Training For A Better Tomorrow

The average educational debt of a UConn graduate is $19,000, according to the report Where Connecticut Stands, which was commissioned by the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW).

The study also found that one-in-five Connecticut households lack sufficient money to cover their basic living expenses, according to the report. This, among other legislative advocacy topics, will be the subject matter of discussion Monday when the state legislature's PCSW visits the UConn campus. There are two events being offered, legislative training and a public hearing.

Members of the PCSW will conduct training to inform members of the UConn community on testifying at public hearings, according to information provided by PCSW. The training session will take place on Feb. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Women's Center on the fourth floor of the Student Union.

In addition to the training, PCSW is sponsoring a public hearing entitled "Getting to a Better Tomorrow: Economic and Financial Security."

Issues such as job security, education and training, community growth and the development of businesses will be discussed, according to the PCSW. The hearing will take place on Feb. 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Puerto Rican and Latin American Cultural Center on the fourth floor of the Student Union.

"The commission is seeking the opinion of women around Connecticut," said Teresa Younger, executive director of PCSW. "We want details to tell and to hear about women's stories, not just to tell the statistics."

The council does a lot of research to formulate the kinds of statistics mentioned earlier. Education is key to changing many economic situations and therefore, a college campus is a great place to offer a hearing such as this one, Younger said.

The hearing is the final of three public hearings that have been offered. The other two have taken place at Norwalk Community College and Asnuntuck Community College.

"The hearing will shed light on a situation that is usually overlooked by people our age," said Kelly Corrigan, a 6th-semester psychology and sociology double major. "It will be an opportunity to change inequalities that many women experience on a daily basis in the work place."

In fact, nearly half of all women work in jobs that do not have a retirement plan and women represent only 24 percent of the science and engineering workforce in the nation, according to PCSW. Women who work in male-dominated jobs are also more likely to earn a higher income than women who work in female-dominated jobs, according to the report commissioned by the PSCW.

There are 16 co-sponsors that have collaborated together to bring this event to campus. Some include the UConn African American, Asian American and Puerto Rican and Latin American cultural centers, UConn School of Engineering, Mansfield League of Women Voters and the Northeast Connecticut Economic Alliance, among others from the area, according to Michelle Noehren, the Legislative & Outreach Associate of PCSW.

Interested individuals who want to testify must submit an oral and/ or written or electronic testimony, according to Noehren. To submit testimonies, they must be received by Feb. 27 and e-mailed to pcsw@cga.ct.gov. Fifteen copies must also be presented at the date of the hearing. Oral testimony sign-up will begin at 3 p.m. and should be no more than five minutes long. The format is specified on the Connecticut General Assembly Web site.

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women was established by the Connecticut State Legislature in 1973 and works for women's equality in governmental positions and assesses programs and practices affecting women in the field, according to their official Web site. They also serve as the liaison between private interest groups and the government, and act as a primary force for informing the public on discrimination involving women, according the PCSW Web site. This year, PCSW is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the commission.

Contact Lindsay Fetzner at Lindsay.Fetzner@UConn.edu.