in an effort to mobilize them as well. >> great question. >> hi. i'm the executive director of the code of support foundation which is the nonprofit dedicated to bridging the civilian-military divide. my question is more about culture as opposed to policy. i ended up being a military spouse by way of berkeley which wases a culture shock for everybody involved. you guys had mentioned kind of the pushback we get from other women. my experience was interesting, coming into the military, a little older at 30, and when i was trying to raise some of the issues that we were seeing facing military families, i got married in 2001, right when the war started, a lot of the pushback i was getting was from some of the other spouses either in my peer group or senior spouses. and then i ended up writing an article for "the washington post" and it was the same thing -- thing. 90% of the emails were thank you for saying something but the ones i did get that were pushing back were from some of

the older military spouses, or retired military spoice spouses. and their problem wasn't that i was wrong. it was that i had said something publicly. so i wonder how we combat that. >> wonderful, wonderful comment. what do you feel about -- what do you see in this case? it's ral statement here but it's not just the military. i grew up a military dependent. my mother was a military spouse. and the whole rule in our household was never make waves. don't make waves. because if you make wavings, if you stand up, you're the nail that's going to get whacked. but that i think is even beyond the military. >> i think that i was just thinking too, you know, we have a president right now who was he sun of a single mother. first of all, it's an interesting moment with this. the role of women in silencing other women, and i think what

you said, 90% of the letters were very positive. 10% really goes in of why are other women doing that? and i think that's -- it's not -- you know, nobody's named the culture. i'm just wondering, does anybody know the name patriarchy? you can't even use the word. but the fact is, it's really not -- it's a question of there is a particular culture that is invested in exactly this kind of division among women. and i think what's interesting right now is there's -- everything my panelists are saying is true. but there is a lot of resistance right now. and it's really a time, i mean, where things -- this could really change and the culture, where women are speaking out, you spoke out. >> final thought, barbara?

>> well, the military culture is a separate case. and i'd say one thing that's ruling that of course is the increased participation of women as soldiers. as military personnel. and that's like irrefutable. the old thing of military wife and military person is breaking down. so i just want to repeat that nybody who has the leisure and wrble to be spending the morning here and having this discussion, also we've still got to find in ourselves the resources, the time and so on to stand in support of our sisters who are, you know, really don't have that degree of freedom in their lives. we can do it. we can make a difference. >> i grew up in a household. my mom was just 100 years old on christmas eve.

, still r wrote the 1933 single, and in the democratic news letter for the forge in new haven, connecticut. she wrote an article and the last line was, come on, girls, let's make ourselveses heard. that's a touchdown. that's what i try to do in my job. that's what leader pelosi, myself and the other democratic men and women in the house are trying to do through when women skeet, america succeeds -- succeed, america succeeds. [applause] >> thank you so much. >> thank you. hanks so much. >> [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> please welcome to the podium barbara kenny. >> hi. my name is barbara kenny and i'm a photographer. i'm much more comfortable behind the camera rather than

in front, so bear with me. when i first became involved in this probably, maria talked about creating photographs that would document the status of women in our country today. and possibly become as iconic as images from the great depression. i put together a team of the best women photo journalists that i knew and we set out across the country to shoot a day in the life of our subjects. to show them working, taking care of children and family, going to school, doing whatever they had to do to make it through the day. we photographed women on the east coast and the west, in south carolina, florida, tennessee and montana and on a navajo reservation in arizona. these photos are a documentation of where many women are in our country now. they provide a glimpse into the lives of women who are all around us, but whom we may rarely notice. from early in the morning until late at night, these women were going strong. in chattanooga, one of my subjects was a woman temporarily living with her parents she dropped her two kids off at daycare every day,

worked as an assistant in a dental office, and sold mary kay cosmetics for extra income. i photographed her throughout the day, my last photograph taken at 10:30 at night as she finally sat down to have a moment to herself, only to start it all over again the next day. i photographed another woman whose husband of 25 years left her with three teenage boys and took their life savings. she was taking a five-week course at a nonprofit that serves women so she could acquire skills to get a job. i watched the women grow stronger and more confident together and my subject, i watched her gain confidence in herself, saying at the end of the course that she felt she could go back to school, get a degree and teach, something that was always a dream but she never thought she could do. on a personal note, i related to what some of these women are going through. there's one image of a little girl making her mom's bed.

