Tennessee Economic Council on Women

07/26/2022

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07/26/2022

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06/30/2016

The Tennessee Economic Council on Women ends after 18 years of service as of June 30, 2016. The work of the various staff and support from the Council Board members is absolutely outstanding and will live on through the impact of its service. We were true to the mission of providing research, advocacy, review of workplace training programs and information to the executive office.

I delight in the fact that our work was so well received by our various publics and organizations near and far and represented the State of Tennessee with honor and character. It has been an honor to work with the various members of the Economic Council as well as the Foundation, and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with the members of this staff; Tracey Roberts, Bill Arth, Noel Blackmire and Maggie Groeschl—true treasures! I leave proud and with pride of our accomplishments. We dared greatly!

Farewell, So Long and Good-Bye.

06/28/2016

On behalf of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, we honor the legacy of Pat Summit. According to the National Federation of High School Associations, fewer than 300,000 girls took part in high school sports in 1972; 40 years later, when Ms. Summit retired from coaching, there were more than 3 million.
Pat was inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011 and led The Lady Vols for 4 decades. The athletes she mentored who completed their eligibility at Tennessee have had a 100% graduation rate. Her players speak of the opportunities afforded them in their careers because of the life lessons they received under Summit's leadership. She is truly a mentor, leader and legend and has been an outstanding ambassador for Tennessee. To read more about Pat Summit click here https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/pat-summitt-legendary-former-coach-of-lady-vols-dies-at-64/2016/06/28/9f73ddea-3d18-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html

In the photo from left to right: 2011 Hallf of Fame Inductee Pat Summit, TECW Executive Director Phyllis Qualls-Brooks, and Lady Vols Coach Holly Warlick

05/06/2016

In Celebration of Mother’s Day, TECW proudly recognizes and celebrates all mothers. Mother’s Day has deep historic roots that are still visible to this day. Julia Ward Howe, abolitionist and author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” first conceptualized the idea of an international Mother’s Day in 1872 and many women held ceremonies and celebrations of motherhood throughout the end of the 1800's; some out of thankfulness and respect, and others to protest or cope with their sons’ participation or death in the Civil War. Several Americans, like U.S. Senator Elmer Burkett and Anna Jarvis, were inspired by their own mothers to make the celebration a national holiday, and they were successful in 1914, with the signature of President Woodrow Wilson.
While Jarvis later denounced the Day’s commercialization, she is known as its founder and these efforts, nevertheless, brought about a day that has been emulated abroad, and families all over the world now celebrate their mother for who she is and all that she has done for her family.

There are more mothers in the work place today than 20 years ago, and they continue to achieve great success.Women are not only caregivers but are also the crucial social glue that ensures a community to function. In Tennessee women are 80 percent of all custodial single parents in Tennessee’s workforce & are the sole income earners in 1 out of 4 Tennessee homes with children.

During this Month we encourage all Tennesseans to take some time and appreciate all the mothers, step-mothers, shared-mothers, special-mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers in your life.

The TECW celebrates and recognizes all women and mothers for being the strong women they are that help shape, enhance, and improve the communities they work and live in socially and economically.

05/02/2016

https://t.e2ma.net/webview/zoors/cc3db1740e231b72614b44835eb4faee

April 2016 www.tennesseewomen.org | [email protected] | 615-253-4266 Money Talks Radio Show Interviews TECW From left to right : Cohost of the Money Talks Radio Show, David Tiller with TECW Executive Director Phyllis Qualls-Brooks with Cohost Daryl Hill The Tennessee Economic Council on Women’s most r…

04/13/2016

The TECW salutes Nashville’s First Woman Mayor, Megan Barry Having previously served as a Council Member At Large on the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, Mayor Barry is the 7th mayor of the Metropolitan Government and the first to come from the Metropolitan Council.

