#cwct

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This year’s show promises high energy, big laughs and plenty of heart.

Youths bring 'Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr.' to stage

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#Repost @spear.system ・・・ Biting for Self-defense? Yes, of course. #CWCT. Why? Because dogs don't know Kung Fu. It's also paleo. 😉 ( All Courses here: http://buff.ly/2lEJJQH ) @tonyblauer

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Breaking Down the Barriers to Women in Politics

In recent years, several measures have been taken to advance gender equality in today’s workforce and political environment.  For Connecticut, the 2013 election became a historical turning point for women as many prevailed in highly contested political races within the state.   While this defining moment promises future success for female leaders, women still remain widely underrepresented in leadership roles.  Presently, women constitute only 14 percent of the state’s Congressional Delegation, 29 percent of the Connecticut General Assembly, and 25 percent of municipal governing bodies.  What’s striking about these statistics is that studies show that women tend to fare well against men in political campaigns. The existing disparity among female representation in politics can be attributed to a variety of societal factors that impact a woman’s decision to pursue a political seat.  Nonetheless, women are vital to the political arena as they provide a perspective unique to their male counterparts. 

Women face a range of barriers regarding their political involvement.  The most prevalent is the gender bias within American society, which urges women to take on more of a domestic identity than professional or community leader.  This implicit bias often shapes a woman’s political and occupational experience and work availability which ultimately impacts their success within the political arena.  These factors contribute to the common lack of political ambition among women and girls.   

Furthermore, while women fare well against men in political campaigns, women are often presented with obstacles during the campaign process.  These include bias within political party recruitment, securing fundraising sources, and fewer network connections within the “political pipeline.”  Studies show women are less likely to be considered during political party recruitment and endorsement.  Without party endorsement, candidates are frequently put at a disadvantage.  In addition, men and women candidates usually raise comparable campaign funds; however, women are more likely to have difficulty attracting funders from traditional sources.  These factors derive from the limited access women have to political networking.  With fewer women in politics than men, female candidates lack networking and mentoring opportunities.  This again disempowers women from seeking and obtaining political leadership positions.

Having more female leaders within Connecticut would not only encourage young women and girls to pursue non-traditional professions, it would also benefit the productivity and functionality of our governing bodies.   In fact, female political leaders are more likely to advocate for women’s rights and social justice issues and offer a different perspective in addressing public policy.  To learn more about how CWEALF works to promote women in policy and leadership, read our recap on the 3rd Annual Women’s Policy Day.

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Nina Candels is a CWEALF social work intern from the University of Saint Joseph, who is specializing in policy and the Campaign for a Working Connecticut.

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Better Child Care to Promote Employment

In the state of Connecticut, barriers to employment impact many workers and jobseekers, including 95% of Connecticut’s 10,000 Jobs First Employment Services (JFES) Program participants.  A prevailing concern is affordable and accessible childcare, as it remains one of the top the barriers to employment within the state.  Childcare is necessary for working families as it provides assistance in the care of a child while the parent works.  Despite the fact that it is important for family functioning, the cost of childcare has increased significantly, making it an impossible option for lower income families. 

In Connecticut, the cost of childcare constitutes one third of the median income for single parents.  Often, this cost is even more burdensome for single mothers due to the persistence of the gender wage gap.  In effort to aid families impacted by this epidemic, the state has created government subsidized programs and tax credits for childcare facilities to help low income families in need of childcare.  Care 4 Kids, for example, provides child care benefits for nearly 24,000 children with in the state.  While these services benefit families, such as the 31 percent of single mother families living below the poverty line, they do not adequately meet the needs of Connecticut’s working families. 

State programs directed towards childcare assistance need to be refined and expanded in order to decrease the number of individuals facing childcare as an employment barrier.  Furthermore, Connecticut workers would benefit from exploring alternative methods of childcare.  According to United Way’s 2-1-1, family daycare centers and state subsidized pre-school programs are often less expensive and more accessible than traditional childcare facilities; however, they hold the lowest occupancy rates within the state.  Through the education of alternative childcare options such as family day care centers, as well as expanding government funded programs, Connecticut would become closer to eliminating employment barriers and recovering from the Great Recession.

Read more on employment barriers impacting Connecticut workers through CWEALF’s involvement with the Campaign for a Working Connecticut.  To learn more about childcare services within the state, visit United Way of Connecticut’s 2-1-1 childcare.

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Written by Nina Candels. Nina is a CWEALF social work intern from the University of Saint Joseph, who is specializing in policy and the Campaign for a Working Connecticut.

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Bridging the Skills Gap with Sector-Based Strategies

Since the financial downturn that prompted the Great Recession, policymakers and advocates have taken great strides to support job creation and economic development.  Although the national unemployment rate has decreased from 10 percent to 7.3 percent, further steps must be taken to improve employment within the United States. Today’s workforce is faced with several barriers in achieving this goal; the most prevalent being the growing gap in skills and education.  While national and state programs aim to improve the competitiveness of the current workforce, such initiatives are not enough.  Based on these issues, several states have taken steps to form industry partnerships which utilize sector-based strategies as a means to eliminate the existing skills mismatch. 

