Woman to Woman Mentoring and Career Guidance for Military Spouses

Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation was inducted as a Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partner (MSEP) at the MSEP Partner Induction Ceremony on November 5, 2013 at the Pentagon Auditorium in Arlington, VA. Signing the new MSEP Partners Statement of Support for BPW Foundation was CEO Deborah L. Frett.

“BPW Foundation is proud to join MSEP in supporting military spouses as they seek meaningful careers while balancing the challenging work-life priorities involved in living a military life,” said Deborah Frett. “Through BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus®, military spouses will have access to free mentoring provided by volunteer working women, Subject Matter Experts for special needs, and a vast number of state- of-the-art career resources through our internet platform. In addition, we have special resources for the employment challenges faced by caregivers of Wounded Warriors.

“Military spouses, 95% of whom are women, are educated, committed, flexible, and capable of juggling multiple roles in transitional situations. Yet most remain un or under employed. Over the past several years, BPW Foundation has championed women veterans and military spouses in their efforts to succeed in meaningful careers. We have also found that serving both women veterans and military spouses is useful, since many military spouses are also veterans.

“Joining MSEP is a logical match of resources to support and provide the tools military spouses need to succeed as they face issues of job portability, frequent moves and often an absent spouse. And our unique benefit of Working Women Helping Women Work® provides these female military spouses a truly understanding helping hand,” Frett said.

Current MSEP partner executives, members of Congress, military service assistant secretaries, senior military spouses of the service Chiefs of Staff and military spouse employees of MSEP companies were on hand at the commitment celebration to welcome the more than 30 new MSEP partners. Also attending for BPW Foundation was Velma Hart, BPW Treasurer, BPW Foundation Trustee and a veteran. She joined Ms. Frett and the other partners at the 2013 Annual MSEP Partner Meeting after the induction ceremony.

MSEP is part of DoD’s broader Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) initiative , which seeks to strengthen the education and career opportunities of military spouses by providing career exploration opportunities to help them understand their skills, interests, and goals; education and training to help them identify academic, licensing, or credentialing requirements that can help them reach their career goals; employment readiness assistance to optimize their self-marketing skills; and employment connections that help them find and maintain a rewarding career. MSEP, a targeted recruitment and employment solution, creates employment connections that provide companies with direct access to military spouses seeking career opportunities and spouses with direct access to employers who are actively recruiting.

Foundations Launch Financial Literacy Support Program for Women Veterans and Military Spouses

Alliant Credit Union Foundation and Business and Professional Women’s Foundation are partnering to provide free financial education, counseling, and tools for the rapidly growing community of women veterans and military/veteran spouses served by Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® to promote and facilitate economic stability and prosperity in their civilian lives. These financial literacy resources will be available to all members of BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® online employment mentoring platform through a designated Financial Literacy Portal with access to online, phone, and one-to-one counseling and education.

 Alliant Credit Union and BPW Foundation will jointly seek additional credit union partners to join a consortium that leverages individual business strategies, marketplace strengths, and geography to meet the diverse and expanding needs of Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® women veterans and military/veteran spouses. The consortium will develop and oversee financial resources that include helping younger women veterans establish credit, military spouses facing portability challenges as a result of frequent moves, older women veterans looking to plan for retirement or second careers, caregivers of wounded warriors saddled with responsibility for family finances, as well as entrepreneurs and business owners seeking advice and access to capital.

 David Mooney, Alliant Credit Union President/CEO, has championed financial literacy initiatives across a broad spectrum of consumers, including children and women. Alliant Credit Union Foundation’s early support of BPW Foundation’s 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit helped identify and focus attention on the specific financial education needs of women leaving the military. Subsequent research and learning led to the development of a tailored financial literacy library in a trusted setting to respond to the overwhelming need among women veterans and military/veteran spouses.

 “There is no question that our Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® audience of women veterans and military/veteran spouses needs access to financial literacy tools and education to find and understand the resources that will enable them to support themselves and their families. Alliant Credit Union’s commitment to providing financial literacy for women in general, and military women in particular, makes them the ideal lead partner for this consortium. BPW Foundation is grateful for the continuing support of Dave Mooney, Alliant Credit Union and its Foundation,” said Deborah L. Frett, BPW Foundation CEO. “We are excited at the prospect of offering our audience a unique credit union membership opportunity as well as credentialed, personal one-to-one counseling and education. Alliant Credit Union’s online presence affords us the ideal launchpad for an expanding partnership with credit unions across the U.S.”

