Despite this year’s hot job market headlines, many job seekers, most notably low-income women, still face barriers to securing employment. When entering the job market, many women face obstacles with technology, confidence, and skill development. As a result, they don’t feel prepared. Helping them overcome these hurdles can lay the groundwork for success when it comes to employment.
Invest in Communities by Economically Empowering Women
The U.S. Department of State reports, “When women are empowered economically, they invest in their families and communities, spurring economic growth and creating a more stable society.” Therefore, connecting women with the tools they need for a successful job search will impact not only the job seeker but also their family and community. But where can women access the tools to break down these barriers?
WFBoston Grantee Partners Help Women Reach Their Professional Goals
Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFBoston), whose mission is to economically empower women and girls in Greater Boston, supports two local organizations that help women attain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the job market. Dress for Success Boston and Project Hope Boston offer programs that work with women to achieve their professional goals. As a result, women secure jobs, earn sustainable wages, and move forward on their path to financial stability.
Dress for Success Boston Invests in Women
Dress for Success Boston works to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and life. With much of its programming focused on women over age 24, Dress for Success identified the need to reach younger women. In 2020, WFBoston funded a three-year grant for Dress for Success Boston’s Confidence Days program geared to young women in Boston.
What is a Confidence Day?
Participants of the program attend a four-hour session, run by women, to learn about careers, how to interview for a job, business clothing and grooming, and other work readiness activities. “When women help each other, great things happen,” explained Dress for Success Boston, Executive Director Kim Todd. Participants in this employment-centered program gain new skills and knowledge, and build confidence. One attendee raved:
Dress for Success – More than What You Wear
Dress for Success is about more than just a new outfit. A Forbes Magazine article reported, “A recent study shows that people who dress better have more confidence, feel more powerful, and are more focused on details.” The Dress for Success Boston Confidence Days and their other programs give women the tools and confidence they need to achieve a positive job-seeking outcome.
Project Hope Partners with Women and Families
WFBoston grantee partner Project Hope Boston also offers employment preparation programs for women. With a focus on housing stability and economic mobility, the organization works in partnership with women and families in Dorchester and Roxbury, Massachusetts, on their journey out of poverty. Project Hope programs include workforce development, adult skills building, housing services, and family shelter. The organization realizes that employment is one key factor in overcoming poverty.
Identifying and Addressing Barriers
Project Hope Boston found that many of the women they partner with face overwhelming technological barriers and lack the skills needed to use this technology.
With funding from a WFBoston grant, the organization added a Technology Specialist Instructor position to deliver computer training and bridge the digital divide for women in the organization’s Workplace Development Program.
Developing the Program to Create Success
“When developing our program, instructors noticed that many tutorials and training programs assume that users already know certain techniques. This assumption can result in a loss of confidence and cause students to fall behind,” shared a Project Hope volunteer. Therefore, the organization’s training focuses first on skill-checking these basics, then, bridging knowledge gaps as needed.
The Results
Six months into the program, volunteers found that trainees increased confidence and technology skills—including keyboard skills, sending documents electronically, and navigating Microsoft Office applications such as Excel. Through this instruction, Project Hope Boston helps these women enter the workforce with the tools and confidence they need to be successful.
Clearing the Path to Financial Security
Organizations like Project Hope Boston and Dress for Success Boston are major contributors to women achieving economic independence. A recent McKinsey American Opportunity Survey showed that many Americans say they face persistent barriers to finding a job even as employers are struggling to fill positions. That is why initiatives from organizations like these help women acquire the necessary skills to compete in this job market, earn a fair wage, and gain financial security. They are setting women up to achieve by helping them become financially independent.
How Can You Help?
Women’s Foundation of Boston believes in the missions of Dress for Success Boston and Project Hope Boston. We know that focusing on women is a high-impact investment with a multiplier effect, creating positive economic returns across generations and throughout communities. Please help us continue this circle of growth for women by supporting them on their journey to financial independence. Donate today!
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.