“I have a sister and people would say how pretty we both were and my Dad would always say, “And they are so smart.” My sister is an optometrist and I am studying for a Masters of Public Health and plan to get a PhD in neurotoxicology. Within the field of science and medicine women aren’t always supported. But growing up with the support of my Dad made me think that you can be pretty and smart and that what you can achieve is limitless. I am so lucky and privileged to grow up with that.” - Lauren Byrne is a graduate student.
Marina Spindler
“I am a fighter because I am a woman. And I think it is important to stay away from the anger. And being a fighter makes be go above and beyond. That’s why I got my Masters degree when I was 40 even with my kids and my work. I was a CEO before I was 40 and at 42 I started up my business. People didn’t expect much from me so I fought to exceed expectations. I throw myself into the pool and then it’s either sink or swim. That is why when I was younger I told my boss, “Either give me a raise or fire me.” Thankfully he gave me a raise.” - Marina Spindler is a consultant and the founder and president of Latam Board LLC (LAB).
Diomargy Nuñez
“I feel like every moment of my life I am aware of my womanhood. Getting older and living in NYC, it feels like I’m a woman before anything else. Sometimes that is frustrating, sometimes liberating and sometimes maddening. Now that I am turning 30 I think about what it was like when I was 15. I’m more aware now. Just being, used to make me really angry. We are constantly being preyed upon. We are the biggest market, we spend the most money. Now I feel like I am in a transition and I look forward to the day when I am good with all that I am.” - Diomargy Nuñez is an actor.
Min Santandrea
“After college I moved back to Queens and lived with my parents. I didn’t want join a gym and be on a treadmill or with be at home with Jane Fonda. I’m really practical and if I’m going to spend a dollar I want to get the most out of it. I’m a 5 ft tall female so I thought learning self-defense while working out would be practical so I learned to box. I went to King’s Gym it smelled like sweat and there were buckets of spit. It was disgusting. There was a group of female boxers there and it was the most wonderful experience of my life. I started to compete as an amateur boxer. This is something I would never have imagined me doing. I trained until I was nine months pregnant. I should go back but I can’t find the time these days.” - Min Santandrea is an entrepreneur and the founder of a brand new shoe company SantM.co.
Cynthia Nixon
“If I weren’t a woman I would never have had the opportunity to carry, birth and breast feed a child. I’ll never know what it feels like to be a Father but I know what it feels like to be pregnant and become a Mother and it’s one of my favorite memories.” - Cynthia Nixon is an actor, activist and politician currently running as a gubernatorial candidate in the New York Democratic Primary.
Shakira Williams
"I got baptized two years ago and I loved it. You only have to go to church three times to get baptized. I went three times so I could get baptized but then I never left. That church is my family." - Shakira Williams works for NYC Parks and Recreation and is the mother of two boys.
Erin Yoffe Halper
"I am so grateful that I am able to pursue my dreams and professional goals without the same economic pressure as my husband. He owns a business and is the one who has a traditional work situation. I am the wife, the woman, the mother and I get the privilege of being able to start my own business. It is almost anti-feminist to say but I think men have a lot more pressure to provide for their families." Erin Yoffe Halper is founder and CEO of The Upside.
Lauren Piluso
"When I first moved to New York I was shocked by all the verbal harassment, the cat calling that I had to listen to. At first I would react to it, but now I have lived here long enough that I just ignore it. I feel for every woman that has to deal with this." - Lauren Piluso is a fashion blogger.
Tirzah Schwarz
"Everyone told me that going from one child to two children was a big leap. For me it was going from zero children that was a huge shock and felt like going into a big bucket of ice. I had not really been around babies before. I think the assumption is you will be a natural because becoming a parent is natural. But for the first three months of parenthood I felt awkward. Now I have three kids and its not awkward. Though, I am much more fearful for myself now that I am a mother. If I am by myself on a plane or a train I am more aware of potential risks - not because of 911 but because I don't want anything to happen to me while my kids still need me." Tirzah Schwarz is a partner in S2, a fashion showroom.
