Women Misbehavin'

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Women Veterans Speak Out: Each one, reach one: Helping homeless veterans

Posted by serenity order simplicity on April 16, 2012

Read the latest article in BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces feature that brings us the voices of women veterans telling their stories.

I’ve been part of a spirituality group since I moved to Virginia two years ago.  At one session, I proclaimed to the group that I was interested in social change but not inclined to open my house to a homeless person. Within the year, I had a chance to eat those words.

One of the group members sent an email asking if anyone had space for a woman who was living in her car.  We had a spare room, which is how I met Lynn.  She was a former military spouse who worked as a contractor but lost her source of income when her contract was cancelled.  So Lynn and then her cat (who was evicted from a foster home) came to live with us for four months. During the time she was with us, I introduced Lynn to a college friend, Mary, who provided an insider referral to Mary’s company. Lynn was hired and works for the company to this day.

No matter what your age, educational credentials, or even security clearance (important for employment in DC), many people don’t have the financial cushion to deal with emergencies or loss of income. When you aren’t sure where you’re going to spend the night, it’s hard to focus on much else. Veterans seem to be facing homelessness at a higher rate than the US population at large and women veterans are experiencing an even harder time finding secure housing.

There is no single reason why homelessness is more of an issue for veterans. It may be that they have no family safety net. Many young adults end up living with their parents after they college or if they find themselves between jobs.  According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, homelessness results when individuals cannot resolve life’s basic issues without assistance. Generally, these problems fall into three categories: health issues, economic hardships, and lack of affordable housing.

While BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ is focused on helping with career transitions and advancement for women veterans and military spouses, our mentors are aware that you can’t concentrate on revising your resume when you are sleeping in your car.  In developing Mentoring Plus, we are linking with organizations that help house and outfit women veterans.  Since launching the program in January, we have been affililiating with resource and community partners who can help veterans. Some DC-based Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ partners include Final Salute and Women Veterans Interactive (WVI).  As WVI CEO, Ginger Miller, said, “Our goal is to serve the whole women veteran by meeting her at her point of need.”

The core competency of BPW Foundation is Working•Women•Helping•Women•Work, not homelessness, but we have connections with partners who have special expertise in a variety of areas including housing. Some resources for homeless vets in the DC metro area include: Doorways for Women and Families: http://www.doorwaysva.org/, New Hope Housing: http://www.newhopehousing.org/?page_id=163, and Northern Virginia Family Service: http://www.nvfs.org/ .

While the government provides a safety net for when things go wrong, each of us has the ability to be of service. We are not asking you to open your house, but to reach out a hand. How can you help? Give back to those who have given much. Consider sharing your expertise by becoming a mentor to a woman veteran or military spouse.  BPW’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ program provides training and tools to help you be a successful mentor.  Check out the Mentoring Plus website and sign up. http://www.joiningforcesmentoringplus.org/ Also, connect with us on social media: BPW Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ LinkedIn. Join us on Twitter.

We can’t do everything, but we can do something. What will you do today?

Posted in Families, Financial Security, Homelessness, Joining Forces, mature workers, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

HERvotes Blog Carnival: Unemployment Insurance, Good for People, Good for the Country

Posted by sherrysaunders on December 8, 2011

By Sherry Saunders, Director of Communications
Business and Professional Women’s Foundation

I think we all were heartened by the news in November that while 13 million Americans remain out of work, the overall unemployment rate decreased from 9.9 percent to 8.6 percent.  But we also learned that while the rate of unemployment improved, the duration of time out of work increased.  More workers stopped actively looking for work and dropped out of the labor force than gained jobs during the last month. In addition over 5.6 million Americans have been looking for work for six months or more. For women age 20 and over the average was 42.1 weeks. For women age 55 or over, it was 54.8 weeks.

Looking more closely at the women behind those numbers, we find that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Women’s Law Center, the unemployment rate for single mothers was 12.4 percent, up from 12.3 percent in October 2011 and 11.7 percent in June 2009. And African-American women’s unemployment rate in November was12.9 percent, up from 12.6 percent in October 2011 and 11.7 percent in June 2009.   In addition, among women age 20 or over, 5.1 million were officially unemployed and another 2.8 million were not in the labor force but wanted work.

