Message From Executive Director

Letter from Joan A. Kuriansky

WOW Executive Director

January 2008

Welcome to the Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) website. We hope you will find what you need as you navigate its pages. As you will read, WOW is committed to identifying strategies and solutions to move more Americans to economic security at each stage of their lives. The challenge of such a goal is both daunting and inspiring.

Despite the promises of a new year, millions of working families and individuals across America – many headed by women – are struggling to make ends meet.  Unable to find jobs that pay decent wages, they live on the edge of poverty in neighborhoods that are not safe and their children are uninsured.

The benefits of our economy continue to favor the wealthiest among us, while poverty is increasing for the average family and the elderly.  Here, in the nation’s capital, the Census Bureau reports that nearly 20% of the population lives in poverty – a figure second only to those who live in Mississippi, a state devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  This figure is particularly ironic as the DC suburbs are also on the list of the country’s richest communities. 

WOW has always believed that women and families who work hard and play by the rules here and across the country deserve to live with dignity and have jobs that meet their basic needs for food, shelter, transportation and healthcare.  For more than four decades, WOW has fought for women workers and their families.  We have improved their access to education and training, opened doors to non-traditional jobs, and linked job seekers to the work supports they need to improve their economic status. Today, our efforts literally span the country. Yet, despite the achievements highlighted in the coming pages, we continue to face obstacles.

Few Americans truly understand the depth of poverty that exists in the U.S. or believe they can help influence the economic forces around them.  And, as you know, a growing number of jobs are being moved overseas where workers are paid significantly less than wages in the U.S. In some cases, other countries are providing basic health benefits and family and work policies far beyond those offered in this country.

The demographics of poor people are also changing, requiring new approaches to traditional policy advocacy – for example; single mothers on welfare are experiencing more and more punitive measures, and the retirement of a generation of working-class employees with little pension security looms on the horizon. And, the amount of federal and state funds available to fund domestic programs continues to decrease – in part due to lower taxes and the spiraling cost of waging war.

Against this background, WOW is leading the national discussion about what truly constitutes economic security across and between generations. Our national Family Economic Self-Sufficiency (FESS) Project is operating in 35 states and the District where WOW leads the local effort.  More than 2,000 local organizations are part of our network. FESS partners are changing policies as diverse as those on child care co payments and job training.

We continue to also work in our home community of the District of Columbia and are building bridges for girls, women and other low income workers through a number of hands on programs and as a leader of city wide coalitions. For instance, we are training DC area low-income women to work in the protective services sector (police, homeland security, etc) and, in collaboration with the YWCA of the National Capital Area and the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO, we have revitalized a pre-apprenticeship training program to prepare more local women to work in the trades.

WOW is working with our network of local, state and national partners to design and implement programs that move low-income individuals and their families – not just out of poverty – but toward true economic independence. In the process, we are building new allies and launching advocacy campaigns aimed at system-wide change. As you will see in the following pages, change is coming. We hope you will join us in this effort.