Stacy Y
"Because I'm a woman I've experienced love. Let love go." - Stacy Y.
Jennifer McClure
"I've learned to be confident about my work. I've had so many men say to me that they couldn't relate to my photographs because they are so emotional. Several of them said, "Why should I care about this?" I've come to a place where I don't need male approval. I can make the work I want to make and still find an audience. I don't need to make universally appealing work." - Jennifer McClure is a fine art and documentary photographer and in a few days will be a new mother. JenniferMcClure.com
Anette McKie
"My whole family is what is most important to me. I'm in a choir and I like to show and teach my kids love and what is important in life." _ Anette McKie is the mother of six children.
Jessica Yacoub
“I have never felt either stronger or weaker because of my gender” Jessica Yacoub design accessories, check out her work at apolostudio.nyc
Heather W. Malone
"Being from Brooklyn I'm outspoken and I speak my mind. Everything I've gone for in life I've gotten. Just this week I got a job with the government." - Heather W. Malone participated in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Follow her on insta:@bklynsnaps
Alysia Promislow
“ I remember very clearly when I bought my first wallet. It was a guy’s wallet and I was very proud of it and when my Dad saw it he said, “Hmmm that’s not really very feminine is it?” I was confused by his comment and he gave me a look like I should be more feminine. It was about image more than anything else and how other people will see it. After that point I did start to act like a girl, but I’ve never had a woman’s wallet and I never will.” - Alysia Promislow is a photographer. Check out her work at dynisphotography.wordpress.com
Samantha Norman
“My Mom is one of the biggest advocates for Planned Parenthood in the state of Wisconsin. She is on the board and since I was a kid she took me to rallies and always talked about the issues with me. Like right now she says that Trump isn’t only trying to take away access to abortion, he is trying to limit all Planned Parenthood services including access to contraception and even just general health care services.” - Samantha Norman is socio-spacial analyst at PLASTARC.
Christa Orth
“I never learned how to mow a lawn. I grew up in the suburbs and my Dad never taught me how mow the lawn. My Mom taught me to clean bathrooms, wash dishes, do the laundry and how to bake. I feel robbed of that experience and I feel like that was very gendered and symbolic probably of other things I didn’t learn how to do because I was a girl.” - Christa Orth is a documentary filmmaker, her latest film is North Pole,NY
Took Mealing-Woods
“I have three sisters and one brother. My brother was able at a young age to be wild and run the streets. We had to stay inside because our parents said we were easy targets and he wasn’t.” Took Mealing-Woods is a photography student at Nassau Community College.
Lana
I had just finished up leading a photo walk in Coney Island for @adorama and during the walk I saw so many women I would have liked to stop and interview but I was occupied with the group And prefer to reserve my me&EVE experiences for one on one interactions. The light was beautiful but fading quickly - I really try to let the right “eve” for the day find me. It just , wasn’t happening and I was headed to the subway when I saw a woman standing in the light. Afterwards she asked me why I picked her and I said I just had this feeling and she was giving off a powerful positive vibe - she thanked me, looked up me&EVE on her phone, put on her helmet and drove off. “I had breast cancer and I had melanoma. I don’t take life for granted anymore. I don’t just think about working and working.” - Lana.
Shirley Hagel
“I went to a tiny Christian college in Florida and my career options there becoming a teacher or counselor. After my Freshman year I was feeling really limited by these options and I talked to my Mother about it. She suggested I go to cosmetology school and I am sure she suggested it to me because I am a woman. I don’t think she would have suggested it to my brother. But that changed the course of my life for the better because I didn’t know I had any artistic ability bc I couldn’t even draw a stick figure. But being a hairdresser has unleashed my creative side and now I paint as well.” - Shirley Hagel is a hairdresser at Parlor.