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As the City faces the heightened cases of COVID-19, the Columbus Women’s Commission has been working to support women in the workplace during these unprecedented times. As the city works tirelessly to manage this difficult time, the Commission has stayed committed to helping businesses with their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies for remote work. COVID-19 disproportionately impacts women and women of color, especially those in the essential worker category. Considering this, the Commission continues to work on best practices for remote work, increasing access to masks, gloves, and other protective mechanisms for workers, access to childcare and senior care, as well as centering employee mental health.
The state of the world is very uncertain right now. The Commission has put together this resource to help employers keep D&I initiatives in mind as they navigate this difficult moment. As work faces new challenges, we are hopeful that innovative solutions can center on equity. Right now, we are most concerned about the women who will have to go part-time or leave their jobs entirely due to the pandemic. These women have undue burden on their shoulders concerning childcare and eldercare, which disallows them the same flexibility as their male counterparts. In this resource, we highlight innovative strategies employers can use to best incorporate care-structures into their workplaces. Check out this new resource focused on equitable work in the time of a pandemic.
WEBINAR: Navigating COVID-19 with a Gender Lens
The Columbus Women’s Commission hosted a webinar for Columbus Commitment Adopters on June 29 titled “Navigating COVID-19 with a Gender Lens”. Thank you to our Commissioners - Gale King, Ola Snow and Heather Whaling - who presented on the panel and shared their own experiences of leading their workplace during these challenging times. You can watch the recorded Webinar here!
Solutions for Navigating School and Work
With schools releasing their proposed Fall plans, both families and employers are recognizing the enormous challenges before us as we navigate how to balance remote-learning and our careers. Right now, we have more questions than answers:
- When faced with the potential of both schooling children and working, what will employees do?
- What are promising practices, strategies, policies or practices for employers to explore?
- How can companies get creative and flexible in creating short-term solutions to support women working through this?
The Columbus Women’s Commission convened a working group of Columbus Commitment Adopters on July 21 to discuss the questions above. Over 45 employers joined four breakout sessions to brainstorm ideas the business community can consider implementing to support families.
We know we need to act quickly as families and employers will be making decisions in the coming weeks as we prepare for school this fall. The Commission will be sharing our learnings with the community of Columbus Commitment Adopters and will be hosting additional opportunities for dialogue in the coming weeks.
Check out this new resource from PL+US which discusses these issues.
The City of Columbus announced CARES Act Funding this month, which is available to nonprofit human service providers to ease the impact of COVID-19. “Our social service providers are a critical component of the stabilization and recovery of our community as we manage the ongoing impacts of COVID-19,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “We must ensure their work continues and that their staffs are protected and able to operate safely.”
On July 27, City Council voted on a series of ordinances which will utilize the CARES Act Funding going into this next school year. Ordinance 1762-2020 will provide $6,200,000 in federal CARES Act funding for childcare providers. “Childcare needs to be funded like the essential infrastructure that it is,” said Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown. “Ensuring access to childcare for all families is one of the most important investments we can make for the health of our economy now and into the future. Council will also consider ordinance 1796-2020 to provide $7,150,000 in CARES Act funds to Columbus City Schools to purchase 20,000 Chromebooks for students to access virtual and blended learning opportunities.
Considering that this pandemic has impacted working class families, who already lack an access to technology and resources necessary for virtual education and work, Council is focused on making progress in this sphere.
In addition, more CARES Act funds will be used for rental and utility assistance. In May, the City announced $2.6 million of CARES dollars to be used for rental assistance programs through IMPACT Community Action and the dollar amount will be amended to $10 million. This City also allotted just over $1 million to be used for utility assistance grants. These funds will be distributed through various social services agencies to help families who have been unable to pay for utilities because of COVID-19.
We are excited to announce new Columbus Commitment Pledge Adopters! Thank you for joining us in our efforts toward gender equity in Columbus!
Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio
Blue Laser Digital
Community Housing Network, Inc,
Diamond Hill Capital Management
National Affordable Housing Trust
Ohio History Connection
- Join WELD for their “Voices of Equity” Forum on August 13! August 13 is 2020 Black Women's Equal Pay Day. Unfortunately, this day is even later this year than it was last year. We cannot let this deter us from working collectively to eliminate pay disparity that women and women of color face. Join us for a three-part national forum that will include calls to action to close the gap. We have an outstanding line up of speakers and each session will begin with an inspiring opening message. Attendees may select to attend any combination of the sessions although we hope you can be with us for all three! This event is FREE! There are a limited number of Zoom webinar ports available so please register early. Click here to register.
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Women in the World: Global Poverty, Gender, and Race: Join Columbus Council on World Affairs for a conversation to understand the challenges to global gender equality. This conversation hosts Gayle Smith, President & CEO of the ONE Campaign and Former Administrator of the US Agency for International Development Date & Time: September 1st, 2020 | 12PM-1PM Register here!
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2020 Lunch and Learn Series: A Woman’s Journey to Equity: Celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote by joining us at the 2020 Lunch and Learn Series, engaging with barriers facing women in the community, and how everyone can help reduce gender discrimination! Session: The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Women Date & Time: July 29, 1-2PM Where: Facebook Live
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Second Chance Career Assistance EDGE is an intensive, 5-month program designed to help men and women who have become involved in the justice system to overcome barriers to skilled employment opportunities. EDGE is designed to holistically address barriers specific to justice involvement while assisting participants in earning industry-recognized credentials in some of today’s most in-demand career paths. There is no cost to participate - you just need a firm commitment to your future. Send email to workforcedevelopment@alvis180.org or call 614-252-0660 for more information.
Have you ever wondered how racism and the medical system go hand in hand? Right now, as we watch our country face a pandemic, it is important that we know this history. Watch this powerful video, explaining the deep and historical relationship of slavery and the US medical system.
During COVID-19, many states are struggling with how to keep a gender equity lens on their workforce. These next few articles contend with this difficulty, and how it impacts working mothers the most:
Columbus is committed to decreasing the spread of COVID-19 as we see its second peak during this summer. As such, free masks can be found at the following sites for Columbus residents! These sites are open 3:30PM-5PM. You can the closest community center to you by clicking here to see a list of mask-give away centers!
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