A glimmer of good news was found in the over all veteran unemployment rates which fell in November to 7.4 percent yet remained unacceptably high, 11.1 percent, for those who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan era.  For men who separated since 2001, the unemployment rate fell from 12.3 percent in October to 10 percent in November. But for their female counterparts the unemployment rate shot up to 18.7 percent from 10.9 percent in October, possibly attributed to smaller population sampling size.

The measure of who we are is what we do about these numbers that are in fact real people with real families to support. As a nation we have provided long-term jobless workers federal emergency unemployment insurance benefits, which supplement state unemployment insurance, which generally lasts only 26 weeks or less. In previous recessions, Congress always extended these benefits whenever unemployment reached higher than 7.2 percent.  But even though unemployment is expected to remain above 8.0 percent through 2012, Congress continues to bicker about extending these programs even though they will expire at the end of December leaving these real people with no money for food and other essentials. Quite a Christmas present.

If Congress doesn’t act by December 31, nearly 2 million people will lose their benefits in January alone. Millions more will lose this critical lifeline in the near future – over 6 million during 2012 if Congress continues to ignore the plight of their fellow Americans.

We also need to remember that unemployment insurance isn’t just essential for families struggling to make ends meet; it is also good for our economy. The long term unemployed are not in a position to save or invest their unemployment dollars; they need to spend them right away on food, clothing, rent, mortgages, transportation and the like. Studies done by the Urban Institute and others have show that every dollar spent on employment insurance stimulates 2 dollars in growth in the U.S. economy. Since Congress claims that jobs are high on their agenda, they need to recognize that not extending unemployment insurance will take dollars out of our already fragile economy and result in even larger future job losses.

So for both compassionate and pragmatic reasons, I urge Congress to step up and do its job.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.  Read other posts

Women and the Unemployment Crisis, National Association of Social Workers
Action Alert: Tell Congress to Extend Unemployment Insurance, YWCA USA
November’s Drop in Unemployment News Leaves Vulnerable Groups Behind, National Women’s Law Center
“No Christmas for Congress” Unless UI is Extended, National Women’s Law Center
Happy Holidays, Congress! It’s Time to Extend UI, National Women’s Law Center
The Pathways Back to Work Act: A Must-Pass Piece of Legislation for Women, National Women’s Law Center
Congress Should Act to Extend Unemployment Insurance, AAUW
I Am ‘Occupying’ D.C. for My Children and Future Generations- Linda Evans
When My Husband Faced Unemployment- Karoline, Mom’s Rising
Unemployment Insurance is the LEAST We Can Offer Working Families- Elisanta “Lisa” Batista
Without Unemployment Insurance, My Family Would Have To Choose Which Bills to Pay- Teresa “Tigger” Rey, Mom’s Rising
Good Education. Good experience. Still Unemployed- Theresa Witt
Holiday Fear- Christy Jones, AAUW
Navigating Unemployment- Jen, Mom’s Rising
Women, the Economy, and Unemployment Insurance- Angel Savoy, Metro DC Chapter, Coalition of Labor Union Women
Surviving a Corporate War on the Middle Class- Verlene Jones, Seattle Washington, Coalition of Labor Union Women
Extend Unemployment Benefits, But Don’t Stop There- Lindsay Beyerstein, Ms. Magazine Blog
Latinas Call on Congress to Extend Unemployment Insurance Set to Expire Dec. 31, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
Congress must protect the lifeline women and families depend on, National Partnership for Women and Families

Posted in Economy, Financial Security, HERvotes, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Women’s News to Chew On: Link Love for Lunch

Posted by sherrysaunders on September 9, 2011

Successful Workplaces for Women, Families and Business

Surprising attitudes about how working mothers feel about their jobs [Forbes]

Survey finds men happier than women with their work-life balance [mediawebsite]

Chicago implements maternity leave policy; tightens vacation policy [Daily Journal]

The benefit of treating employees better [Moms Rising]

Empowered Workforce

Women helping women get back to school and improve their lives [The Union]

Jobs Needed

Women’s work is critical to job recovery [Women's e News]

What’s good for women is good for the nation: jobs, livable wages, fair pay [Huffington Post]

Seeking Equity

What Carol Bartz, Sallie Krawcheck Gave Up on their way to the top [Wall Street Journal]

Women on Wall Street: small group gets smaller [Los Angeles Times]

Gender imbalance on Wall Street grows [New York Times]

Was sexism involved in Yahoo’s Carol Bartz’s firing? [Forbes]

Tech gender pay gap cut [Forbes]

Minding the gender gap [Washington Post]