i was at their house early in the morning. it brought back a memory from my childhood. my parents, were divorced when i was 12 years old. my mom had a rough time financially, emotionally. she'd not gone to college had, no skills, no work experience, and struggled to maintain a household with me and my two brothers, an old pontiac that broke down all the time and a mortgage. i would make her bed every day while she was working. thinking it would make her happy when she got home in the evening. i knew this was this was going to happen. to come home to a neat house. when i saw that little girl making her mom's bed, it broke my heart a little bit. so, my dream is for these photographs toimpact people emotionally, and to do what photography does. effect you, inspire you, move you. i hope that these pictures will move people to realize that these women in the photos are just like the woman that was

next door to you. just like the women everywhere around us. and here they are. [applause]

[applause] >> please welcome to the stage egan byer, igen and beverly. >> so, this session is about why does it matter that women are on the brink? if you look at those photographs, you know. it's bound to be a profound affect on our nation. but why as a nation should we care?

how does it matter to our health, to our education, to our families, to our children, to our society, to our economy? today we have with us some national leaders who know well and intimately in their own fields what it is doing to america to have women on the brink. e have dr. nadine burke harris . ayjen, and the president of spellman college, dr. beverly daniel tatum. [applause] as we begin this conversation about why does it matter that women are on the brink, i wanted to have each of you start with answering that question for us. , so we'll start with you. >> we know that the health of

children is linked to the health of their care giver. and what we understand is that when women are on the brink and when women slip into the truggles of poverty, that it affects of health and development of their kids and that has profound impacts in terms of later life health outcomes. my area of expertise is in adverse childhood experiences and stress, the affect of chronic stress on children. what we understand is that kits who are exposed to chronic stress have increased likelihood of things like heart disease, cancer, chronic disease, in adulthood. so for us as a nation, it's really important to understand that there are not only behavioral impacts and educational impacts but profound health impacts as well. >> that's multigenerational. >> exactly.

>> you've looked at the labor market and women in distress and solutions for them to survive and get traction in our economy. what would you say, why does it matter that women are on the brink? >> well, when you look at the economy today and women are more than half of the paid work force, they're still doing the alonzo share of care giving work, -- lion share of care giving work, huge consumer base. more than half of the college graduates, half of the electorate. women are no means a special interest group, we're a defining of the whole of the american economy and society. so if women are on the brink then it says something about the state of the economy and society as a whole. and if we can't be in a place of actually realizing our full potential, and really having the space to be creative and to innovate and we're always at the brink of sort of struggle and survival, then we're going

to be profoundly limited as a nation. >> i'm looking forward to hearing about what you've done for those women that maria shriver described as being on this cracked foundation. dr. tatum, at spellman, 50% of the students who go to spellman are qualified for pell grants. so you are seeing students from families that are on this cracked foundation. what is your answer to the question, why does it matter? >> our nation can't thrive if we don't invest in the young people like the women i see at spellman. women who have the talent to be the leaders we need, but don't have the resources to have that transformational educational experience that's required in the 21st century. and none of us can thrive if so many of our -- so much of our talent pool is undeveloped. >> i want to take a few minutes with each of you to talk about the things that you've done, because clearly personally have understood that it does matter and you've done something about

it. tell us your story about -- from the perspective of a public health provider, how you had this ah-ha moment that connected the dots on the kind of stress that this population of at-risk families was involved with, created the problems. >> sure, absolutely. i am a pediatrician and i started a clinic in san francisco with california pacific medical center called the baby child health center and one of the things that i found as i was working with a very low-income, very high-risk community was i was seeing, you know, as a doctor i could treat ear infections and pneumonia, etc., and send kids out the door. but what i was recognizing was a lot of kids were being sent to me for behavioral problems. and ultimately when i dove into the research about how stress affects the development and the health of children, what i

found was absolutely profound. which is that children who are exposed to chronic stress and particularly in the earliest years, when you have the greatest amount of brain development happening, you have gnificant effects on their development, on the development of their immune system, on their neurological functioning, in that is something that kindergarten or second grade, that may present as behavioral problems, but ultimately under the surface, all of these changes are happening inside the bodies of children that leads to chronic disease in adulthood. so what we did in san francisco was, that led me to create a new organization called the center for youth wellness and our focus is specifically on addressing this. now understanding that for kids who are experiencing chronic

stress, there is a medical approach to it, which we take a multidisciplinary approach in our center. but there's also a public health approach. >> you ended up going to harvard and focusing on had public health as well. did you do that as a result of working in the senter? >> no, actually, i -- my focus has always been on community health and health disparities. and so when i finished my medical school i went to harvard school and got a master's. >> you immediately had this orientation. >> yes. and i think it was that public health wellness that helped me see. for example, when we have children who are affected by lead poisoning, right, you can -- there is a medical treatment for lead poisoning where you can get that lead out of the child's blood. but what is the ultimate intervention that we have to do as a society? we have to take lead out of gasoline, we have to take lead out of paint, we have to take out the environmental exposures of lead. and it's the same thing for

