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Mentoring: Giving Back to Those Women Who Have Given So Much

Posted by YWM on January 30, 2012

This article first ran on the Huffington Post
By Deborah L. Frett

Deborah L. Frett, BPW Foundation CEO

You aced the holiday dinner, picked out the perfect presents, rung in the New Year with style, and started working on those resolutions. By now, you’ve got that gym routine down and even shed a few holiday pounds. You dusted off the resume, reached out to your networks and updated the LinkedIn profile. Check, check, and done. Yet you still feel like something is missing.

January is often the month when we take stock of our lives and realize that among our many goals and accomplishments, giving back sometimes takes a back seat. January is also National Mentoring Month, and for a decade now, it has been highlighting mentoring as one of the most personally rewarding ways to give back. This year, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation is taking the power of mentoring and focusing it on those women who have given their lives and their loves to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives. BPW Foundation has deployed Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses (JFWVMS) Mentoring Plus®, a program dedicated to helping women veterans and military spouses connect with working women mentors and subject matter experts (SMEs) to receive support and guidance, career development, and ultimately, to obtain meaningful employment.

Beginning in 2005, BPW Foundation made a commitment to better understand the employment transition of women veterans. We realized that every day, women in the military proudly serve our country, but when they return home they are faced with different challenges and often do not receive the recognition, benefits, or services they have earned. Our research highlighted translation and portability of skills as major obstacles and underscored an overwhelming gap in career and employment support among the growing population of military women upon their return to civilian life. Armed with this learning, BPW Foundation initiated studies and engaged private and public sector partners to outline employment access strategies, culminating in October 2010 with the inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit. More than 80 corporate, community and public sector leaders, including high-level White House and Administration officials, joined with women veterans to discuss key reintegration issues.

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus® was conceived and developed following this conference to address the critical ongoing need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans and military spouses as they search for new employment, hone their career goals, and package their military skills and experience to gain access to civilian jobs. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden acknowledged this “mentorship gap” when they recognized BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

We chose to officially launch this landmark program during National Mentoring Month 2012, as it builds upon the research and experience of effective mentoring programs that have successfully impacted the lives of so many. JFWVMS Mentoring Plus is focusing on helping thousands of women veterans and military wives by connecting them with volunteer working women mentors over a sustained period of time. Veteran and civilian mentors of all ages across the country will provide insight, advice, and encouragement to help women veterans and military wives steer an individualized course of action in the civilian workplace.

The Mentoring Plus structure will enable mentors and mentees to work together to design and develop the goals and benchmarks for mentee employment plans. A cadre of online resources and subject matter experts will assist mentees in areas that affect workplace attainment, adjustment, retention, and/or supplier chain participation for small businesses. With this grassroots capacity to guide women veterans in their job searches and career development, we will initially pair 10,000 mentees with mentors. Ultimately, we will engage partners toward a widening target of 100,000 mentoring relationships, recognizing that more than 150,000 women are projected to leave the military over the next five years and join the more than 1.8 million existing women veterans who have proudly served our nation.

So as you take stock of your life and lay out your goals and resolutions, resolve to give back to these women who have given so much for your freedom and way of life. Being a mentor for women veterans and military spouses is a great way to give back and pay it forward. Recent polling shows that mentors not only find great reward in helping others succeed, they also discovered that they improve their own leadership skills, expand their own networks, and surprisingly keep more current with industry trends. BPW Foundation can help you become a mentor and invest in America’s “sheroes.” To join Mentoring Plus, please visit www.bpwfoundation.org.

Follow Deborah Frett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BPW_CEO

Posted in Uncategorized, Misbehavin' Notification, Women Veterans, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Veterans, Joining Forces, Mentoring | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Looking Back: Our Top Ten Blogs of 2011

Posted by YWM on January 2, 2012

Making lists seems to be the thing to do when ending a year and looking on to the future.  So here are our top ten blogs of 2011 determined by you our readers.  Happy New Year and happy reading in 2021.