Woman fights for equality in federal workplace [Greater Diversity]

The shocking contempt for rights for women:  Responses to last week’s LA Times Article “Beyond Suffrage” [Los Angeles Times]

Why it pays to invest with other women [Huffington Post]

Saluting Misbehavin’ Women

Female fighter pilot remembers scramble on 9/11 [ABC Local]

Way to break the glass ceiling: From secretary to CEO: Beth Mooney of Keycorp [Forbes]

Female daredevil pilot and “fastest women on earth” dies at 85 [Washington Post]

Military/Veterans

The silent battle for military women; sexual assault [Philly On line]

Military Moms: How war affects families [NPR]

VA responding to needs for women veterans [Pittsburgh Tribune]

Order of the Purple Heart honoring military nurses at Women’s Memorial [MarketWatch]

Body armor isn’t made to fit female troops [Seattle Times]

Jobless rate still high among young women vets [Army Times]

Woman Marine writes book on combat experiences [San Diego Union]

Important Odds and Ends

Women, men and crying – get over it [Female Equality Matters]

London professor says women should use sex appeal to get ahead – this should get a discussion going [Business Insider]

Posted in Financial Security, Military, Successful Workplaces, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Women’s News to Chew On: Link Love for Lunch

Posted by YWM on August 19, 2011

Successful Workplaces

President issues order to increase federal government hiring of women and minorities [Washington Post]

OPM issues memo on dealing with federal government pay gap [Washington Post]

For working mothers, big law remains a tough nut to crack [Wall Street Journal]

Being a nice guy or gal doesn’t pay [Wall Street Journal]

Empowered Workers

PEW study: women see more value and benefits in college education than men [PEW Social Trends]

Does our culture of individualism hurt working mothers and their careers? [The Glass Hammer]

Bloomberg pregnancy discrimination suit renews work-life debate [New York Times]

Career Networking benefits men not women [Business News Daily]

What working moms want [The Glass Hammer]

Globally women say they are very ambitious, most more than double US’s stat of 36% [HBR]

Women have come a long way but not far enough [Fresno Bee]

The Challenges of child care and impact on families [NPR]

Saluting Misbehavin’ Women

Top 25 female athletes [Fem 2.0]

African American veteran combat pilot inspiring others [ABC Local]

Army’s single mom drill sergeants face challenges [Google News]

Adventure, equality draw women to Coast Guard [NPR]

Small Business

Why are women business owners hesitant to raise their debt ceiling? [Business Insider]

Retirement

Boomer women get the retirement shaft [OC Register]]

Not all Social Security checks are created equal.  Women, money and retirement [Forbes]

Women and Non Traditional Careers

Summer camp introduces girls to manufacturing [New York Times]

Cokie and Steve Roberts: Girls needed to solve US scientist shortage [Billings Gazette]

When romance is brewing, women lose interest in STEM studies?!  [Inside Higher Ed]

Women Veterans

Time Magazine’s cover this week celebrates the New Greatest Generation: How Young War Veterans Are Defining Leadership at Home [Time]

Rise in homelessness for women vets tied to sexual abuse [Huffington Post]

Editorial: female veterans hidden among the homeless [Fayetteville Observer]

Women Veteran’s health research; a new frontier [Veterans Today]

New challenges face health care system treating women vets [Patch]

Odds and Ends

The constitutionality of equality for women (not!) [Marquette]

Advancing the lives of young women through mentoring [White House Blog]

Man will continue crusade against “ladies” nights [Las Vegas Sun]

Posted in Financial Security, Link Love, STEM, Successful Workplaces, Woman Misbehavin' | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Why Social Security Must Be Protected

Posted by egehl on July 22, 2011

The word “budget” seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, especially in the halls of Congress.

Every day there are new twists and turns to the never-ending budget and debt ceiling debacle.   The debt crisis our country faces will impact each of us as Congress makes decision to slash trillions of dollars away from vital programs and services that impact every facet of our society.  In order to address the looming federal deficit, legislators have proposed cutting social safety net programs to reduce spending. 

Programs big and small are on the chopping block, however the bigger ones such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are the big goliaths that everyone is afraid of touching, but know it has to be done.  The problem is that if poor decisions are made about these important programs now it could be devastating for years to come, especially for women.

