United States
Johanie Cools is a contributing writer, developmental and copy editor for manuscripts (predominantly in the romance genre), a blogger, and Public Affairs Manager for Tessera Editorial.
When she's not working, Johanie loves exercising, playing with her cats, and keeping tabs on America's political discourse.
In many past cultures, men were the breadwinners, the providers, the decision makers and the bosses of society. Men got to tell women who and what they were and what they were allowed to do or like. However, things began to change in 1848 when the first women's rights convention took place, galvanizing the law to allow women to vote.
An issue affecting women around the globe, time poverty has come to the attention of Melinda Gates, who says in the Gates' Annual Letter that if she could choose any superpower, she would choose more time. The term "time poverty" essentially means that women of all nationalities are not meeting their full potential because they spend so much time completing unpaid work.
Have you ever had a secret you desperately wished you could tell? Well, you're in good company. When Ash Beckham delivered a TED talk about coming out of the closet, many other women were in the same position. They were afraid of what their families, friends or loved ones would think of them if they were to tell their secrets.
The US prison system is ineffective to say the least. Two-thirds of those incarcerated re-offend within five years of their release. Incarceration has increased by 500% in the last 40 years , many of whom were jailed for non-violent drug offenses.
In recent years, we've seen company after company follow in the footsteps of Dove's wildly successful "Real Beauty" campaign. The video that sparked it all was their "Evolution" commercial which featured a model walking in front of the camera, getting primped by a makeup team, posing, and then all the photoshop required to make her look as beautiful as possible.
The fashion industry has somewhat of an abysmal reputation. Since its birth in the mid-1800's fashion houses and designers have been accused of , cultural appropriation , and advertising unrealistic beauty standards for both men and women. As recently as the 1990's, most models of color had to bring their own makeup for lack of provided resources.