  1. Remembering the Women of the Civil War, March 31, 2011
  2. National Wear Red Day Is This Friday February 4, February 2, 20011
  3. Remembering the Women During Black History Month, February 2, 2011
  4. HERvotes Blog Carnival: So Sorry Rachel, There Still Is Sexual Harassment,  November 15, 2011
  5. Gen Y Women: Does This Sound Like You?, April 26, 2011
  6. New Study Sheds Important Light on Women Veterans, January 31, 2011
  7. Joining Forces: Women Veterans Speak Out – The Quarter Life Crisis, October 24, 2011
  8. The Lessons of Eat Pray Love, February 14, 2011
  9. Comparable Worth Noting!, February 3, 2011
  10. Joining Forces: Women Veterans Speak Out – No One Told Me, July 4, 2011

Posted in Feminism, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Happy Holidays From BPW Foundation

Posted by YWM on December 20, 2011

Posted in Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Scholarships Help Women Advance Their Careers through Education

Posted by YWM on December 15, 2011

Ten women are getting early holiday gifts, thanks to Career Advancement Scholarships from the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation.  This enables them to move closer to fulfilling their dreams of finishing school and advancing their careers.

BPW Foundation established the Career Advancement Scholarship Program in 1969 to provide financial assistance to financially disadvantaged women seeking to further their education. Scholarships are provided to women 25 years of age or older, who wish to advance in their careers or are soon to enter or re-enter the workforce.  This year’s scholarships focused on recipients pursing bachelors degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) or related fields. These fields are careers where women are traditionally under-represented.

“BPW Foundation scholarships have a profound effect both on the women who receive them and on their communities.   Many recipients use the degrees they earn with the help of a BPW scholarship to work in careers that directly impact the quality of life in their communities,” explained Dr. Sheila Barry-Oliver, Chair of the BPW Foundation Financial Aid Committee. “That is why BPW Foundation has the application and screening process done through BPW Foundation state and local Legacy Partners. They know the women in their communities.”

Scholarship recipients must have been accepted at an accredited educational institution and be within two years of completing their degree.  Over the years, demographics have shown that the average recipient is a 37 year-old single mother of two children.  Twenty-five percent of the recipients have received public assistance at one time or another and 40 percent of the recipients are the first in their immediate family to earn a college degree.

“Once again I am so impressed by the quality of the applicants and heartened by their stories and drive.” BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett said. “I am so pleased to be part of an organization with a program that has such a profound impact on women, with limited opportunities but unlimited potential.”

Career Advancement Scholarships are made possible through the long time generosity and commitment of BPW Foundation donors.  For every gift given, 97% directly funds our programs supporting working women, their families and successful workplaces.

Each woman is receiving a $2000 grant. Following is the list of scholarship recipients, their home states, and degree aspirations:

Career Advancement Scholarships

Laura Schumacher, Grass Valley, CA 95949, BSN

Layne Jackson Hubbard, Denver, CO, BS, Neuroscience

Leslie Venable Adams, Denham Springs, LA, BSN

Erin R. Dunphy, Beverly, MA, BSN

Jeannine Padilla, Ronan, MT, BS, Computer Science

Christina Palmer, Weddington, NC, BSCE (Civil Engineering)

Anastasia Mercier, Franklin, NH, BS, Psychology/Health Science

Kristin E. Leonard, Jersey Shore, PA, MS, Forensic Anthropology

Susan R. Ledford, Spartanburg, SC, BS, Accounting/BA Psychology

Michelle Lopez Michaelson, Little Elm, TX, BSN

Posted in Career Advancement, Education, Misbehavin' Notification, Non Traditional Jobs, STEM, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: BPW Foundation Receives $100,000 to Support Women Veterans

Posted by YWM on December 5, 2011

Call of Duty Endowment Presents Check before Miami Dolphins Game

Deborah L. Frett (L) and Dawn Smith (R) Receive C.O.D.E. Check

During a pre-game tailgate event at the December 4, 2011 Miami Dolphins NFL game in Miami, FL, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett accepted a $100,000 grant from Activision’s Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E).  BPW Foundation will use the funds to assist women veterans with their transition from military to civilian careers.