children who are exposed to chronic stress. >> and you have done something amazing. i mean, you have got the pediatric society to recognize this thing that you call toxic stress. and you are pushing to have this diagnosic question included for every evaluation for kids. tell us about that. that will have a huge effect. >> yes, that's right. our center is actually part of a national effort to recognize and address toxic stress as a major public health threat. and so the american academy of pediatrics has taken up this issue as a significant issue. and in fact at the last national meeting of the american academy of pediatrics there was a special session on toxic stress where we had specialists from around the country come and speak and one of the things that they had at the a.a.p. meeting was a pledge card on every table for each

pediatrician who attended to say, i pledge that i will screen for toxic stress in my own practice. >> and this was your idea? >> i was part of putting it forward. i won't take all the credit because there were a lot of people working on it. >> what a great insight. imagine how that little design change of when the patient comes in the door, that that is suddenly looked at and what a huge difference that can make. that is so great. what do you do for these kids? >> well, like i said, the treatment is multidisciplinary. our protocol includes a physical examination, what we call an eco-boi developmental assessment for toxic stress it. also includes nutrition, mental health interventions. we have a home visiting model which means that we have a case manager who will go to the home and assess the needs of the caregiver and make sure that whatever the caregiver needs,

sometimes it's housing, so we see a lot of female-led households who sometimes need housing, sometimes need help with employment. >> how do you fix -- that's a pretty significant problem. >> it is. but to understand that, when we think about the health implications for the child down the road, when we think about the investments that we put into treating cancer or other chronic diseases, for example, this is something that we have the opportunity to do something about on the front side. and actually practice preventive medicine. and it is, you know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. when we look at what our society spends right now on health care. most of it is for treating chronic disease that end -- at end of life. but if we think about making investments up front in decreasing children's exposure to adversity and chronic

stress, simply by supporting the caregiver, it requires a two-generation approach. because you can't go in there and say, gosh, this kid doesn't have food to eat, their caregiver is depressed and they're struggling with housing and i'm going to, you know, treat their asthma that ultimately is penny wise but pound foolish. >> you've give many great segue into caregivers. ai-jen was working at a center for women who have been the victims of domestic abuse. and you started seeing the big picture as well. tell us how you ended up being so involved as a leader for domestic workers in america. >> when i was in my early 20's, i drum a long line of strong women in my -- come from a long line of strong women in my family. i was always drawn toward women's organizations and i started volunteering at a domestic violence shelter for immigrant women in the asian

community in new york. and what i found was that it was nearly impossible for women to break out of cycles of violence. unless they had a living wage job with benefits and job security. i mean, it was economic security, economic opportunity and the ability to support your family is so key to so many things. >> you were looking at a population that was very unskilled and domestic work might be one of their few opportunities and yet there were so few protections. it's a whole sector of our economy that is sort of been out there without a lot of political will or leadership behind it and you've really done a great deal in new york and hawaii and california and even on the federal level. tell white house you've done. >> well, there's so many jobs that fall outside of protections. in the case of domestic workers , they're explicitly excluded from many of the basic

protections that we have as workers in this country. >> overtime, what kinds of protections? >> the right to organize, protection from discrimination and harassment, and there are all kinds of small exemptions. what you're looking at as a work force where, despite the fact that they're doing some of the most important work in the economy, taking care of the most precious elements of our lives, our kids, our loved ones, our aging loved ones, they're actually working for poverty wages and unable to take care of their own families. what we've been doing is supporting women around the country to organize and take matters in their own hands and change the policies so that they're actually really strong -- there are really strong protections out there, at least a floor to make sure that workers have basic rights and recognition as workers. part of the problem here is that this work that goes into caring for families, the work

that makes all other work possible has not really been recognized or accounted for. and we face that as family caregivers or as paid care givers, that this work that's so valuable hasn't been valued for what it's worth in our economy and our society. and that is a big key to sort of unlocking so many challenges that women face, working women face in our economy. >> do you think as the baby boomer generation grows old and those caregivers are taking care of them, that that, like everything else that hits the baby boom generation, will suddenly be discovered like, you know -- >> i certainly hope so. i'm so glad you brought that up. because right now we are experiencing in this country what some people are calling the silver tsunami. [laughter] which is basically the fact that every eight seconds someone in america turns 65. 10,000 people per day. four million per year.

