Minority women in transition from welfare to work are faced with child-care crises, jobs that don’t pay enough to support their families and the absence of a safety net for their children, said the participants in a roundtable discussion sponsored by the Women and Labor History Project and the Center for New Deal Studies at Roosevelt University.
The discussion brought together Sylvia Puente, director of public policy and advocacy for the Latino Institute, and Edith Crigler, program director of the Chicago Area Project, who spoke about the shift in values that say it is a woman’s fault if she can’t support her family.
Issues of education, job training, childcare and community violence play a role in a woman’s ability to make a transition from welfare to work, says Lynn Weiner, director of the Center for New Deal Studies and organizer of the discussion.
“These discussions bridge the gap between academics and activists,” says Weiner, who is planning another event on working women called “Tapestries and Voices: 150 Years of Working Women’s Struggles for Equal Rights” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at 7:30 at Roosevelt University. Tickets are $20. Call 773-769-2665 for information.
