Racial Equity and Inclusion in Higher Ed

Women Employed has created recommendations for closing racial equity gaps in Illinois higher education. In our new policy brief, we outline how Illinois can act in order to close persistent racial wealth gaps and ensure a diverse and reflective workforce. Download, read, and share Women Employed's Equity brief.

Taking Career Foundations Low-Tech
No, that's not a typo. In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, many Career Foundations students don't have the digital access they need to continue their course work. So, while we're working on a digital version of Career Foundations, we quickly created distance learning packages for students without reliable internet access to continue their work on paper. For a copy of our Career Foundations distance learning packets, contact Shirlondra Brooks at sbrooks@womenemployed.org.

Free Student Workshop: Advocate for Success
Women Employed and Young Invincibles is offering online student advocacy workshops via Google Classroom. The three-part workshop provides students with tools that help them: (1) identify decision-makers in their communities, cities, and states (2) share and leverage their story to impact decision-makers and (3) lead conversations by meeting with legislators and policy-makers.

Students can take the free, self-paced workshop using either of these classroom codes: fjyqsyk or wcpyceeT

For questions email Lauren Wheeler at lwheeler@womenemployed.org


Advancing Racial Equity in Developmental Education
Illinois’ Developmental Education Task Force has released, “Scaling Developmental Education Reform in Illinois” a statewide plan to accelerate the progress of students into postsecondary programs and ensure their future success. As a member of the Task Force, Women Employed will continue to work alongside state agencies and partner organizations to push our state forward because this work can't wait.
Make Taxes Fair This November
Sign on as a supporter of the Fair Tax here! If you are an education leader and would like to publicly endorse the Fair Tax sign on here!
 
Did you know that Illinois is one of only four states to have a flat income tax? That means that everyone pays the same tax rate, which puts a greater tax burden on lower income taxpayers. 
 
This November, Illinoisans can vote for a Fair Tax, which means those making a higher income can be taxed at a higher rate, while those making lower incomes can be taxed at a lower rate. Under this plan, 97 percent of taxpayers will get a tax cut and only those making more than $250,000 a year will see an increase. This reform will help Illinois raise more than $3 billion a year that can be put towards paying our state’s bills and funding programs and services for things like need-based financial aid, education, health care, human services, and more. Learn more at www.yesforfairtax.org.


Join the Roundtable of Sisterhood
Coming up on September 17th, Lexi Jenkins, a University of Illinois: Springfield student and alumna of Women Employed's Summer Leadership Program, will join a powerful panel of leaders for our Roundtable of Sisterhood series to discuss Positioning Young Women for Success at Work. Register here to join the free, virtual conversation!
Also, if you missed Lexi and University of Illinois: Champaign student and Summer Leaders alumna Taylor Mazique on the College Changes Everything live student panel, it’s not too late to watch! Facilitated by Women Employed's Marisol Moreno, hear what two of our Summer Leaders had to say about navigating college during the COVID-19 pandemic at the 2020 virtual College Changes Everything Conference. The recorded conversation is titled "Navigating College and Career Pathways as a Postsecondary Student During COVID-19." 

COVID-19 Resources for Adult Students
The COVID-19 crisis has had far-reaching impacts on students at all levels. We have compiled a list of resources to help students who are differentially impacted to access support and resources needed to get through this crisis. We will continue to update our resource list as new resources becomes available.

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