Global Summit of Women 2004
Seoul, Korea

“Preparing Women for a Technology World”

Remarks by Shinae Chun
Director, Women’s Bureau
United States Department of Labor

Introduction

· Our Women’s Bureau 21^st Century Working Women Initiatives are all about Better Jobs!, Better Earnings!, and Better Living!

· I use three principles to guide all my Women’s Bureau projects:

1. being relevant to the 21^st century economy, employers, employees, and workforce;

2. reinforcing the President’s Management Agenda; and

3. coalition building.

· At the 21^st Century Workforce Summit in June 2001, President George W. Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao asked Department of Labor agencies to develop innovative ways to help American workers acquire IT skills.

· The first projects I created as Director of the Women’s Bureau were technology demonstration projects.

· I knew that, even though our Women’s Bureau projects would be small, if they were successful, they could be replicated around the country and help many other women.

· There are five Women’s Bureau projects I will address today:

1. On-Line Learning for Single Mothers;

2. Girls E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET);

3. Girls E-Mentoring in Nursing (GEM-NURSING);

4. the Employer-Driven Older Women Workers Project; and

5. e-News.

Online Learning for Single Mothers

· I knew that, despite our “high tech” age, there are millions of women across the United States who have never turned on a computer.

· The On-Line Learning for Single Mothers project was a collaborative effort between the Women’s Bureau, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, and the New Jersey Department of Labor.

· This two-year project provided on-line learning for single mothers with school-aged children in five counties in the State of New Jersey.

· Recognizing the limited time and flexibility available to single working mothers to enroll in outside classes, project designers brought the training program to them. Each of the women was given a computer to use at home to complete the online courses at their own pace.

· The Women’s Bureau used this project to test the feasibility of participants earning computer certification or a 1-year Associates degree through on-line courses compared with traditional educational settings and methods.

· The on-line courses were designed to prepare the participants for high-skilled jobs in their local communities.

· Women enrolled in the program assembled and hooked up their own computers; organized their time to take classes and study on-line; worked with their local One-Stop Career Center, online or in person, to receive technical assistance as needed; and progressed in mastering the educational components.

· 117 women have completed their course work and received credentials.

· A significant intangible result of the program is the increased self-confidence of the participants, as well as their children.

· The young girl sitting across from her mother in the picture, Daneen, loved the fact that she and her mother worked together in the same room. Inspired by her mother’s determination to master new skills, Daneen’s own grades improved dramatically as they worked side-by-side. Her mother continues to work toward her ultimate career goal, hotel management.

Girls’ E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET)

· The Women’s Bureau launched the Girls’ E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET) project in 2001, partnering with the Center for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Illinois at Chicago

· GEM-SET links girls age 13-18 with volunteer women mentors in the fields of science, engineering, and technology.

· It uses e-mail and a website (www.gem-set.org) to link girls and mentors.

· The website features a daily digest of questions from girls with answers by the mentors.

· GEM-SET also includes field trips to worksites.

· In the picture, our Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao, encourages a GEM-SET student during a field trip to Loyola University in Chicago.

· So far, 907 young women and 198 mentors have participated.

· We have established 121 partnerships with schools and community organizations.

· The program exists in 29 states.

· One of those states is New Jersey. In the picture, GEM-SET students visiting the Liberty Science Center learn how to assemble the “insides” of a computer, to remove the mystery! Using donated computers, the girls got to take them apart, piece by piece, and ask what each component is for.

· There are 313 immigrant girls in Chicago, New York City, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles working with 23 mentors.

· And the University of Illinois has produced a “How to” Manual and an Archive of high-quality questions and answers from the Daily Digests.

Girls E-Mentoring in Nursing (GEM-Nursing)

· GEM-Nursing is an on-line project using the GEM-SET model to encourage students to explore nursing careers.

· It links nurses to students ages 15-21.

· It provides information about career opportunities in nursing and sources of financial aid.

· The University of Michigan School of Nursing manages the Internet listserv and produces daily digests. The University will also produce a “how to” guide.

· The website address is www.gem-nursing.org.

· So far, 505 students have registered, and there are 176 mentors from 16 different fields.

· The program operates in 26 states.

· We have 65 partner organizations.

· We take, as a sign of the usefulness of the program, the fact that 118 students e-mailed a friend to recommend the website.

Employer-Driven Older Women Workers Project

· The Employer-Driven Older Women Workers project trains older Hispanic and Asian American women in computer and basic life skills.

· Our partner CVS Pharmacy Inc. offers entry-level career ladder positions to some program graduates.

· We also partner with SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc. in Dallas, and the Chinese American Service League in Chicago.

· I was pleased to honor the first class of graduates for the project in Chicago last November, as the picture shows.

· In Chicago, the class included women from the Chinese, Korean and Filipino communities.

· In the second picture, which is from the Dallas Metropolitan Area program, seven proud Latinas have just received their graduation certificates.

· The Dallas-area program for Latinas is an excellent example of the public sector, private sector and the nonprofit community working together to achieve a common goal.

e-News

· E-News is a bi-monthly electronic newsletter designed to bring women closer to government. The articles contain updates about Women’s Bureau projects and other news of interest to working women. The web address is www.dol.gov/wb.

· E-News has focused on topics such as Women and Technology, Women Business Owners, Financial Security, International Women’s Issues, and Jobs and Economic Growth.

· Over 300,00 women receive e-News bi-monthly via email.

Conclusion

· In conclusion, almost three years after the President and Secretary of Labor encouraged us to find innovative ways to help American workers acquire IT skills, I can say that we have learned much about what works. We have inspired and been inspired by the women and girls who participated in our programs.

· All Women’s Bureau projects focus on measurable results; are developed with a strategic plan; and can be replicated by others, of course customizing projects to meet the unique needs of the women being served.

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