Various proposals are swirling around, and many could be quite scary for our seniors.  For example, Social Security benefits could be deeply cut by increasing the full retirement age above 67, possibly to 70, and reducing the Cost-of-living Adjustment (COLA) by switching to the chained Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Unfortunately using the “chained CPI” would cut benefits for everyone immediately and would cumulate over time, so that those who live the longest would suffer the deepest cuts.

Social Security is essential for older women’s economic well-being.  Women disproportionately depend on Social Security because their life expectancy is five years longer than men, they rely more on survivor benefits, they are less likely than men to have income from their own pensions, and because women have lower earnings on average across their lifetime they benefit from Social Security’s generous benefits to lower earners.

Women who are most economically vulnerable, including those with disabilities, live alone or have limited means, face the greatest risk as a result of these proposed cuts.  They face hurdles to gain financial stability on their own because many women cannot find employment at older ages, do not have pensions, and have been unable to save sufficiently because of wage discrimination and time taken out of the paid workforce for care-giving.

The National Council of Women’s Organizations has launched a new initiative to call on Congress to RESPECT women, PROTECT Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and REJECT any budget plans that threaten the economic security of women.  The goal of this campaign is to get the message across to key lawmakers that budget decisions should not be made at the expense of vulnerable women.

My mother is a perfect example of the critical need for Social Security.  I distinctly remember when she turned 65, a year after she was widowed and two months after Hurricane Katrina devastated my hometown, and she lost her job because of the storm.  She and I repeatedly said how thankful and lucky we were that the timing of her birthday coincided with that hard year otherwise the devastation to our home, on top of her job loss, could have put my family in financial straits.  I can’t imagine what we would have done if we had to wait another 5 years until she turned 70 for her to begin receiving benefits.

My mother stayed at home while I was growing up and didn’t starting working full-time until I was in highschool, and never made a great salary.  Therefore her Social Security benefits were fairly dismal and she was thankful she could receive my father’s benefits.  Over the past 6 years Social Security has been at the heart of my mother’s income and given her the means to stay in the home I grew up in, and have the modest lifestyle she wants and deserves.  Therefore I have seen firsthand how Social Security is truly a lifesaving foundation for older woman, and must be protected.

The reality is that our country needs to tighten its belt.  And all of us will have to make some level of sacrifice to make that happen.  However there are common sense ways to accomplish these goals without causing undue detriment to our citizens susceptible to hardship.  I just hope our leaders heed that warning.

Posted in Advocacy, Baby Boomers, Economy, Financial Security, Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Comparable Worth Noting!

Posted by ptanji on February 3, 2011

Here in the great state of Minnesota, land of the free, the brave, and the frozen  — we have a little known law called the Local Government Pay Equity Act (LGPEA).  Passed in 1984 — its purpose is to address gender pay bias in local units of governments.  Cities, counties, schools, soil and water boards, park and recreation boards etc. must produce a pay equity report for the Minnesota Management and Budget office once every three years.  The process has been perfected and automated over the last two and half decades so that in many cases it takes about 1-2 hours to compile a report.  The LGPEA continues to be controversial because some folks can’t stand the fact that women get raises as a result of pay equity statistical analysis.  Every single year — without exception — women get pay boosts because pay bias is alive and well.

Minnesota’s LGPEA determines a jobs value based on know-how, problem solving, accountability, and working conditions – gender neutral criteria determined by the state.  If local governments don’t like the state’s criteria for work values they can come up with their own.  Once point values are determined, pay is apportioned accordingly.

Here’s an example of the law in action.  This year, as a result of pay analysis, a human resource coordinator, in the town of Brainerd Minnesota, population 13,770 with a payroll of over 7 million dollars,  got a $5000 pay increase.  Opponents of the law throughout the state say the law is costly and outdated.  But in the City of Brainerd’s case it cost them %.07 of payroll to be in compliance with the law.  And,  consistent findings of local governments with patterns of paying women less than men for jobs of similar point value prove the Local Government Pay Equity Act is neither costly or untimely.  In fact, with a wage gap between men and women in Minnesota hovering around $.77 — its time for the private sector to take a look at what the public sector is doing.  Ooooooooo I like the sound of that.