David Mooney added, “The purpose of Alliant Credit Union Foundation is to promote economic empowerment and self-sufficiency. One way we do this is by supporting financial literacy-related initiatives. It’s especially gratifying for us to provide such assistance to women veterans and military/veteran spouses through our partnership with BPW Foundation.”

The Credit Union Financial Literacy Portal is the latest addition to the growing list of free resources and information available to women veterans and military/veteran spouses via BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® internet platform, which connects volunteer working women mentors and subject matter expertise to support success in the civilian workplace. The program’s “Working Women Helping Women Work” philosophy builds on a workforce development model to help women veterans and military/veteran spouses navigate their individual challenges finding and succeeding in civilian careers.

BPW Foundation identified employment and career mentoring as a critical need of transitioning women veterans during its inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit in October 2010. First Lady Michelle Obama recognized this “mentorship gap” in the White House’s selection of BPW Foundation as the lead organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military/veteran spouses. BPW Foundation has since forged partnerships with more than 54 corporations and non-profit organizations to fulfill this mandate and at the recent White House Champions for Change: Women Veterans event The First Lady recognized BPW Foundation “for the exceptional work that they do every day for women veterans.”

Women Veterans Speak Out: Women Are Fit for Combat

By Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post

When the first class of women at West Point were introduced to the infamous Indoor Obstacle Course, we were confronted with a series of challenges almost entirely geared to upper body strength. About ¾ of the way through, we had to get over “the wall” — an eight foot vertical chunk of heavy wood. We were coached in the “approved solution”: jump up and grab the top of the wall, do a pull-up to get your shoulders above the top of the wall, then flip your body over.

A solution that violated the laws of physics for non-male people whose center of gravity was somewhere below their shoulders.

In short order, we figured it out for ourselves: grab the top of the wall, hook your ankle over it, then your knee, then leverage the rest of your body over. Instructors observed, and taught subsequent classes the new technique, and soon women were conquering the obstacle at the same speed as the men.

In the wake of Secretary Panetta’s historic decision to eliminate the combat exclusion rule for women, there will be much angst about women lacking the physical strength to perform in combat. The handwringing ignores some key “facts on the ground.”

First, the business about the “average woman” being unable to carry a 200-lb man to safety. For starters, most service members are wiry and lean; they weigh far less than 200 lbs. And not for nothin’, I’m six feet tall, and when I graduated West Point in 1980, weighed 175 pounds. Today’s average infantryman couldn’t carry ME off the battlefield. And the “average” woman (or man) doesn’t volunteer for the military. My West Point roommate could do 13 pull-ups. Ran the two mile in 12:50… in combat boots. My classmate Lil Pfluke — a world-class athlete, even in her fifties, after surviving breast cancer — once fought to enter Ranger School, and the guys who know her believed she could pass easily.

Yes, these are West Pointers. And yes, many military women — like many military men — have no interest in the combat arms. But why would we deny an otherwise-qualified individual the right to serve in whatever capacity they choose?

Finally, there is the most important fact: women are already in combat. They have been fighting, winning, getting wounded, losing limbs and dying on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan (and earlier) for as long as we have fought those wars.

So, we can argue about push-ups, pull-ups, and body-carries — but just as in the Indoor Obstacle Course, it’s not about how you do it, it’s about getting it done. Women have been fighting, in MP units, in convoys, in FETs, everywhere, and they have figured out how to get the job done. They get over the wall.

So why does it matter?

If we continue to pretend that women aren’t in combat, and close some roles to them, we deny them the promotions that go to the men they fought next to, because “the guy is a combat vet.” We make it much harder for them to access care for combat-related health issues, including PTSD, that women sometimes find themselves “ineligible” for. We perpetuate the myth that women aren’t really warriors — and in the military culture that means you are worth less.

We can, and must, show the respect due our women warriors: fitness for service is not limited by your gender. Secretary Panetta has taken the first step. I look forward to a thoughtful, data-based, but not endless process where we do this right. The new Defense Secretary must lead the Pentagon to set gender-neutral standards that pertain to the job that must be done. Integrate women effectively into units in ways that are constructive, not disruptive. And we will make our military better and stronger by assigning and promoting based on merit, nothing else.

