil. I now have the responsibility of being a Queen Mother for a village in Ghana. A hand-carved stool was made for me to sit on during the ceremony and the community asked my forgiveness for the slave trade and its impact on African American history." - Mary Mitchell is a volunteer with Voices of African Mothers and find out more about her work in Ghana at Moadewix.com.
Andrea James
"All of my children are 13 years apart. The first was born when I was 19, the next one at 32 and then the last one at 45. In 2009 I was sentenced to serve 24 months in a Federal Prison. It was horrible, I wasn't there for my babies." Andrea James is the founder of Families for Justice as Healing and the author of "Upper Bunkies".
Rahama Wright
"I was on an airplane with my family and was seated next to an older man. He asked me to play Go-Fish, and while playing his hand started going up my skirt. I stood up and moved to an empty seat next to my brother. I was twelve years old, going through puberty, and thought I was doing something wrong - I always felt I was running away from my body. I wanted to cover up to avoid all the predatory sexual advances from grown men. I'm working through that body stuff now and working on empowering women in through my work in Ghana." - Rahama Wright, a former Peace Corps Volunteer, is the founder of Shea Yeleen, a social enterprise that promotes sustainable economic development in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.
Barbara Hull
"When I was giving birth to my first daughter - she was a face presentation, so the doctor did an emergency C-section. They didn't tell me I was having surgery, they just put me under. They told my husband, but he wasn't allowed in the room. I was in my twenties and I woke up with this big scar and felt that my body had been mutilated. I was very athletic and in good shape, I considered it a failure that I didn't deliver my baby on my own. Then, I had two more daughters, two more C-sections - when the third one was born my oldest daughter was only two." -Barbara Hull, retired genetics counselor and mother of three.
Dianne Berkun Menaker
"As an educator it sometimes disturbs me because there is an assumption that women should be teachers because we are nurturing. I maintain high expectations, I set a standard for my students and I have a real skill and talent in what I do. I believe that girls and women need to feel purposeful. What I teach them here will grow with them, they develop their talent, their minds and they understand their value as a human being. If the focus for young women is about being beautiful - then all they have is a declining asset. Music and singing is about your unique voice - and really it is all about having a voice that matters. Some girls arrive in the program they don't value themselves, they are basically apologizing for the floorspace they take up in the room. And over time, I see them see themselves as being of value." - Dianne Berkun Menaker is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
Nana Fosu-Randall
"I was in Liberia right after the war, working for the United Nations, and I saw this girl who had no hands. The girl was maybe 13 years old and she was sitting in a chair with a baby in her lap. I couldn't believe it - I had been working for the United Nations for many decades and had seen the aftermath of war in Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq and Israel but this was different. Maybe because Liberia is very close to Ghana, where I am from, seeing that girl changed my world. I wondered how is she going to care for herself, how can she ever clean herself with no hands. When I returned to the United States I knew I had to address the turmoil in Africa and I started my organization, Voices of African Mothers in order to address poverty and hunger and to educate women." - Nana Fuso-Randall is the founder and President of Voices of African Mothers.
Leigh Goodmark
"Being the woman means I'm the Mom. I am the organizer, the doer, the appointment maker. Even when I wish there was someone else to do all that - I know as a mother it is my job and I like that. I have a son and a daughter and I have raised them both to understand gender differences and to be respectful toward women." Leigh Goodmark is a professor of Law at the University of Maryland.