“We are very grateful to receive this generous grant from C.O.D.E., which will enable BPW Foundation to launch its Joining Forces for Women Veteran’s and Military Spouses Mentoring Project (JFWV), and connect thousands of women veterans and military wives with successful employment opportunities,” Frett said.  “The grant from the Endowment will specifically be used to develop a minimum of 1,000 mentoring relationships for women veterans and military spouses across the country and in anticipation of a national roll out create pilot programs in Chicago, New York City and Washington, DC.”

The check was presented to BPW Foundation by Greg Zinone, President and Founder of “Pros vs. GI Joes” as part of the organization’s Purpose Driven Rehab Fall Tour – a military support initiative in which wounded veterans manage events at some of the biggest sporting venues across the country.

Also in attendance at the check presentation was veteran and former Air Force service member Dawn Smith.  Smith, who is participating in the BPW Foundation JFWV Mentoring Program, served in the U.S. Air Force for eight years working as an Air Terminal Operations Manager, Passenger Service Supervisor and Team Leader in Air Transportation.  Through the mentoring program she is getting coaching and support as she explores a career in the federal government and leans how to grow the tea company, www.MysticRemeTeas.com she started. She found BPW Foundation’s mentoring campaign through a pilot program with the USO, Hire Heroes USA and the US Chamber of Commerce.  BPW Foundation has partnerships with these organizations through their support of the JFWV Mentoring Program.

“I am very fortunate to have connected with BPW Foundation’s mentoring program which is uniquely qualified to help me as I determine the correct career path for me. Despite the skills I gained in the military and my advanced education degrees, I appreciate the continual help in learning how to successfully navigate through the federal process and the added confidence with developing and implementing a business plan for my tea company,” Smith said.  “The JFWV Mentoring Program is perfect because it is woman to woman.”

BPW Foundation identified mentoring as a key need during its Inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit held in October, 2010. The Office of the First Lady and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also recognized this “mentorship gap” in their selection of BPW as point organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military wives.

The JFWV Mentoring Program will enable women mentors to tap their own experiences to help women veterans successfully enter the civilian workforce by positioning their military expertise and skills for long-term career stability and success. The program will also help make connections for military spouses who often cannot find jobs that match their skills and education because of the hardships of military life including many moves and living in areas dominated by a military base.

About the Call of Duty Endowment:

The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit, public benefit corporation created by Activision Blizzard. The organization seeks to help soldiers that provide job placement and training. For more information about the Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.

About Pro vs. GI Joe:

Pro vs. GI Joe is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, changing the way our troops stay connected. Pro vs. GI Joe provides America’s heroes with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities by pitting them against their favorite professional athletes and celebrities in heated, yet fun video game competitions via the Internet and in person. For more information about the Purpose Driven Rehab Tour, please visit www.purposedrivenrehab.org.

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Gen Y Women Still Facing Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Posted by sherrysaunders on November 20, 2011

New Survey Results from Business and Professional Women’s Foundation

Washington, DC – Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation today released Gen Y Women to Employers: What they Want in the Workplace and Why it Matters for Business, a report that explores Generation Y women’s career choices and the opportunities and challenges they face in the workplace.  This research, based on a national survey conducted in May 2011, disputes many reports in today’s popular literature that Gen Y women do not believe that gender is a problem in today’s workplace.  In fact, 77% of respondents said that gender is a moderate or severe problem in today’s workplace and almost 50% said that they had observed or experienced gender discrimination.

“Far too often Gen Y women are treated as a homogenous group with monolithic perspectives. BPW Foundation’s research questions such views, highlighting how Gen Y women’s workplace expectations and experiences differ by occupation, employer type, compensation type and presence of children,” said Dr. Sheila Barry-Oliver, Chair of the BPW Research and Education Committee that oversaw the research. “Exploring key areas of social difference is vital to understanding Gen Y women’s workplace challenges and opportunities.”

