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We briefly mentioned in July that WFA is partnering with the CLINTON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE this upcoming year on two incredible research projects.  We're excited to get started and share a little bit more about the students & projects:

PRACTICUM STUDENTS: Patricia Flanagan, Billie Jean Thomas, Jillian Underwood; CAPSTONE STUDENT: Hilary Trudell

 

Reporting on the Status of Women in Arkansas

Class of 2013 students Patricia Flanagan (St. Louis, MO), Billie Jean Thomas (Little Rock, AR), Jillian Underwood (Topeka, KS) will revisit and update the 1973 report on THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN ARKANSAS by gathering new data and engaging focus groups to discuss current issues facing women in the state for their practicum project. The report will not only inform WFA's grant-making, policy and programming decisions, but also serve as a guide for the state's lawmakers, service providers, schools and other organizations.  Project Completion Date: May 2012

The Status of Women Pre-High School Graduation in Arkansas: 

Class of 2012 student Hilary Trudell (Knoxville, TN) will be examining the issues impacting high school graduation rates for Arkansas' young women through interviews and data gathering for her capstone project.  Project Completion Date: December 2011

U.S. Department of Commerce Economic and Statistics Administration (ESA) issued a report on women in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce.  The report, WOMEN IN STEM: A GENDER GAP TO INNOVATION, found that women continue to be "vastly underrepresented" and hold less than 25% of STEM jobs.  The positive note was that women in STEM jobs "earn 33% more than women in non-STEM jobs." 

Thanks to Glenda Cooper for sharing this report with WFA

WFA's GIRLS OF PROMISE program has introduced over 3,000 8th grade girls across Arkansas to information about careers in areas related to ESTEM (economics, science, technology, engineering and math) while giving them the opportunity to meet with women professionals for greater understanding on the importance of higher education and working hard.  

A 10th grade alumnae track will be new to the 2012 Girls of Promise conference season!  This half-day track includes presentations from University officials and community leaders on information necessary to complete a college application, access financial aid and scholarships, and other activities to ready oneself for college - including a session on the proper use of social media.

Ronya McLelland.

Ronya McLelland, WFA's volunteer Girls of Promise Coordinator, will be organizing the eight LOCAL COMMITTEES working with WFA's Campus Partners: 

• Arkansas State University (Jonesboro) 
• Arkansas Tech University (Russellvile) 
• Harding University (Searcy)
• Henderson State University & Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia)
• NorthWest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville)
• Southern Arkansas University (Magnolia)
• University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• University of Arkansas at Monticello   

All Local Committees are welcoming new members, so if you are interested in volunteering, please complete THIS FORM.  Questions about serving on a committee?  Email RONYA.

Women's funds offer a unique model for philanthropy that creates deep-rooted, systematic change through the empowerment of women & girls.  The 12 women's funds included in Women's Funding Network's TWELVE WOMEN'S FUNDS IN THE SOUTH: COMMON CONTEXT, COLLECTIVE IMPACT work to address the critical issues affecting women in the southern United States.  In a part of the country too often characterized by its problems, these organizations see enormous potential for women & girls to be the solution, creating change for their communities and their region.

WFA is a member of WFN and included in this report.  A limited number of printed copies will be available at WFA's POWER OF THE PURSE luncheon on Oct 21.

On Leadership: Marcia McNutt on the science of leadership

A recent article on The Washington Post website, WHAT MEN CAN LEARN FROM WOMEN ABOUT LEADERSHIP IN THE 21ST CENTURY says that tomorrow's successful leaders will "foster true networked collaboration through a leadership style that projects openness, inclusiveness & respect."  The above video is a clip from Marcia McNutt, discussing why she dislikes the label of "first female director of the USGS."  

THE DAILY BEAST reported that large media sources, such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, are ignoring the Census Bureau's latest figures on poverty that show U.S. women are hit hardest in every category.

While poverty rates for every population are currently high, those for the general population of women are higher - up to 14.5%.  The rates jump even higher when looking at specific groups:  25% of Hispanic women and 25.6% of black women are living in poverty.  Single mothers are hit hardest, with more than 40% of women who head families now living in poverty.

Additional discussion points in the the article include the climbing child poverty rate, decline in number of women with healthcare and the stagnant wage gap that accounts for an average of more than $10,000 in lost wages for women each year. 

The Arkansas Women's Business Center (AWBC) helps women-owned small businesses start, grow, and compete in global markets.

AWBC provides technical training assistance, training, and access to to capital services tailored to meet the needs of women business owners.  Specific areas of assistance includes: assess interested companies to ensure disadvantaged entrepreneurs receive support; assess current client capabilities; provide business plan development support; develop market feasibility studies; provide mentoring assistance; and more!

AWBC is located in El Dorado, but provides assistance across the state.  More information is available on their WEBSITE and FACEBOOK PAGE.

Walmart Launches Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative

Walmart launched a major initiative that will use the company's global size and scale to help empower women across its supply chain by increasing sourcing from women-owned businesses, training young people for their first jobs and lifting up women who work in factories and on farms. During the announcement, Walmart stated that "helping women to live better means a better world for everyone."  As part of their $20 billion campaign to boost female economic development, Walmart committed $100 million in grants to nonprofit groups that provide job training to women.  Read more on PHILANTHROPY TODAY, THE NEW YORK TIMES and Walmart's PRESS RELEASE.

Thanks to Sarah Campbell for sharing this story with WFA.

NBC SPORTS reported a giant win for female athletes & video game enthusiasts:  Fourteen-year-old Lexi Peters plays hockey in real life and in video games.  While trying to create an avatar that reflected the Purple Eagles (her all-girls hockey team), she realized that there was not a female character option.  So she wrote a letter to the executives at EA Sports, one of the world's leading global interactive entertainment software companies, asking them to add women players:

"It is unfair to women and girl hockey players around the world, many of them who play and enjoy your game. I have created a character of myself, except I have to be represented by a male and that's not fun." 

Lexi's letter was viewed as a "wake-up call" by EA Sports and the National Hockey League who realized that they had a "growing audience" and they "hadn't done anything to capture them."  Game designers even used Lexi as the inspiration for the first female avatar.  So she, and millions of other NHL 12 players, can play hockey on screen as herself.

New RESEARCH & STATISTICS added to WFA's WEBSITE:

A Smart Move in Tough Times

Five years ago, an SREB report called for major improvements to adult learning programs across the region. The report pointed to a regional employment crisis in which many of the least-educated adults in SREB states were caught in dead-end jobs or not employed at all.  

A few states took action based on the report's recommendations - but far too little progress was made. Now, the current economic recession has made matters worse.  Helping a state's poorest and least-employable residents find good jobs depends on strengthening adult learning efforts...  Read the report HERE.

2010 & 2011 Kids Count Data Books

Read the Annie E. Casey Foundation state profiles of child well-being: 2010 REPORT and the 2011 REPORT.

The College Payoff

A college degree pays off - but by just how much?  This report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce examines just what a college degree is worth - and what else besides a degree might influence an individual's potential earnings...  Read the report HERE.

One Degree of Separation

In high school, the vast majority of young Americans say they want to go to college, but in the end, only 4 in 10 earn a credential by the time they are 35. That's a problem for the young people themselves-workers without credentials beyond high school earn less and are more likely to be unemployed. It's also a problem for the country as a whole...  Read the report HERE.