Talking Points
Governor’s Conference for Kentucky’s Women
Louisville , KY
Friday, July 13, 2007
Opening
- Thank you, _______, for that kind introduction. And thank you, Governor, for hosting this conference and for your leadership.
- I would like to thank Governor and Mrs. Fletcher and everyone at this conference, for we are here to honor Kentucky’s women in the military – past and present – and to express our deepest appreciation for your service to this great nation. As a little girl who went through the Korean War, I am most thankful for America’s sacrifice so that I and other Koreans could have freedom and liberty.
- Glenda Woods, Bonnie Coffey, and Pat Freibert, thank you for inviting me and the Women’s Bureau to be part of this conference.
- The theme of your conference, “Being Healthy, Being Wealthy, Being Wise” is one I can certainly relate to, because I know what that means.
Three Blessings in Disguise
- 3 blessings in disguise put me on the right path to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.
I’ve always believed that gender equity starts at home. When I was growing up in Korea, beef soup was a very popular and special dish that every family enjoyed. More often than not, I noticed that I did not have beef in my portion of the soup. Mine was full of vegetables, with no beef. All the beef was in my father’s soup and my brothers’ soup. I did not have any hard feelings about this. In fact, I enjoyed my beef soup without the beef. (HERE I AM, A HEALTHY VEGETARIAN, PERHAPS I WILL LIVE LONGER THAN THEY DO.) But I was always very conscious about that missing beef, and ever since I have been asking “WHERE IS THE BEEF?”
An important event on my way to financial security was that my husband kicked me out of the kitchen! I was a stay-at-home mom when my boys were young, and I even tried to cook fancy meals. I soon learned that cooking was not my strength - I kept breaking dishes and glasses in the kitchen! My husband suggested that I find something to do outside of the kitchen. So, when my son Greg went to kindergarten, I went out and found a job. I joined the 29 million working women who are part of America’s two income families. Working has been my way to financial security.
I knew nothing about money management. In fact, I grew up thinking money grows on trees! I was always thinking about spending money before I had a paycheck. One day my husband came to me and suggested I contribute to a 401K. At first I thought he was crazy (engineer)! We didn’t have money to save. But we also had 2 boys and only enough money to send 1 to college for 2 years. But I decided to give it a try. That was a wise decision. And do you know what? My 2 boys received good college educations, and we also saved enough money for a decent retirement. I know I will have 3 meals a day and a roof over my head.
Do you know that?
- Of all wage and salaried women working in the U.S. in March 2005, just 47% participated in a retirement plan.
- Women are more likely to work in part-time jobs that don’t qualify for a retirement plan and to interrupt their careers to take care of family members. Therefore, they work fewer years and contribute less toward their retirement.
- Women live 3 years longer then men, so we need money.
It’s because of the need to start saving early, and because I did not want anyone to be like me, that I created the Women’s Bureau’s Wi$e Up financial security and retirement savings project for Generations X and Y women. It is offered both in classrooms and online.
Statistics
- Women are 46% of the total U.S. labor force and will account for 51% of the increase in total labor force growth from 2004-2014.
- There are 67 million employed women. The largest percentage of employed women (38%) work in management, professional, and related occupations, while 34% work in sales and office occupations; and 20% in -service occupations.
- Women are 51% of the total number of workers in management, professional, and related occupations.
- Though we have made tremendous progress, we still have a way to go. The wage gap still exists. We need to encourage young women who are going to college and who want to earn a good salary when they graduate to: 1) choose a major and a career that will enable them to achieve their goal; and 2) carefully choose their first job out of college and negotiate their salary for that job. These choices will have long-term consequences for their income.
What Makes You Get Up in the Morning
- I want to ask you – what makes you get up in the morning?
- There are 3 things that make me get up in the morning: 1) I still have more work to do to make the Women’s Bureau vision a reality; 2) I want to save my marriage!; and 3) I want to converse with women leaders about infrastructure, capacity-building, and 21 st Century solutions for the global community of women.
- My 1 streason for getting up in the morning is the Women’s Bureau vision: promoting 21 st Century solutions to improve the status of working women and their families, so they can achieve Better Jobs! Better Earnings! and Better Living! I still have more work to do at the Women’s Bureau to make this vision a reality in the lives of America’s working women. I take this job as a spiritual calling – I work as hard as I can and do my very best.
The Women’s Bureau
- Thanks to President George W. Bush and a great American, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, I had the great honor to walk into an institution, the Women’s Bureau, which had 81 years of history. The 1 st questions I asked were, “Are we relevant to the 21 st Century economy?” and “How do we measure our success?”
- I am very proud to say we transformed the way we serve our customers. The Bureau is now a place for:
- Best ideas and innovative programs
- Technology driven on-line learning programs, with 600 dedicated mentors and 300 value-added partners
- Results /Outcome driven
- Replications.