We may even discover that push-ups are not the best measure of combat survival and victory.

Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton is a 1980 West Point graduate, part of the first class to admit women. She was commissioned in the Army, served as a platoon leader and company commander in Germany, and was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain. She currently serves on the board of OutServe-SLDN, and was appointed by President Obama as the first openly gay member of the West Point Board of Visitors. Fulton lives in Asbury Park, NJ, with her wife Penny Gnesin.

Citi and BPW Foundation Join Forces to Mentor Women Veterans and Military Spouses on Finding and Building Successful Careers

Citi and Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation have announced Citi Joining Forces Mentoring Plus, a partnership to support women veterans and military spouses in their search for satisfying and successful civilian careers. This new partnership enlists women who work at Citi to volunteer to form sustaining “high-tech, high-touch” mentoring relationships with female veterans and military spouses.

“Citi employs a diverse population of women in positions around the world and in every area of the company. They bring a vast reservoir of knowledge and expertise to guide mentees to find meaningful careers in the financial sector and beyond,” said Deborah L. Frett, CEO of BPW Foundation. “We are proud to welcome Citi, a company that has already shown tremendous commitment to veterans and military families, as a Leadership Partner in Joining Forces Mentoring Plus®.”

Citi Joining Forces Mentoring Plus builds on two of Citi’s initiatives to support the success of diverse populations: Citi Women, a company-wide effort to foster the ongoing development of women leaders from recruitment to senior management as well as to facilitate the engagement of clients in a dialogue; and Citi Salutes^TM, which comprises the firm’s efforts to support military veterans and their families with career opportunities, community partnerships, and financial products and services tailored to meet the unique needs of the greater military community.

“Mentoring is an important way that Citi Women and Citi Salutes^TM can work together to support female veterans and military spouses, helping them further develop and translate their military skills and experiences into meaningful and rewarding civilian careers,” said Suni Harford, Citi’s Regional Head of Markets for North America.  “At different points in our careers, many of us have benefited from mentorship by a senior professional.  It’s a privilege to now have the opportunity to provide the same type of advice and counsel to women who’ve sacrificed in service to our country.”

In addition to regular meetings with mentees, Citi mentors will utilize a custom portal within BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® internet platform, which provides mentor training and a wide range of resources, information, and subject matter experts to support them as mentors.

BPW Foundation identified mentoring as a critical need of transitioning women veterans during its inauguralJoining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit in October, 2010. The Office of First Lady Michelle Obama recognized this “mentorship gap” in the White House’s selection of BPW Foundation as the lead organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military spouses.  BPW Foundation has since forged partnerships with more than 48 corporations and non-profit organizations to fulfill this mandate.

Women Veterans Speak Out: Life Rules – Determination, Healthy Living and Athletics

Read the latest article in BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces feature that brings us the voices of women veterans telling their stories.

Returning guest blogger, Elizabeth McLean, an Air Force Academy graduate who has transitioned into the civilian world in search of fulfillment after serving on active duty for four and a half years tells her personal story.  Elizabeth is an avid triathlete.

I don’t sweat…I glisten. I enjoy wearing stylish and chic clothes when I workout. I care how I look in spandex when running outdoors. I still like my hair to look neat when I pull my swim cap off. I want my race photos to look cute…not scare people away. I relish in the concept of wearing fake pearl stud earrings when I run.  All of the statements above may be true, but I also am determined to attempt to keep up with any man competing…and not let my smile be misconstrued for weakness. Each of these statements makes me proud to be a woman, but not any less of a competitor. When I peel back the base layer of who I am as a person…the word “athlete” is where I locate the most pride. The truth of it is…..being an athlete is what has made me a strong female.

As a young girl, I did not cheer on my star football team boyfriend or learn about how to be a model wife in home economics. I learned how to be confident in whom I was through my athletics and intelligence.  By the time I was able to run, I was competing in local races against the rest of my community. By the time I was 9, I competed in my first half marathon in California. By the time I was 17, I had run over 25 half marathons in countries to include Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia and a cream of locations across the United States. Also by the age of 17, I had twice backpacked the John Muir Trail that was 220 miles long across the Sierra Nevada’s; carrying a 55 pound back with a race to the summit of Mt Whitney. By the time I was 28 I had run numerous marathons, competed in triathlons around the nation, backpacked the Haute trail in Switzerland and completed a full Ironman.