Key findings included concerns about gender and age discrimination, the desire for a holistic approach to work-life balance and the fact that Gen Y women do not hold a uniform set of work values.

  1.  Gen Y women believe Gender Discrimination is Still an Issue in Today’s Workplace. Over 75% of survey participants identified gender as a moderate or severe problem in today’s workplace. The most prevalent forms reported were: stereotyping (63%), unequal compensation (60%), not being treated as an equal (58%), inequality of opportunities (58%), being held to different standards (51%), sexist jokes (38%), and sexual harassment (31%).
  2. Gen Y Women Experience a Double Jeopardy -Gender and Age. Survey results indicate that gender and age may have a compounding effect. Gen Y women who had experienced gender discrimination were more likely to report generational conflict or discrimination than those who had not. Fifty-one percent of Gen Y women who observed or experienced gender discrimination also reported generational discrimination. The most common forms of age discrimination reported were: being perceived as incompetent or inexperienced because of age; name calling such as “kid” and girl”; being passed over for promotions because of age; and being held to different standards because of age.
  3. Gen Y Women Want a More Holistic Approach to Work-Life Balance. Work-life balance literature often focuses on how workers combine work and family responsibilities. Survey results highlight the need to broaden this focus because: 1) Work-life balance is equally important to Gen Y women regardless of whether or not they have children; 2) Family is important for Gen Y women without children; and 3) Gen Y women have responsibilities outside of work and home.
  4. Gen Y Women Hold Disparate Career Values. Gen Y women, as a cohort, did not uniformly report a set of work values. Responses were mediated by various dimensions of difference: occupation, employer type and presence of children. Gen Y women represent a heterogeneity of goals associated with their work life.

“Employers cannot afford to ignore the challenges that Gen Y women face in the workplace. Continuing challenges related to work-life balance and especially to gender and age discrimination have profound business implications. Promoting workplace cultures and practices that embrace equality, flexibility, and inclusivity are imperative for the success and sustainability of business,” explained BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett.

“For instance, to meet Gen Y women’s work-life balance demands, employers need to move beyond programmatic responses and critically examine their assumptions about the characteristics of the ‘ideal worker.’ Often the ‘ideal worker’ is a person who is available anytime, anywhere and for as long as the employer needs. Gen Y women are largely rejecting this notion.” Frett said. “They are refusing to mistake their job for their life.”

Key Employer Applications from the study include:

  1. Check  assumptions. Employers should examine assumptions about Gen Y women and assumptions underlying workplace policies and practices.
  2. Address the sources not just the symptoms. Designing actions to address work-life balance, gender discrimination and fostering cross-generational relations requires both identifying the condition of inequality and contributing factors to the inequality.
  3. Measure success. Employers should develop indicators to measure the success of actions taken to address challenges and promote opportunities—measures that avoid simply “counting” and that measure changes in levels of gender or age inequality.

This research, funded from the Virginia Allan Young Careerist Grant, is part of BPW Foundation’s ongoing “Young Careerist” research project that since 2005 has been exploring the career opportunities and challenges facing today’s young working women.  The research gives voice to a distinct group of working women who are vital to developing a diverse and skilled workforce.  Research has been conducted using social media, focus groups and this national survey. To find all of the research and this report, visit our Young Careerist website.

Posted in Gen Y, Gender Discrimination, Misbehavin' Notification, Successful Workplaces, Worklife Balance | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Misbehaving Notification: BPW Foundation Issues Challenge to Businesses to Support Women Veterans

Posted by sherrysaunders on November 10, 2011

BPW Foundation Challenges Businesses to Join Deployment of Joining Forces Women Veterans Mentoring Campaign

First Lady Supports Veterans and Military Families

Business and Professional Women’s Foundation today announced the Joining Forces Women Veterans Mentoring Leadership Challenge Campaign with a $50,000 commitment to deploy the program.  BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett announced the Challenge during the National Chamber Foundation’s 4th Annual Hiring Our Heroes awards event featuring First Lady Michelle Obama as the keynote speaker.