Working Women in Transition (WWIT)
- If you want to see the changing face of America’s working women, take a look at this program. It has diversity in race and ethnicity; income; education; age; and the target groups of women in transition.
- Uses the WB’s expertise in developing and implementing innovative projects that use a combination of “high tech” and “high touch” strategies to assist women in finding employment, increasing their earnings, and/or entering into education/training opportunities.
- Paulette Lewis, our Regional Administrator, and I drove to Lexington yesterday, sat down with our national contractor, the University of Kentucky, and our partner, Chrysalis House, and met women participating in our WWIT project. It was an incredible experience, and they will be in my prayers.
- Charlotte came to Chrysalis House following a 20 year addiction to alcohol and cocaine. She had been in and out of legal trouble for most of that time and had separated from most of her family because of her addiction. Charlotte was unable to maintain employment during her addiction and moved from one position to another with no promise of a future. She began working on her recovery and on how to build a future for herself at Chrysalis House and started job readiness and computer classes. Charlotte is now employed with full benefits and has been promoted to a leadership position.
- Governor Fletcher, Kentucky is a leader among all of our programs – and we do have 10 other sites, each with 100 women participating in this program. I saw collective leadership with dedication and devotion to help these women achieve a better life and dream the dream. After I heard their stories, I walked away with an even stronger determination that we should do all we can to help these women rebuild their lives.
WB 2009 Budget
- Going forward, I am working on a 2009 budget initiative that has three strategic components:
- Technology-Based Learning
- Develop and apply technoloty-based learning to move the Women's Bureau into the 21st Century learning culture.
- Move projects from serving small targeted populations in selected locations to across the United States through virtual applications.
- Use cutting-edge technology such as e-tutorials, podcasting and Webinars.
- Engage people in a variety of ways and offer alternative learning structures including visual and audio selections, as well as access to information 24 hours a day.
- Results-Oriented Outreach
- Collaborate with other organizations that share the Bureau’s goals and priorities to provide training and technical assistance related to the Bureau’s projects to local organizations and State networks.
- Marketing
- Continue to create the Women’s Bureau brand: GEM-SET, GEM-Nursing, Wi$e Up, Flex-Options, and WWIT.
- Appeal to the emerging knowledge-based culture by developing a marketing plan that will be expanded to implement additional outreach techniques.
- Increase outreach by publishing articles in Web-based and hard copy magazines, journals, and newspapers; and by making information available at DOL’s One Stop Career Centers.
What makes me get up in the morning (cont.)
- My 2 nd reason for getting up in the morning is to save my marriage! Even a good marriage can be even better if we can negotiate private space. I’m not sure my husband can take me being home all day. So I have to leave the house!
- You know, I came to America to marry another “Chun.” In Korea at that time, you could not marry anyone with the same last name. K.C. and I had to trace back over 1,000 years to find a common ancestor! Because tradition was so important to my father, he disowned me. It took 10 years, 3 trips, and my 2 boys to reconcile and get his blessing.
- This stupid law finally changed. In 1996, I published my book, From the Mountains of Masan to the Land of Lincoln, in Korea. One of the stories was about how I had to leave Korea to get married. My book raised this issue for public debate. The law changed one year later. Not only has this law changed, but women can now keep their children if they divorce, and receive an inheritance from their family.
- My 3 rd reason for getting up in the morning is the wonderful notion that I will be conversing with women leaders. We’ll talk about infrastructure, capacity-building, and 21 st Century solutions for the global community of women.
- After years of working, what do you do with all the lessons you learned, the wealth of experience you accumulated, your knowledge of what works and what does not?
- I’m happy with where I am and what I’ve accomplished, but there was nothing available for women in my generation to help us on our way. It took a little bit of luck, and lots of hard work, to find myself where I am now. I would like to help other women find their way.
- Since 2001, the Women’s Bureau has received over 700 women world leaders from over 110 countries! Many come searching for ideas to develop or enhance programs that address the unique needs of women in their own countries.
- In the past year I’ve traveled to Tanzania as part of the Council of Women World Leaders Ministerial Fellows Exchange Program.
- The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) came to the United States because it was interested in Women’s Bureau programs to help incarcerated women in Vermont and single mothers in Philadelphia.
- I recently returned from the Global Summit of Women 2007 in Berlin, Germany.
- And I will be traveling to Seoul, Korea in September for the first World Women’s Forum.
- More and more, women are coming together globally. I get up in the middle of the night connecting the dots – thinking about how the Women’s Bureau can create opportunities to address the economic empowerment of women globally.
- Everyone has a role to play in the global community. We in America have so much to share. We all have personal experiences and knowledge that can be useful to women around the world.
- Our role is not just local. Let’s all think globally about what we can do to empower women around the world.
Thank you and God bless you
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