Building Strong Financial Futures

By Deborah Rosenbloom, JWI Director of Programs

Financial literacy is key to living an empowered life, and JWI believes that every young woman must be equipped with core skills to make educated decisions that support her own economic security.  Young adult women are seeking ways to improve their own financial status, fully aware that they are subject to careless consumerism that does not distinguish between wants and needs, a lack of confidence in negotiating salaries, and a lack of knowledge about investing.   JWI’s signature project, Life$avings, seeks to change this paradigm and offers workshops to teens, college students and young professionals. As a part of our Summer Series for Interns and Young Professionals, I led a Summer Series workshop on long term asset building, and encouraged them to budget their money, and to set aside 10% for investing, 10% for saving and 10% for philanthropy. Thirty young women participated and it appears that even a brief workshop has the potential for long term impact.

Participants commented:
“It [the workshop] motivated me to take control of my finances by developing a budget and/or joining mint.com.  It also reminded me to check my credit report”
“…I’m probably going to contact my account manager to see how I can make [my] money do more for me”
“I love having this foundation to work off of.  It makes me think about my future financial life and also have more confidence to ask my parents/others further questions”
“I am considering as a young professional starting a retirement fund [such as a] Roth IRA”
“I’ll start looking into investments and saving for retirement”
“I need to plan for retirement and this starts with negotiating my salary at my first job”
“I never knew what all of the things like [an] IRA and 401(k) were, so learning about them was really useful”
“I liked learning about more concrete numbers about where to invest money (particularly for retirement), what kind of funds are best for young professionals, and knowing some basic terminology”
“I really like the work that JWI does, I think it is effective and tangible”
“The Summer Series was great! This was my first experience with any kind of professional development series, and I could not have asked for a better introduction. Both sessions that I attended were extremely useful and interesting, so I hope you do the Summer Series every year. It’s a great service to the intern/young professional community!”

JWI’s Summer Series Empowers and Educates Interns and Young Professionals

By Chelsea Feuchs, JWI Intern

Deborah Rosenbloom records answers to the question “what do you think about when you think about money?”

Over the course of the summer, through sweltering DC heat, JWI held three workshops for young professional women.  Covering topics as diverse as professional development, sexual assault, and financial literacy, the programs demonstrated JWI’s commitment to providing tangible resources to build a generation of informed and empowered women.

The Summer Series for Interns and Young Professionals is one of JWI’s initiatives to create strong female leaders.  Over the past 8 years, over 400 young women have benefitted from these breakfast briefings. Summer Series is unique in that it does more than simply affirm the already-empowered women who attend; it gives them specific, practical skills to plan for their own lives and for their communities.

The first workshop, titled “Being a Young Professional Woman in D.C.” exposed participants to the realities of finding work and improving professionally in today’s economy.  Speakers from both the office of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz and of OMP, a consulting firm specializing in non-profit organizations, spoke honestly about career advancement.  They challenged those in the room to think honestly about their assets and to articulate their desires with directness that most women shy away from.  As a result, one attendee decided afterward to “come up with a list of my assets, what is in my ‘tool box’ so to speak.”  That type of self-assured frankness is uncommon among this generation of women, yet incredibly important in interviews and salary negotiations.

The second seminar, on sexual assault, taught participants how to be effective advocates for the rights of survivors on their college campuses.  The Assistant Dean of Students for the Catholic University of America thoroughly and eloquently covered this serious topic.  Hearing an administrator’s perspective was helpful and new, according to one attendee.  Additionally, the speaker discussed a university’s legal duty to provide accurate information about their policies on this issue to all students, as well as how to confront university authorities when they shirk this responsibility.  JWI Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist, Miri Cypers wrapped up the morning by providing information and resources about JWI’s advocacy work on related initiatives such as VAWA reauthorization and Campus SaVE.

Finally, participants learned how to take control of their funds and plan for their future with “Economic Empowerment and Women: From the Personal to the Political.”  JWI Director of Programs Deborah Rosenbloom gave participants a taste of JWI’s signature financial literacy program, Life$avings: Financial Literacy for Young Women.  Beyond simple discussions of credit and debit cards, this workshop covered topics females are often taught little about, such as retirement and investing.  One woman learned, “The importance of the Roth IRA, mutual funds, [and] how savings accounts really should just be for emergencies and short term goals.”  This knowledge at a young age can save women thousands of dollars and set them up for a comfortable financial future.

While many organizations offer programs for summer interns, JWI’s Summer Series stands out for its focus on empowerment.  Says one participant: “The Summer Series was great! This was my first experience with any kind of professional development series, and I could not have asked for a better introduction. [The sessions] were extremely useful and interesting, so I hope you hold Summer Series every year. It’s a great service to the intern/young professional community!”  We hope to see all of you readers here learning with us next summer!

Real Professional Advice for Real Professional Young Women

By Chelsea Feuchs, JWI Intern

Recently, JWI hosted the first of this year’s Summer Series for Interns and Young Professionals roundtables, titled “Being a Young Professional Woman in D.C.”  Two successful women, Danielle Rodman, Senior Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Arielle Linsky, Senior Account Manager at OMP, led the talk.  Both women explained their career paths and provided helpful insight into the daunting and often resented work of internships and first jobs.

Rather than offer a handful of clichés to the audience, as many speakers in similar situations do, the two women provided funny and practical advice for the audience.  So, for all of you ladies that could not attend this meeting let me provide the SparkNotes version here:

• Lower your expectations: Your first job won’t be your last, so it’s okay if you’re not in love with it
• Always be ready to find a job: Have copies of an up-to-date resume ready (to get closer to that dream job)
• Send thank you notes: Your grandma was right, they make all the difference
• Take notes: You may think your mind is a steel trap, but do it anyway to avoid looking disengaged or clueless

Rodman and Linsky also stressed the importance of passion and excitement for work, even if you have to feign it sometimes.  You don’t need to be a cheerleader because, let’s face it, that girl is too much to handle even after a morning coffee, but doing your tasks well and with a smile is a simple way to excel.

Most importantly, you must be specific about what you want.  You may be able to answer verbatim what an interviewer wants to hear, but the right answer is the one that blends this understanding with the truth about your goals and expectations.  This piece of advice takes more than purchasing thank you notes or a legal pad, it means digging deep to find what matters to you and practicing articulating this passion.

Come join JWI for the rest of our Summer Series with “Sexual Assault on College Campuses” on July 11 and “Economic Empowerment and Women” on July 18.  Register to hear more amazing speakers and meet fellow professional young women at www.jwi.org/summer.