“Over the past year, BPW Foundation has been developing and evaluating the tools, outreach, and capacity to connect thousands of women veterans and military wives with employment and career mentors to help them navigate the challenging path to successful careers in the civilian workplace,” Deborah L. Frett said.  “Working with our partner the U.S. Chamber, our first year goal is to complete 10,000 mentoring relationships. But that is just a start and we are challenging all corporations and foundations to join with a financial commitment as we work towards a goal of 100,000 mentorships.”

Many veterans are facing hard times during this grim economic period. The overall jobless rate has been hovering around 9 percent, however for veterans it has been almost two percentage points higher in 2011.  In October, the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was 12.1%, percent for men and 14.7 percent for women.

BPW Foundation hosted the Inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans (JFWV) National Summit in October, 2010, and identified an ongoing need for women veterans and military spouses to find informed, trusted outlets to assess their goals and navigate their way to successful careers — careers that provide economic stability for themselves and their families. The Office of the First Lady and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have recognized this “mentorship gap” in their selection of BPW as point organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military wives.

“We at BPW Foundation have laid  the groundwork, researched and identified the barriers facing women veterans, assembled the mentorship framework, and are building a pipeline to access the growing population of women veterans and the respective mentors,” Frett reported. She then challenged the organizations present to join BPW Foundation as Leadership Partners to deploy the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program.

“As a nation, we cannot fail to support our women veterans during the challenging transition from service to civilian life. The JFWV Mentorship Program will spotlight these women, help them find their way into the workforce, and navigate the career path with confidence. Our coordinated efforts will create a community of support and guidance for these sheroes,” Frett concluded.

The JFWV Mentorship Program will enable women mentors to tap their own experiences in the workplace to help women veterans successfully enter the civilian workforce, positioning their military expertise and skills for long-term career stability and success. The program will also help make connections for military spouses who often can not find jobs that match their skills and education because of the hardships of military life including many moves and living in areas dominated by a military base.

The first organization to meet the BPW Foundation Leadership challenge was the AARP Foundation.

To learn more about the mentorship program and Leadership Partner opportunities, visit www.womenjoiningforces.org.

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentorship Program

Posted by YWM on September 14, 2011

USO, AARP and Military to Medicine Support BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program

Master Sgt. Juanita Milligan Wounded Warrior Tells Advisory Council Her Story

Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Advisory Council (MAC) held its second meeting September 14 and heard from Master Sgt. Juanita Milligan, a wounded warrior preparing to retire from active duty Army service this year. Milligan was wounded in August 2005 when an IED exploded near her vehicle and she reached up to save her gunner.  Since then she has undergone numerous operations and is still in long-term physical therapy.  In hearing her inspirational story, the MAC members also learned of the challenges women wounded in service to their country face as they get ready to leave the military and prepare themselves for civilian life.

“Through its Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program, BPW Foundation is working with public and private partners to develop the tools, outreach, and capacity to engage 100,000 women mentors to connect with women veterans like Juanita Milligan, as well as military spouses” said MAC Chair, Dr. Lynda Davis.  “By the end of 2012, in collaboration with our launch partner the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, we will have 10,000 mentors in place.”

During the meeting, Deborah L. Frett, BPW Foundation CEO, announced three new partnerships. “We are proud to have the support of these outstanding and caring organizations as we move forward to assist women veterans and military spouses find and develop successful careers. It is very exciting to be working organizations so committed to supporting our women veterans of all eras.”