What these athletic endeavors taught me in my youth, were to always push myself to succeed. I learned firsthand that if I was driven enough, my gender would not get in the way of paving the path of my life.  My confidence in athletics and competition spilled over into the classroom, where I was never content with as much as an A- on my report cards. A cyclical pattern of cross-country, track and sport competition encouraged me to not ever settle in any aspect of my life. I knew that if I could control my body, I could control my mind and therefore control my future.  I did not settle in school, in love or in expectations of myself or others closest to me.

It was the fact that I would be graded on my athletic determination and disciplined abilities that convinced me to join the service and enter a military academy. I would not just be judged on my grades, but I would be judged on my ability to stay healthy and in-shape while keeping the rest of my life in order. If I could wake up at 0400 to run with a headlamp on before classes, I could surely keep myself disciplined in my academic studying and the other pillars of my life.

The path to healthy living starts with involvement in athletics. With healthy living, comes more contentment in oneself through career, love and leisure. I utilized this mantra to challenge my airmen in the service to better themselves and those around them. I would never let a member say that a female could not keep up—-if you can’t be militant in your own self-discipline, how can you be in the military at all? If I was the one leading the push-ups and yelling encouragement at the front of the unit, nobody could ever make a comment that women did not hold their place. If had a reputation for being able to push any man to his limits physically, it is not likely they would contest my abilities to lead or make decisions in the field. I can safely say I gained the respect of my airmen and leadership by first impressing them with my physical abilities.  The rest followed after the initial PT session…..

True, I may still add a little extra water proof mascara before my races so I feel more feminine, but it is not the makeup that defines me. It is the fact I am allowed to sign up for the event that makes me who I am today. Without athletics, I do not know where my motivation would have come from.  I am grateful it has been such a large part of my life  and that I was privileged to grow up in the era after enactment of Title IX that allowed my generation of women to participate in sports competition in the first place.

Misbehavin’ Notification: BPW Foundation CEO Participating in Clinton Global Initiative America Meeting

Deborah L Frett to Focus on Small Business, Girls, Women, Women Veterans and
Military and Veteran Spouses

Business and Professional Women’s Foundation CEO, Deborah L. Frett has been invited to participate in the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) meeting in Chicago this Thursday and Friday, June 7 and 8.

CGI America is an annual meeting bringing together leaders from the business, foundation, NGO and government sectors to develop solutions that address unemployment, prepare Americans to be competitive global citizens and rethink current models that shape our economy and society. This year President Clinton has called on participants to strategically integrate the lens of girls and women throughout the program. This approach is called the Girls and Women (G&W) Champion model. Champions are asked to represent the G&W lens in their respective Working Group

Frett, who has been named a Girls and Women Champion, is part of the Small Business Working group.  She also spoke at the Girls & Women in America: Pre-Meeting Strategy Session on Thursday, June 7th between 8-9:30am. As head of the first foundation to conduct research about working women, Frett brings unique perspective and background to her role of looking at workplace ideas and solutions through the Girls and Women’s lens.

On Thursday evening Frett will attend the “Championing Veterans: America’s Next Generation Leaders” event that will bring together a broad range of CGI Working Group representatives who have an interest in or focus on veterans. Frett will share information about BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™.  This ground-breaking program connects women veterans and military and veteran spouses with working women mentors and subject matter experts (SMEs).  Participants receive career development support and guidance that will enable them to find and keep meaningful employment.

About BPW Foundation
BPW Foundation supports workforce development programs and workplace policies that recognize the diverse needs of working women, their families, communities and businesses. BPW Foundation attributes much of its success to programs built upon evidenced-based research.  Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ is the result of a commitment BPW Foundation made in 2005 to better understand the employment transition of women veterans. BPW Foundation is a 501 © (3) research and education organization. To learn more, visit http:www.bpwfoundation.org.

About CGI America
President Clinton established the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) to address economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting in June 2011, CGI America participants have made more than 100 commitments valued at $11.8 billion. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will improve the lives of three million people, create or fill more than 150,000 jobs, and invest and loan $354 million to small and medium enterprises in the United States. To learn more, visit cgiamerica.org.