and because of advances in health care and medicine, people are living longer than ever. and so we're about to have the largest older population we've ever had in the history of this country and if we don't support the care giving work force, to be a strong and sustainable work force, and care giving jobs to be jobs that you can take pride in and support your family on, it's going to be this huge part of the economy that's growing and a work force that's going to become more and more important that's going to be unsustainable and unstable. and it's 90% women. so both for families and for our loved ones and for this critical work force, we've got to make sure that these jobs are good jobs. >> why is it that these jobs are not valued and how do we compare it to other countries? >> well, for one, this work has historically been associated with women, right? it's been assumed that women will do this work unpaid, in addition to everything else we

do. and so that's part of going back to what gloria says about how we have to look at the world and the economy through the eyes of women and really revalue this work, this work that is so important, of raising our kids and our families and taking care of our loved ones. and in terms of how we sit in relationship to other countries , i think around the world this work needs to be revalued and elevated. and the u.s. has a long way to go to say this is real work, workplace protection should be a given, but also it should be a living wage job that you can support your family on. we have a long way to go to get there and other countries are working on the same thing. >> unfortunately i think that we're hearing a lot about the living wage. it's become something that we're on the brink of i think making some changes on that as well. dr. tatum, you've spent most of your career at women's colleges, places where women are valued. as i said earlier, half the

population at spellman qualifies for pell grants. so you are dealing with a lot of kids that are coming out of these households with this instability economically. what does that mean for your mission as the president and leader of an institution? >> well, it's a great question and certainly we see students who have been successful. they've done what the nation asked them to do, they've worked hard in high school and even though they are up and coming out of very difficult financial circumstances, they've made it to the pinnacle of education we call spellman college. and yet they are challenged by, you know, the things that many of us might take for granted. a car breaks down. and then you can't get to class. and there's no money to pay for that. a family member gets sick and then you have to decide between using your student loan to

taper your tuition or help that family member with that hospital bill. the challenges of getting from ma tricklation to graduation are really, really intense. for many students. and it's heartbreaking to hear from a student who has all the ability she needs to be successful, and many of the fields we need to have pursued, stem fields, for example, is a big topic. not enough people majoring in stem. to get us a student's email saying, i'm a computer science major but i have a $10,000 balance. i don't know how i'm going to get registered for next semester. that's the challenge that i see every day. >> so your orientation really is to supply the economy with workers. now, we're in a global economy and in other countries, education is free. so, what does that do to you us as fazz ar -- do to us as far as our competitiveness? >> i think nadine hit the nail on the head when she used the word investment. we have to be really serious about making an investment in

the next generation. if we don't, we really are going to find ourselves at a disadvantage. and already there's a lot of talk about the economic disadvantage we're at because we don't have -- and i wouldn't just say workers, i would say leaders. the women and men who need to be advancing, solving the problems that we're talking about here today are the young people waiting to be in college right now. and we're not making the right investments in them. >> you told the story of somebody who was unable to come back in or afraid they were going to be unable to come back in because of their financial situation. do you have any good news stories about students who came from families like this, who were able to do well? >> well, 80% of our student grass. so that's the good news story right there -- graduate. so that's the good news story right there. we have the best graduation rate of any college serving a large population. i want to celebrate the 80% that get it the end but my

focus is always on that 20% that we still want to seay cheeve their goals as well. -- seay cheeve their goal -- see achieve their goals as well. >> i talked with dr. tatum earlier about some of these kids from families who thank have so many problems, suffer the death of a parent during their college years. let's talk a little bit more about that multigenerational aspect of this problem. and how the health kind of -- the economic effects, the educational is all tied together. >> absolutely. i think that the economic opportunities that tackly women have when we look at women as the majority -- that particularly women have as when we look at the women as the majority of care givers in our society, when we think about how that impacts health. i came into this work from a health disparities area, trying to understand why low-income communities and particularly low-income communities of color tend to have worse health

outcomes. and what we need to have long-ldhood term effects down the road. my work focuses on adverse childhood experiences. -- the initial study that was done by kaiser and the cdc, a person with six or more adverse childhood experiences has a 20 year difference in life expectancy. when we are talking about women on the brink, the women who are who are in a domestic violence situation, who have

difficulty leaving because they do not have the economic stability, we are talking about the children they are raising, we need to know that it makes a difference in their life expectancy. that is reflected in the parents of the students -- >> and the workers. >> exactly. this is not just a matter of these utopian values we would like to see happen. about morbidity and mortality for millions of americans. >> we are talking public policy. the congresswoman this morning had this -- has this american opportunity plan. those houses seem to be looking at raising the minimum wage, incentivizing childcare for

