Our Mission
To empower women to achieve economic independence by creating workplace diversity in trade and technical careers.
We pursue our mission through the following goals:
- Encourage and prepare women for nontraditional employment through outreach, education, training, support, and job placement assistance
- Advocate for and implement systems which promote equity in recruitment, training and hiring
- Work to eliminate harassment and discrimination against workers on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation or age
- Create equitable work environments for women and minorities through education, training and resources
- Advocate for systemic change on issues which impact our region's economy on workforce development issues and economic access on local, state, and regional levels
Our youth education programs are designed to counteract the damage to emotional development and self-esteem that poverty can create, at a critical time in a girl’s development. Young girls are challenged to develop new areas of physical confidence, expand their math and science skills through concrete applications, and push past preconceived limitations. Girls develop a stronger sense of themselves and their capabilities, learn independence, and see new possibilities for their future. This makes it possible for them to make different life choices.
In the course of carrying out our
Since 2007, HHW has been providing services throughout
Demographics:
In 2008, a majority of working women (50.7%) were clustered in less than 5% of occupational categories, or 25 out of 504, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of these occupations are low-wage, with limited benefits. Such occupational segregation remains a significant factor in the high percentage of female-headed families who live in poverty. In
Currently, as a nation and a state, we are investing heavily in emerging green sectors as a way to invigorate economic recovery. A number of green career pathways have percentages of women well below 5%, such as construction laborers (3.1%), maintenance workers (0.7-7.5%), electricians (1%), plumbers/pipefitters (1.4%), ironworkers (0.9%), mechanics (2-8%), engineers (6.3-15%), and insulation workers (1.9%).