About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,100 commitments, which are already improving the lives of nearly 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $69.2 billion.

CGI’s Annual Meeting is held each September in New York City. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

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Women Veterans Speak Out: I’d like my own Social Security Number Back Please

Read the latest article in BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces feature that brings us the voices of women veterans telling their stories.

Returning guest blogger, Elizabeth McLean, an Air Force Academy graduate who has transitioned into the civilian world in search of fulfillment after serving on active duty for four and a half years tells her personal story.

The transition from the military world to civilian culture is undoubtedly a difficult one for a female; everything from fashion to finding your proper place in a community seems challenging. You are peeled away from the rigid military environment and asked to flourish on your own in a society that fails to understand the path that you have chosen. The trials and tribulations of opening your eyes to a new chapter are difficult, but what compounds it even more is when you leave the military and are still connected to a spouse who serves. The question is how do you find a balance of being a veteran and a military spouse at the same time?  How do you come to terms with the fact that you are now identified by your husband’s social security number?

One obstacle can be the already formed spouse club that you are asked to join in order to support your husband.  Here we need to get around stereotypes by both groups.  It is often perceived that military spouses do not particularly enjoy the company of female service members. Spouses may view the military women as a threat and not respect the fact that the woman is serving in such close proximity to their husbands is just about business.  Military woman conversely may unfairly assume that the spouses are women who have decided to live through their husband’s careers and restrict themselves from exerting their own independence. When these stereotypic worlds collide female veterans can feel ostracized and lonely and guilty about not supporting her husband.  As  an ambitious woman adjusting to her new civilian work day, she cannot stand at the bake sale in the middle of the day. This leaves her alone, looking aloof and not supportive of both her husband and her fellow spouses. Just one more barrier to building new relationships.

Additional barriers are the new base restrictions and “dependent policies” the veteran must follow. Suddenly the reality hits that when you have medical or personal affairs that you are no longer “allowed” to take care of without the authorization of your husband. The irony has been laced with frustration when a woman who once led hundreds overseas, is no longer permitted to be responsible for her own dental records or make a doctor’s appointment for her sprained ankle. Those who have

Photograph by Collin Krauthamer

been military spouses for a while are accustomed to this way of life, but for the woman veteran the word ‘dependent’ has never really been in her vocabulary. Bottom-line, in the mind of the veteran is…if Rosie the Riveter can be a cultural American icon and flex her abilities, so can prior service women.

Being that the military still defines the husband and it is a fine line of trying to not shun the military husband from his squadron with your standoffishness, is the answer to bake the cookies and send them with your husband to show you still care about his career? Reach out to the spouse club and offer your words of wisdom on what a deployment is truly like? Let down your own defenses and judgments and ask the civilian spouses what it is that fuels them in life?? Perhaps the answer is to truly define your new self with your civilian pedigree and let pride roll off of your shoulder with what you have done in the past? Perhaps it all boils down to communication and learning from each other.

Regardless the answer, the women veterans must realize that just because you don’t salute the 4 star anymore…doesn’t mean you stop being motivated or that you love your husband any less.  You’ve bridged gaps with logistical nightmares in foreign countries….is it that difficult to bridge a gap amongst the world of spouses? Having pride in independence is perhaps a trait you can help others to appreciate in your new social circle…

Women Veterans Speak Out: Each one, reach one: Helping homeless veterans

Read the latest article in BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces feature that brings us the voices of women veterans telling their stories.

I’ve been part of a spirituality group since I moved to Virginia two years ago.  At one session, I proclaimed to the group that I was interested in social change but not inclined to open my house to a homeless person. Within the year, I had a chance to eat those words.

One of the group members sent an email asking if anyone had space for a woman who was living in her car.  We had a spare room, which is how I met Lynn.  She was a former military spouse who worked as a contractor but lost her source of income when her contract was cancelled.  So Lynn and then her cat (who was evicted from a foster home) came to live with us for four months. During the time she was with us, I introduced Lynn to a college friend, Mary, who provided an insider referral to Mary’s company. Lynn was hired and works for the company to this day.