Sector-based strategies are a workforce development initiative that partners businesses with community organizations and training providers in order to address the needs of employers and workers.  By providing employers with the resources to effectively train under-skilled employees, businesses are able to expand work quality and efficiency while advancing the skills and opportunities of their workers.  Ultimately, sector-based strategies promote job growth and enable a faster recovery from the great recession.  

An example of a successful sector-based strategy initiative is the “Job Ready” program in Pennsylvania.  In 2005, Pennsylvania’s “Job Ready” program was enacted by former Governor Ed Rendell to gain understanding of the basic industry needs and invest in workforce development in an efficient and effective manner. State funding was allocated to nine sector initiatives focusing on industry partnerships and incumbent worker training.  In one year, “Job Ready” established approximately 70 industry partnerships, and trained more than 7,500 workers throughout 900 companies.

Today, state governments are using sector-based strategies as a key element of workforce and economic development policies.  The need for programs such as these within the state of Connecticut is essential for job growth and opportunities.  Read more about the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund’s involvement with the Campaign for a Working Connecticut and sector-based strategies.

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Nina Candels is a CWEALF social work intern from the University of Saint Joseph, who is specializing in policy and the Campaign for a Working Connecticut.

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Campaign for Investments in CT workers

When I started the Campaign for a Working CT in 2005, I was determined to bring together a diverse group of people to advocate for state investment in workforce development. Thirty individuals met that year to help establish Campaign goals and activities and to set our first legislative agenda calling for $9.5 million to support education and training for youth and adults.   Eight years later we are still together, still raising awareness of the importance of education and training for low skilled workers, and still fighting for resources for Connecticut’s unemployed and underemployed. 

This year the Campaign’s legislative agenda calls for support of industry sector strategies to meet business’ need for skilled workers and workers’ need for good jobs.   More than half the nation’s states are exploring or implementing sector strategies as a promising model.  Sector strategies offer a mechanism to focus scarce resources on industries that are major job providers in an area as well as to focus comprehensively on the workforce skills, from entry level to advanced, required in a regional economy. 

These collaborations bring together regional groups of employers, educational institutions and workforce agencies to identify common workforce needs for high-demand occupations within a target industry and develop and implement industry strategies to meet the common workforce shortages based on regional labor market demands.  Modeled after successful legislation in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland, the Campaign is calling on the Connecticut legislature to make a substantial investment in industry-based partnerships to bridge the gap between specific employer workforce needs and the skills of workers.  

One example of this type of partnership is the Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford, a network of public and private organizations that invests in the development of a self-sufficient workforce with skills regional employers need to successfully compete in the today’s economy.  The Collaborative, with grants from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions as well as from local funders such as the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the United Way of North Central and Northeastern CT, is investing in industry partnerships in the Greater Hartford region in healthcare, manufacturing and other sectors.  Through the industry partnerships, employers and educators are coming together to align curriculum and ensure that program graduates match the hiring requirements of current job openings.  CWEALF leads the Collaborative’s policy and advocacy efforts in coordination with the Campaign and will be showcasing this type of industry partnership in its legislator education this session. 

If you would like to follow the activities of the Campaign, join our email list by sending an email to [email protected] and we will keep you informed about our policy agenda, community education activities, and legislative action. 

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Written by Alice Pritchard, PhD. Alice is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF).

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When Women Succeed, America Succeeds

Last Friday, CWEALF staff attended a rally in North Branford to support women’s equality.  Because of the National House Democrats’ recently released agenda for the upcoming year, “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families,” the rally highlighted the need to ensure women’s equality by providing women with economic security.

U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro and Minority House Leader Nancy Pelosi spearheaded the forum.  Additionally, three women spoke about their personal experiences working in Connecticut and how their lives have been changed by women’s issues, such as the paid family leave program provided through their places of employment, and by organizations that provided them with affordable child care.  They also praised Connecticut services that provided them with necessary employment skills, like job training.

The agenda for “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds” focuses on improving and increasing pay, work-family balance, and child care.  Regarding pay, women are making an average of only 77 cents for every dollar that men make.  According to reports, family and medical leave protections do not cover almost half of all full-time employees, upsetting the balance between work and family and making it difficult for women to support their families. Additionally, there is inadequate funding to support child care programs in this country.  The National House Democrats’ agenda seeks to mitigate all of these issues.

As part of CWEALF’s mission, we strive to promote equality for all women. We believe in economic equality, and advance programs that make it easier for women to better balance family and work and feel economically secure, like the Gender Pay Gap Study Task Force, the Campaign for a Working Connecticut, and the Family Medical Leave Insurance Coalition.  Keep an eye out for our follow-up blog about the Family Medical Leave Act, and how it may work better for women in Connecticut!

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Written by Lisa Vickers. Currently a CWEALF intern, Lisa is majoring in History and Women’s Studies at the University of Connecticut – Storrs, and aspires to enter the field of women’s law.