Educate, Empower, Elevate

In 2010, the United Way of Central Ohio’s Women’s Leadership Council  (WLC) created  the E3 Initiative (Educate, Empower, Elevate) to help low- to moderate income women in the community reach a new level of financial stability for themselves and their families.  In 2013 a study was undertaken to examine the results to date, and to document what lessons have been learned from the program during its first three-years of operation.  A summary of these findings is the topic of this month’s blog, jointly written by myself and Julie Graber, CEO of The Institute on Women and the principal researcher for this study.

E3 relies on three strategies to help women succeed: 

1.     providing the education, tools and support needed to develop a career that pays a livable wage with benefits;

2.     linking women to resource and benefits that enhance financial stability; and

3.     helping participants develop financial literacy. 

Women entering the E3 program must have a high school diploma or GED, be working or have a means of support, but struggling to meet basic needs, and be willing to work hard to improve finances.

E3 begins with an intensive 16-week program designed to help women address barriers that have held them back in the past, and create a focused career plan for their future.  The comprehensive program equips women with the necessary tools to accelerate their educational and employment endeavors by

·       guiding them to establish a focused career goal and plan,

·       providing a review of good financial practices and budgeting,

·       delivering refresher courses in math and English; and

·       developing cutting-edge job search skills in areas such as resume writing, networking, interviewing, conducting on-line job searches and negotiating for salary and benefits.

In addition, all E3 participants are matched with a WLC member, who serves as their mentor for the first year of this three-year program.

Since its inception, 99 women have participated in the E3 Initiative’s programming.  Approximately 81% of the women are single, and more than 52% of those single women have one or more dependents.  More than 91% have an annual household income of $40,000 or less, and 62% have a household income below $20,000. Fifty-four percent of the participants identify themselves as African-American, 34% as Caucasian.

The current research project examined available objective outcome data plus insights from interviews with program participants, program staff and WLC members who have served as mentors.  Key metrics from gathered program statistics show:

·       Average participation was slightly below goal level of 15 participants per class for the first few cohorts, but has improved significantly.  In 2013 Cohort 7 began with 16 women (one more than capacity goal) with four women deferred to Cohort 8.  Cohort 8 began with a capacity goal of 15.

·       Over 75% of the participants have completed the 16-week program.

·       So far, 27 women (45%) from Cohorts 1-5 have begun further education.

·       Two women have completed their post-secondary education programs and have obtained employment at livable wage jobs.

Insights gleaned from participant interviews include:  Most participants got “off track” in high school due to lack of a support system; situations of bullying, divorce, and feelings of not “fitting in;” lack of direction; and not being prepared for college.  Although 80% have at least some college experience, only 25% have a post-secondary degree.  Participants identified a number of barriers which have interfered with their career plans, including: having children; lack of accessible/affordable child care; health issues; money management issues; juggling it all and pressure to do it all; and being discouraged by those around them (lack of a support system).  They also identified other challenges that got in the way of career success, including:  lack of confidence; feelings of low self-worth; being in abusive situations; and having limited education.

When asked to identify the benefits of the E3 program, participants most often mentioned:  the support they have received; the personal touch the program offers (several mentioned they had participated in several programs previously and always felt like a “number”); the cohort structure gives participants a common ground; refresher classes; and the mentoring component.

The findings of this study mirror other recent studies, which indicate that a system of support, encouragement, structure, incentives, and mentoring look promising as a means of empowering women to lift themselves and their families out of poverty to achieve financial self-sufficiency.