Posted in Economy, Financial Security, Successful Workplaces | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Obama on the Senate’s Failure to Further the Paycheck Fairness Act

Posted by gansie on November 17, 2010

From the White House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 17, 2010

Statement by the President on the Paycheck Fairness Act

I am deeply disappointed that a minority of Senators have prevented the Paycheck Fairness Act from finally being brought up for a debate and receiving a vote.  This bill passed in the House almost two years ago; today, it had 58 votes to move forward, the support of the majority of Senate, and the support of the majority of Americans.  As we emerge from one of the worst recessions in history, this bill would ensure that American women and their families aren’t bringing home smaller paychecks because of discrimination.  It also helps businesses that pay equal wages as they struggle to compete against discriminatory competition.  But a partisan minority of Senators blocked this commonsense law.  Despite today’s vote, my Administration will continue to fight for a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work.

 

 

Posted in Families, Financial Security, Pay Equity, Politics, Successful Workplaces | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Invite: Watch Lilly Ledbetter Today at 11am

Posted by gansie on September 21, 2010

Lilly Ledbetter will join Department of Labor Secretary Solis for a live webcast discussion on pay equity and its impact for working families.

BPW Foundation CEO Debbie Frett and Chair of the Board Roslyn Ridgeway will be there in person but you should join the call to hear the latest on equal pay and its chance at legislation.

Watch here live today at 11am.

Posted in Economy, Families, Financial Security, Politics, Successful Workplaces | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

News to Chew On: Link Love for Lunch

Posted by sherrysaunders on September 10, 2010

Why women are fleeing Wall Street [Bnet.com]

SBA says set aside program for women on the way [BisNow]

Small business woman struggles to get credit [Blogs NYTimes]

Attack helicopter woman pilot reflects on role of women in the military [NPR]

Social Security: The firewall between aging with dignity and aging in financial desperation [Kansas City Star]

Historic victory for NY’s domestic workers [Workers]

Making Social Security less generous is not the answer [Slate]

Top 10 characteristics of successful women business owners [Womens' Leadership Exchange}

The United States of inequality [Slate]

Women navigate motherhood differently than in the past [freep.com]

Minority and women small businesses struggle to get NY City contracts [Blogs NY Times]

Women supporting philanthropy [Post Gazette]

Two reports: health care reform helps small businesses [OCRegister]

One of only four Black women to hold rank of Col. in Marines retires [Dayton Daily News]

Jobs are stealing family time [Washington Post]

Why so few women start tech companies [Colorado Bizmag]

Women have reason to cheer Labor Day. [Concord Monitor]

Women finding support in non trad jobs [Fort Wayne.com]

Boy girl differences call for more brain studies [Womens E-news]

Reflections on jobs, job safety and pay equity [SWTimes]

Posted in Career Advancement, Diversity, Families, Feminism, Financial Security, Link Love, Non Traditional Jobs, Retirement | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

News to Chew On: Link Love for Lunch

Posted by sherrysaunders on September 3, 2010

Court rules NY Ladies Nights are not sexist [AOLNews.com]

Women in Green Forum: Women move corporations green.  [TriplePundit]

Engaging men in culture change: Would you want your daughter to work here? [The Glass Hammer]

IWPR paper: Gender segregation in the labor market and the gender wage gap [IWPR]

Making the tax code work for families and business  [Corporate Voices]

NY Times not covering notable women’s deaths as they cover men’s [HBR]

In cities, young single women’s pay surpasses male counterparts [Wall Street Journal]

Women’s groups target sexism in campaigns [Washington Post]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: the mother of all grizzlies [Slate]

Mary Blige working with NASA on encouraging science careers for women [Black Enterprise]

Brookings: Disparities for women and minorities in retirement savings [Brookings Institute]

Study finds declining revenues and small and midsized law firms and pay gap between men and women lawyers [ABA Journal]

Gender differences in job stresses [HR Online]

Right kind of mentoring necessary for women’s advancement [Pittsburgh Live]

Welfare job rules hurt women with disabilities [Womens e-News]  

Kids and Career: walking that line [Chicago Tribune]

Fighting caregiving discrimination: running into the maternal wall [Forbes]

The female factor: will three women really change the court?  [Newsweek]

Defending family values and pay equity.  Another discussion of the recent US Chamber blog on attacking working women [Huffington Post]

Sotomayor: Growing up stubborn [Denver Post]

Woman to become Alabama ANG’s first female fighter pilot [F-16]

Equity for women still top issues [Chronicle]

Celebrating Jane Addams a radical woman [Chicago Tribune]

How far have women come in the workplace?  [Mary Claire]

Beware of credit card offers aimed at small business and professionals. [Wall Street Journal]

Posted in Career Advancement, Families, Feminism, Financial Security, Link Love | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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