No matter what your age, educational credentials, or even security clearance (important for employment in DC), many people don’t have the financial cushion to deal with emergencies or loss of income. When you aren’t sure where you’re going to spend the night, it’s hard to focus on much else. Veterans seem to be facing homelessness at a higher rate than the US population at large and women veterans are experiencing an even harder time finding secure housing.

There is no single reason why homelessness is more of an issue for veterans. It may be that they have no family safety net. Many young adults end up living with their parents after they college or if they find themselves between jobs.  According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, homelessness results when individuals cannot resolve life’s basic issues without assistance. Generally, these problems fall into three categories: health issues, economic hardships, and lack of affordable housing.

While BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ is focused on helping with career transitions and advancement for women veterans and military spouses, our mentors are aware that you can’t concentrate on revising your resume when you are sleeping in your car.  In developing Mentoring Plus, we are linking with organizations that help house and outfit women veterans.  Since launching the program in January, we have been affililiating with resource and community partners who can help veterans. Some DC-based Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ partners include Final Salute and Women Veterans Interactive (WVI).  As WVI CEO, Ginger Miller, said, “Our goal is to serve the whole women veteran by meeting her at her point of need.”

The core competency of BPW Foundation is Working•Women•Helping•Women•Work, not homelessness, but we have connections with partners who have special expertise in a variety of areas including housing. Some resources for homeless vets in the DC metro area include: Doorways for Women and Families: http://www.doorwaysva.org/, New Hope Housing: http://www.newhopehousing.org/?page_id=163, and Northern Virginia Family Service: http://www.nvfs.org/ .

While the government provides a safety net for when things go wrong, each of us has the ability to be of service. We are not asking you to open your house, but to reach out a hand. How can you help? Give back to those who have given much. Consider sharing your expertise by becoming a mentor to a woman veteran or military spouse.  BPW’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ program provides training and tools to help you be a successful mentor.  Check out the Mentoring Plus website and sign up. http://www.joiningforcesmentoringplus.org/ Also, connect with us on social media: BPW Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ LinkedIn. Join us on Facebook. Follow BPW on Twitter.

We can’t do everything, but we can do something. What will you do today?

Working Women Helping Women Work

by Barbara Henton, Chair, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation Board of Trustees

For nearly one hundred years, the women of the BPW/USA and Business and Professional Women’s Foundation (BPW Foundation) have been dedicated to advancing the cause of our nation’s working women.  As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it provides us an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments, as well as an opportunity to reconcile our mission with our goals moving forward.

We began in 1919 as BPW/USA, on the heels of World War I, with a mission from the government to “coordinate identification of women’s available skills and experience.”  Since then, we have consistently provided education, outreach, and opportunity for advocacy on issues that affect working women.  In 1956, we strengthened our efforts by establishing BPW Foundation, the first non-profit research and education institution of national scope solely dedicated to the cause of working women.  In 2009, BPW/USA and BPW Foundation merged to become one powerhouse organization of working women helping women work.

I joined BPW/USA in 1984,  because it was more than just an organization where women could come together to network and have fun…it was an organization that focused on advocacy issues related to working families.  I have been proud to be a part of our efforts ever since. I began my career as a schoolteacher, but gave up that job to be with my husband as he was called to duty in the US Army. I was a military spouse for two years…just enough time to know what it is like to live on a military base, find a job in an area where you don’t know anyone, and the need to start over once the military service is completed.  As a result of these experiences, I have much admiration for the women and men who serve our country and their families. I am very proud of our organization’s outreach to help both veterans and military spouses.

My personal experiences have provided me with first-hand knowledge of the significant impact an organization like BPW Foundation can have on the lives of working women.  We are effective because we reach out to working women, identify the issues that matter, conduct the data-driven research to back up our positions, and provide opportunities for working women to self-advocate in ways that make a difference.  We continue to succeed because we are not stagnant – we are consistent in our outreach efforts, but always evolving to achieve maximum impact.

Over the past several years, BPW Foundation has been working to champion women veterans in their efforts to succeed in civilian careers.  This year, we launched a new program, Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™, to facilitate the career development of those women who have given so much of their lives and their loves to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives.

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ was conceived and developed 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 experiences to put them on the road to successful careers.  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.

