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Womens Employment Committee
November 2, 2020: 9:30 AMFrances Perkins Rm, 45 Commerce Dr., Augusta, ME
WOMEN'S EMPLOYMEN COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 11/02/2020 VIA ZOOM
Present: Gilda Nardone (Chair), Darylen Cote, Jean Dempster, Karen Keim, Auta Main, Kelly Samson-Rickert, Kim Foskett, Joni Boissonneault, Cherie Gaylean, Ann Danforth, Andrea Mancuso, Janet Smith, Destie Hohman-Sprague
SWB Staff: Josh Howe, Cheryl Davis
Guest: Erica Watson, MDF, Mark McInerney, CWRI
Welcome & Introductions Gilda Nardone opened the meeting at 9:32am with welcome and introductions.
Prevailing Workforce Conditions and Gender Disparities, PowerPoint presentation - Mark McInerney, Director CWRI MDOL Highlights: In terms of recovery: Over 100,00 jobs lost throughout the state. Mid-summer substantial job recovery. Slowdown in August. UI by gender: 48% of the workforce is women. 55% of UI claimants are women. Surge in April and peeked in May. 3 sectors out of 4 employ the larger sector of women. Leisure and Hospitality were hit the hardest. Long term penalty result of gender gaps. When the Pandemic first hit, there was an impact with both genders. During recovery, men are reconnecting more quickly to the Labor Force than women. Q & A Josh Howe clarified what it means to be on and off UI roles. On UI roles means, in the Labor Force looking for work. Not on UI roles means, not looking for work because of childcare. Off UI roles means, not looking for work altogether. Karen Keim asked Mark about women in poverty. Do you know their income level? Mark stated he does not have data broken up by income level, but the data slides are showing lower pay occupations which is where we are seeing a large share of job loss. Gilda Nardone asked what about People of Color? Mark stated the case in Maine disproportionately shows job loss for women higher for women of color. Mark stated he receives a lot of requests for data. Theres a need for more data than what we are actually able to produce. Josh Howe stated even with consent, we are not able to match. This prohibits us to do this work. Gilda Nardone Continue to look at what some of the challenges are and data. Our role as far as advising, hopefully we can move to defining and refining.
Challenges and Possible Solutions Destie Hohman-Sprague Maine Policy for Economic Security Survey Between June and August conducted interviews. Invited 50 organizations. Had 30 actual participants. Need for Broadband even more for COVID recovery and general (heard). COVID had really exacerbated every piece of racial disparities.
What have people really been seeing in the last 7 months? Karen Keim Cannot marginalize the population we are going to serve. Darylen Cote Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. Spotlight on childcare held on October 20 and was hosted by Representative Rachel Talbot Ross and Ambassador Maulian Dana both are members of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Maine Tribal Populations. Darylen suggested to listen to this recording. Andrea Mancuso Calls are up. Shelter stays up 17%. Survivors are having a hard time scheduling proceeding. Ann Danforth Existing safety net hopefully will result to solutions. Looks like DHHS has been relaxing, being able to get through the safety net. Janet Smith Cash/impact payments (broadband) we were able to create a helpline for people that really needed those payments.
Solutions and what this committee might move forward. Auta Main Intensities of partnership has improved and building of capacity among staff Veteran Reps being able to assist with UI. Joni Boissonneault Strengthening connections/partnerships. Texting, phone calls, emails, virtual contact, whatever is needed to help. Kim Foskett Seeing similar things. Asked to add additional trainings. Opened Information Center to appointments only.
Next Step. Gilda Nardone Additional flexibility (heard). Destie Hohman-Sprague Collecting disaggregated data this is actually meaningful in needing to improve. Change the system to protect and defend. Recognize how essential care giving is to Society. Example: Childcare, and adult caregiving. Ann Danforth Fixings to general assistance to make it easy to access dental care, healthcare. Cherie Gaylean Allow a little more flexibility of how grantees are spending the money. Scholarships 2nd deadline December 2020 high percentage of applicants are women. Seen lack of coordination between State Government and Non-Profits. Josh Howe The Pandemic has really highlighted gaps and failures. We have seen and started plugging these gaps. Legislative Calendar is coming up. We really need to look at. Karen Keim People should not need to apply for benefits multiple times. (Lack of coordination) System should be smart enough. Ghosting is a huge issue for the adult center education. Not exiting out of the program. Will receive a failing mark or financial hit by not withdrawing. Kelly Samson-Rickert New way of learning is causing some frustration. Darylen Cote Privacy laws are making it difficult for social education services. Ann Danforth stated she believes there is a way around this but have come up against this.
Updates from WEC members and DOL Joni Boissonneault Foster youth and independence - 18 25-year-old get incarcerated without assistance. Receive 25 vouchers per year to devote to this group. Family Self-Sufficient Program Portland Housing Authority puts savings aside. Enrolled 8 new participants. Darylen Cote Maine Resilience Conference, November 12 & 13. Auta Main Maine Hire A Vet 100 days, 100 Vets, 100 employers was held virtually. 450 people, 220 employers, and 230 job seekers. The employers received a list of all the job seekers, their occupation, and contact information. The Campaign ends December 2020. Placed 55 Vets since 9/15/2020. Every week we showcase a couple of Vets. Karen Keim HOPE run by HHS. Some people have come off eligibility due to COVID. When their UI expires, theyll be able to be put back on. Will send the link to Cheryl. People who apply without children and are over income, theyre having a problem with this program. If you have a letter of acceptance, youre eligible to apply. Benefits wont pay until youre in the program/school. Jean Dempster Totally Trades had participants beam in. Will be doing more virtual meetings. Gilda added, gave opportunity to talk about pay equity to that age group.
Approval of the 09/28/2020 meeting minutes Darylen Cote motioned to approve the 9/28/2020 meeting minutes. Kelly Samson-Rickert seconded. Minutes approved unanimously without corrections or additions.
Meeting schedule for 2021 Gilda Nardone Meeting schedule for 2021 will probably continue virtually at least the first half of the year. We need to look at the new Legislature and allies. See where the Governors Economic Recovery Plan is and recommendation. The role the SWB will play and carrying out recommendations and the sub-committees role. Gilda stated she will provide a Google list to communicate easily in between. Monday meetings? Send Gilda and Cheryl an email in reference to other days that will work.
Meeting adjourned at 11:20am.
Next Meeting: TBD
Respectfully submitted by Cheryl Davis
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