  • A $25,000 grant from USO to support a targeted six month pilot project that will address career transition challenges and facilitate job access and adjustment for 15 female wounded, ill, and injured (WII) service members in the Ft. Carson area and the National Capital Region with women based out of Ft Belvoir and the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment. This project is a partnership of USO and Hire Heroes USA with support for job access by the US Chamber of Commerce.
  • AARP Foundation has joined BPW Foundation as a Leadership Partner. Emily Allen, Vice President, Income of the AARP Foundation will become a member of the Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentorship Council and lend her expertise on senior women’s issues to the program.
  • A pilot initiative with Military to Medicine (M2M) will provide 12 women veteran and/or military spouse M2M graduates with mentors through the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship program.  Mentoring will afford the women support and expert, trained guidance as they prepare to use their new skills in the workplace and embark on careers in the medical field.  Mentors will provide the workplace know how, encouragement, coaching and support needed to help the M2M graduates find appropriate jobs and then successfully navigate the new workplace environments, advance in their careers, and find work-life balance and personal growth.

“The USO sees the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program as a perfect complement to the services we already offer to support our nation’s wounded warriors as they transition to the civilian workforce,” said Susan Thomas, Vice President of Programs- Wounded Warriors.  “We look forward to working with BPW and following the progress of these 15 women as they move into the next phase of their lives, and are looking forward to the prospect of expanding this reach in 2012.”

Members of the MAC include: Patricia Adams, Dep Asst Sec of Navy Civilian HR, Dept of Navy; Emily Allen, Vice President, Income, AARP Foundation; Erica Banks, Director, Talent Programs, USAA; Bonnie Carroll, President and Founder, TAPS; Dr. Lynda Davis, Senior VP, Service Member, Veterans and Family Support, ICF International; Pamela Eggleston, Director, Blue Star Families; Susan Feland, President, AcademyWomen, Deborah Frett, Chief Executive Officer, BPW Foundation; Dawn Halfaker, Founder and CEO, Halfaker and Associates, Inc; Deborah Lee James, Executive Vice President, SAIC; Dr. Kimberly McClain, Lead of Military Interest Group, Accenture; Jim McMahon, Director, Talent Acquisition and Military Outreach, Traveler’s Insurance; Kathy Moakler, Government Relations Director, National Family Military Association, Robin Portman, Senior Vice President, BoozAllenHamilton; Elaine Rogers, President, USO Metro, Lisa Rosser, President, The Value of a Veteran; Kevin Schmiegel, Vice President, Veteran Employment Program, US Chamber of Commerce; Dorothy Skube, Secretary of the Board, Alliant Credit Union Foundation; Linda Speed, Deputy Director for Transition Services, MOAA; Dr. Celia Szelwach, Founder, WOVEN; Charlotte Tsoucalas, Senior Advisor, TRIWEST; and Catherine Wilson, Executive Director, VA Wounded Warrior Program

To learn more about the Joining Forces for Women Veteran’s Mentorship Program, visit the BPW Foundation website.

Posted in Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Vote for Women Veterans and BPW

Posted by YWM on September 10, 2011

Business and Professional Women’s Foundation and women veterans need your vote!  BPW Foundation is very proud to have been selected as one of four charities to be part of Alliant Credit Union Foundation’s Make It Count: Vote to Give Back social media charity campaign.  Based on the number of votes we receive, Alliant will donate between $7,000 and $13,000 toward our programs supporting women veterans.

All of the charities are worthy, but we hope you will vote for BPW Foundation, so we can carry on our important work supporting women veterans and military spouses as they seek successful careers and lives.  This is a much overlooked yet deserving group, and they need all of our help!  Voting started at midnight on Thursday, September 1 and ends at 5:00 PM CST on October 31, 2011.  You may vote three times.

Visit the Alliant Credit Union Foundation website to read about the four charities and vote for BPW Foundation: Joining Forces for Women Veterans three times on the Alliant Facebook page .

Please contact your friends, and urge them to vote as well. To make the process easy after voting, click on the links that let you e-mail friends to encourage them to vote and the link that will post the information on your Facebook page.  We need to get the word out so we can get the maximum dollars possible to support women veterans.

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program is working to establish a network of 10,000 mentors to help and support women veterans and military spouses by the end of 2012.  We are also providing scholarships to women veterans to help them develop the skills and training they need to pursue successful civilian careers. Join us in this effort by voting three times for BPW Foundation: Joining Forces for Women Veterans.