I am confident about this program’s success; because, like everything else we do at BPW Foundation, we have done our homework.  Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ builds upon the research and experience of effective mentoring programs that have successfully impacted the lives of many.  Joining Forces 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 structure of Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ will enable mentors and mentees to work together to design and develop the goals and benchmarks for mentee employment plans.  A rich library of online resources along with a cadre of subject matter experts will assist mentees in areas that affect workplace attainment, adjustment, retention, and/or supplier chain participation for small businesses.  With this capacity to guide women veterans in their job searches and career development, we will initially pair 1,800 mentees with mentors with a goal of 10,000 mentoring relationships in the next three years.  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.

BPW Foundation’s long history of women helping women allows us to leverage the experience, expertise and resources of women in the workplace, to benefit those who have made so many personal and family sacrifices to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives.  And so, BPW Foundation is carrying on in the tradition of nearly one hundred years of history: working women helping women work.

Meet two of our Joining Forces Mentoring Plus mentees and one of our mentors in this piece that appeared on the NBC Nightly News.

Learn how to become a mentee, mentor or subject matter expert.

Meeting the Needs of Women Veterans Where They Are

Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation announced that Women Veterans Interactive (WVI), a Maryland based organization meeting the needs of DC Metro Area women veterans and their families, has been designated a Community Partner in Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™.

WVI brings a fresh interactive approach to supporting women veterans through diligent advocacy efforts, research, policy engagement, networking, collaborations, community support, and peer to peer interaction. WVI is dedicated to addressing the needs of women veterans.

Founder and CEO, Ginger Miller said, “Our goal is to serve the whole women veteran by meeting her at her point of need, while providing her with housing options, support services and interaction.”

“BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ will fill a critical need by matching women mentors with women veterans who are receiving assistance from Women Veterans Interactive.  Working together, Women Veterans Interactive and Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ will help these veterans face employment and career challenges so they can move toward successful civilian careers” said BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett.

Ginger Miller, herself a veteran and formerly homeless said, “We believe in giving women veterans the respect they have earned and we are dedicated to working alongside these women to facilitate their path to independence. We also are working to help eradicate homelessness among women veterans and seek ways to prevent it.”

Studies have shown that many factors make transition harder for woman veterans, including, lack of awareness and/or unavailability of veteran’s benefits, legal issues, military sexual trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, service disabilities, divorce/separation, domestic violence, lack of family or social support networks, and substance abuse.

The 1st Annual Empowerment and Unification Brunch Cruise for women veterans sponsored by WVI will sail from National Harbor, MD on March 18 and will celebrate women veterans during Women’s History Month.  The cruise is a community outreach tool for 150+ women veterans who will engage in peer to peer interaction and obtain information on services and support available through the VA and nonprofit organizations. In addition to being a Cruise sponsor, BPW Foundation is providing funds to sponsor 20 women veterans to attend the cruise at no cost, and will be on board providing mentoring information.

The goal of the cruise is to strengthen and enlighten women veterans as they learn about some of the essential components needed for self sufficiency and economic stability which will help bridge the women veteran unemployment gap.

“Being able to tap into the Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ network of women mentors and subject matter experts will be invaluable for these women veterans and offer them important resources. We are excited to join BPW Foundation as a Community Partner in Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ and we know that this partnership will support women veterans, which is our organizations’ mutual goal.”

“Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ is connecting women veterans of all eras with volunteer working women mentors across the U.S. whose personal and professional training has prepared them to provide insights, advice, and encouragement to women veterans,” Deborah Frett said. “Working together, volunteer mentors will help steer their mentees on individualized courses of action to succeed in the civilian workplace. Women Veterans Interactive’s commitment to women veterans and their families is an extraordinary example of serving those who have served. This is an ideal partnership, and we look forward to helping to meet the needs of women veterans together.”

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™ was developed following the October, 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit, which found the need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans as they search for new employment, hone their career goals, and package their military skills and experience to gain access to meaningful civilian jobs.  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden highlighted this “mentorship gap” when they applauded BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

 

Women Veterans Interactive was created last year to meet all women veterans at their specific point of need, with a concerted focus on wellness and empowerment and homelessness. A division of John 14:2, Inc., Women Veterans Interactive (WVI) brings a pioneering, interactive approach to supporting women veterans and their families through policy engagement, community support, mentoring, and advocacy.  http://www.john142vets.org/womenveterans/womenveteransinteractive.html

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