Economy & Trade, Environment, Gender, Headlines, Human Rights, Labour, North America

EDUCATION-US: Women Reach for Technology Lifeline

Nastassja Hoffet

NEW YORK, Apr 27 2009 (IPS) - When Brunila lost her job as a flight attendant after 10 years on the job, she realised she needed to find a more stable career.

With few marketable skills, when she saw an ad for the New York-based Grace Institute’s computer classes, Brunila jumped on the opportunity.

“I knew very basically how to go on the internet,” she told IPS. “I thought I knew a lot – but I didn’t know anything. I didn’t dare apply for any jobs.”

“The courage and the influence came from my will to want to do better, to overcome challenges and succeed,” she said. “I am very confident now – I can’t wait to finish here.”

The Grace Institute and similar training offered at the Women and Work Programme of Queens College in New York City are both free of charge for those who qualify, though Grace does include a 200-dollar book fee.

In an average class of the Women and Work Programme, 20 percent of the students are single mothers, 65 percent are immigrants, and 97 percent live under the poverty line. Most asked that only their first names be used in this article.

“Without the Women and Work Programme, I do not think I would be who I am now,” Diana, a graduate who now works at the programme, told IPS.

A single mother, Diana longed to be financially independent from her parents, and wanted to “do something more than just cook and clean and take care of the child.”

Diana says she is inspired by the students here “because even though they have such hardship, they are able to pick up and revive themselves.”

While a wide gender-related income gap persists in the United States – women earn an average of 27,000 dollars a year, compared to 40,000 dollars for men – at work computer-use rates are higher for women – 61.8 percent, compared to 49.9 percent for men, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

In the country’s anemic job market of nearly 10 percent unemployment, this makes technology skills even more critical for women seeking decent-paying work, whether administrative, clerical, sales, or even to start their own business.

Many participants interviewed by IPS described struggles with childcare and finances.

“The conflict is that they don’t have time to practice or might not even have a computer at home,” said Kay Jack, a computer instructor at the Grace Institute.

The four-month sessions help women learn from scratch, or simply refresh their knowledge about computers and typing. They practice with commonly used software like Windows, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

According to Robin Thomas, a teacher at the Women and Work Programme, students come from all ages, sociocultural backgrounds and work histories.

Many stayed at home for family or cultural reasons, or lost their jobs and realised at middle-age that they needed to enhance their skills. For some, English is their second language.

“When women are introduced to new technology, they usually have a fear that technology is hard and confusing,” Thomas told IPS. “They have to realise that technology is here to enhance new experiences.”

Elsie, a student at the Women and Work Programme who left her job for three years to deal with family issues, told IPS: “I feel that I have an edge. I don’t have to be dependent, I am self-sufficient.” Teachers at both schools are happy to talk about the success stories they have been part of.

“Some women who graduate get a much higher salary than they did in the past, others feel a great sense of empowerment because they learned something that they really dreamed of learning or did not think they could learn and understand,” said Thomas. “It opens the door to all sources of information and it leaves more room for them to do other choices and other tasks they need to do.”

Jack recalled one student who was hoping to find a clerical job in a school that would be compatible with her own childcare schedule. “She had been a housekeeper, she had never worked in an office before, but she was the best person to be there because she is organised. She brought her portfolio [created during the programme] to the principal, and she got the job.”

“It’s someone who, four and a half months ago, did not think she would do it and she is doing it,” Jack said.

She added that even as more and more women apply at the Grace Institute, a family foundation, capacity is limited due to funding constraints.

The Women and Work Programme is financed by the New York Women’s Foundation, the cosmetics giant Avon, and Virginia Frese Palmer, a Queens College alumnus who donated 2.5 million dollars to the college in 2005.