Although Barry was born in Santa Ana, California and grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, Tennessee is where her education grew and her home was planted as she earned her MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. In addition to her role as mayor, Barry currently serves on the board of directors for Nashville's Center for Non-Profit Management, the Nashville Repertory Theater, the Belcourt Theater, and the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. She is also a member of the Ethics Advisory Board for the Belmont University College of Business Administration, and has served as co-chair for the Conexión Americas annual "El Cafecito" event in 2013, and as the Associate Director of the Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership at Vanderbilt University.

Barry is a barrier breaker and recently spoke at the 2015 Economic Summit for Women’s Sunday Night Reception. She touched on the importance of agencies like the TECW and how it is exciting, but should be normal for a woman to be mayor in 2016. The TECW salutes Mayor Megan Barry, a trail blazer for women in government!

04/12/2016

The Tennessee Economic Council on Women recognizes Equal Pay Day, Tuesday, April 12, 2016, as part of its mission is to promote the economic stability of Tennessee women and families. Equal Pay Day is observed annually to symbolize, in general, the extra amount of time into the following year that women at the statistical median point must work to earn the same income that men at the median earned in the previous year. This is a helpful symbol of how men and women often encounter a different workforce, but remember, there’s more to this story. Here are some more specific drivers of wage disparity that the TECW has reported:

- Although the wage gap has narrowed in Tennessee and nationwide, US Census data reveals that among full-time, year-round workers, women tend to earn less than men in many of the same industries and occupations.

- Occupational distributions of female and male full time workers differ considerably. In particular, women are more likely to work in care-based and hospitality fields, which are less lucrative, and often have lower paying positions or specializations than men in the same fields.

- Labor data indicates that women are more likely to work multiple part-time jobs, and considerably more likely to work for minimum wage or less. (Notably, many of these women won’t be considered in the wage gap calculation because they don’t work full-time.)

- Women are more likely to take time away from work or prioritize flexibility in order to provide services as a parent or caregiver.

- Research on wage discrimination generally indicates that overt discrimination is in decline, but a process called implicit bias, where people or policies unintentionally disadvantage workers for reasons unrelated to skill or merit, continues to influence decision-making throughout the workforce. Through this process, stereotypes that associate women with less lucrative work, parenting, and caregiving appear to separate women from economic and civic resources.

All of these (and other) factors contribute to statistics showing that women tend, generally, to earn less than men. Better understanding and learning to talk about these items is critical to success. Learn more about the workforce at www.tennesseewomen.org/research.htm.

04/11/2016

In honor of , the TECW recognizes Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay, who at 17 years old, became the first ever ‘Nashville Youth Poet Laureate” in 2015. She achieved first place in a public performance competition held on December 6 at Blair School of Music Ingram Hall (Vanderbilt University), organized by Southern Word. As the winner, Lagnajita was named poet ambassador by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and has performed at numerous city events throughout the year. Mukhopadhyay also received a book deal from Penmanship Books publishing company and recently published a collection of her poetry called “This is Our War”. Lagnajita has described the role of Poet Laureate as a particularly significant responsibility in her context as an Indian immigrant and a young woman. “This Is Our War,” represents her first attempt at spoken word poetry. She started writing during elementary school and has received several citywide and statewide awards.

Also zealous about reading, painting, and photography, Mukhopadhyay is an active member of the Nashville community theatre company Real Life Players. Recently, she received an award for an international film project for high schoolers. She is also a member of her school’s cross country team.

Lagnajita has inspired others in her community to realize the importance of words and encourages others by saying that "Everyone has a voice, and they need to be heard somehow."

The Nashville Youth Poet Laureate program aims to identify writers ages 13-19 who are committed to community engagement, diversity, and tolerance. The organizer of the program, Southern Word, is a nonprofit association that teaches spoken word in classrooms across Middle Tennessee as a tool to promote literacy, self- expression, public speaking, and leadership. The National Youth Poet Laureate program was originated in New York in 2008 by Urban Word, an affiliate of Nashville’s Southern Word, and the program has spread to five cities, with immediate plans for a dozen more worldwide.