In summary:

1) Visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/alliantcreditunion

2) Vote for BPW Foundation three times

3) Share this link and instructions on your Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn

4) Ask 20 friends to vote for BPW Foundation

Thank you for your support for women veterans,

Read more about BPW Foundation’s work for women veterans and join us as a mentor.

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: A Salute to Women Veterans

Posted by YWM on August 18, 2011

Excerpts from remarks by Deborah L. Frett, CEO, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation at the Salute to Women Veterans, in Chicago, August 12, 2011.

Deborah L. Frett, BPW Foundation CEO

Business and Professional Women’s Foundation is pleased to be here tonight with the Chicago Sky, saluting our women veterans.   I would like to thank the Chicago Sky team and staff for joining us in hosting this special Salute to Women Veterans tonight.   We are very grateful that they are raising the visibility of women veterans in our society  – as women veterans often do not self-identify and are often overlooked.

I also want to Thank you Col. Sylvia Moran. We are delighted that you could join us tonight and share some of your insights based on your 35 years of experience in the military, as part of that historic West Point Class of female firsts and as well as your personal transition experiences.

BPW has been advancing the cause of working women since 1919; and BPW Foundation comes naturally to our work of supporting women veterans.

  • We were the first to focus our research and programs exclusively on women in the workforce.
  •  We were the first to elevate issues of women in non-traditional occupations.
  • And we were the first to examine the domestic and workplace needs of women veterans as they transition from military to civilian life.

BPW Foundation has always focused on working women – and more specifically, women working in non-traditional occupations including the military.

Women have fought for and served our nation since its beginning.  Women now represent more than 15% of our service members and there are almost 2 million women veterans with an anticipated 150,000 more transiting from military to civilian life in the next five years.   Our country has been slow to acknowledge this demographic change and is just now recognizing that veteran services and programs designed for men don’t necessarily work for our women veterans.  It is time to be sure that we recognize their strengths and abilities and ensure that they easily transition into successful civilian careers.

BPW Foundation recently launched the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program.  How we developed this program and got to where we are today can be summarized in three steps:

  • We actually asked women veterans what they needed.
  • We didn’t stop with research.
  • We are implementing a course for change.

The first step – We actually asked women veterans what they needed.

  • In 2005 we recognized that the surge of women veterans returning home from two wars was an unaddressed issue;
  • In 2007 we conducted and published the first research that examined the transition of women veterans of all eras back into the civilian workplace

The second step – We didn’t stop with research.

Last fall we organized and hosted the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit, to educate the government and employers from all sectors about the gender distinct issues and challenges faced by women veterans.  The discussions at that meeting resulted in the publication of a Summary Report outlining recommendations and the next steps that need to be taken to support our women veterans.

And the third step – We are implementing a course for change.

  • Because of what we learned from our research and during the Summit, we launched the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program. Evidence pointed to the need for one-on-one mentoring to help women veterans make the transition to successful, meaningful jobs and fulfilling civilian lives.

In addition, The Office of the First Lady and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce highlighted this “mentorship gap” with their recognition of BPW Foundation as point organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military spouses.

Working with our partner, the U.S. Chamber, and others, we intend to significantly increase women veteran and military spouse employment by joining forces in public private partnerships and establish a network of 10,000 women mentors from corporate, government and nonprofit communities across the country and connect them with women veterans and military wives by the end of 2012.  Beyond this joint program, BPW Foundation’s Mentorship Program has a goal of eventually engaging 100,000 women mentors.

We will be partnering with corporations and businesses across the country to accomplish this and I hope that some of you will join us in the effort.  Of course I hope many of you will also agree to join us as mentors.  You can sign up on our website, BPWFoundation.org, to get updates and information on how you can participate.

Again, I want to thank the Chicago Sky, Colonel Moran, William Schmutz of the Chicago Mayor’s Office and all of you for joining us in this Salute for Women Veterans tonight.

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Non Traditional Jobs, Veterans, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

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