.usinesses, equal pay .horing up women what would that do for you? what would that do for your population? do you think the political will is there? are we on the brink of being able to successfully push these public policy initiatives? tomorrow, president obama is convening a white house summit on college opportunity. i will be participating and not as well. one of the things that will be talked about is how to increase access for students because we know education is transformational. i ran into an old friend last night when i was checking into the hotel. this is a woman who grew up in the south bronx. she is an attorney at a very significant law firm in the city

, a partner in that law firms. her story is repeated over and over again when people have access. tell grants, or investing in student -- pell grants, investing in student loans, i think it is criminal that we are charging the interest rates that we are charging on student loans. .hat is so shortsighted >> it puts us at a dadvantage in the global economy. education, health, labor policy, can you tell me more about how you are trying to raise the professionalism of domestic workers? breakthrough at the state level in funny 10 when new york state became the first state to pass a domestic worker -- in 2010 when new york state became the first state to pass a domestic worker.

the -- they went to the capital and told their stories year after year after year. historyy women can make . california and hawaii have similar bills and the department of labor just move forward a change in regulation that will bring 2 million home care workers under minimum wage and overtime protections after 75 years of exclusion. we are starting to build and secure the floor. we really need to be moving to raise the minimum wages and moving towards a living wage, towards paid family leave, paid sick days, and really looking at whether the set of policies that can transform low-wage work, can we move toward a ten-year plan to end poverty wages in america? can we move toward a 30 year

plan to make sure that all work is dignified? i think if she sets it as the goal, she is going to happen. >> the future, without the public policy, does not look so good. with the public policy, it looks much brighter. >> i think public policy is important, but i do not think we can wait for that. it seems to me that each of us can make a difference. i talk about the importance of private philanthropy replacing private loans. it is important to think about how we can make an investment in a young person's life. whether it is early childhood or health care intervention or at the college level. it is critical. studies,are so many

not feminist organizations come by the way, if you have women at the top of your company, eu and that making more money. money.end up making more all of the stakeholders, investors, shareholders, workers , and companies themselves and policymakers can push that so that we see those workplace changes. the sad fact is we do have 42 million women and 28 million children who depend on those 42 tailed -- 42 million women who are living one incident away, one health issue, one federal government furlough away from having complete financial ruin. beverly, all three of

you have illustrated so vividly why that matters in america. you have also shown that one woman can make a difference in so many ways. thank you very much. [applause] >> least welcome to the podium -- please welcome to the podium -- that with the red became the genesis of one and. entire flesh made from bone. i never seemis why enough and feel the burden of debt, a sense of existence to exist for another. the way that eve is only possible after the sunsets. this feeling of that predates

me. witness, with a force that thinks hearts. it can never find the right positions. when mothers are told to leave their passions in the kitchens, that is to break dreams are the sink to avoid a larger mass. when women are left wanting for strainedds or like space butin to make also reach a breaking point instead. girls are taught that they are only called when their heels clicked the floor, to walk with grace even though it feels like treading on egg shells. the taller the shoe, the better, they say, but there are no warnings about low ceilings and the discomfort of being boxed into a label. perhaps it would have been better to stay small.

sometimes there is no distinction between better and transaction. we create patterns, swirling in and out come up and down the blues and browns with no particular polaris. with all of this, women have depreciated. no place in the calculus because our powers of production are given and the world demand for guns is high and everyone else can eat for whatever they want except for me because i have to look out for my figure in order to be counted. still, we have magic. despite the debt, we choose to live free. profit is nothing but a number. we rise from heartbreaks. learning how to love ourselves, this is what makes us rich.

on a budget, but we gamble anyway. i want my daughter to take risks. as we are theue genesis of everything. thank you. [applause] >> now that we have spent the morning putting a face on the women living on the brink, we will talk about how we can push and what doe brink women need to do now in terms of terms of family, relationships, employment,

financial literacy, government services? to do that, we have a fantastic panel. i want to tell you a little bit about the people sitting next to me. patty is the global head of diversity and inclusion. she has more than 20 years of talent, learning, organizational development, diversity, and inclusion. she also sits on the board of dominican high school, which is an all girls school in manhattan and is a member of the ymca leadership development to many. thank you for being here. left is president and cofounder of the families and work institute. she is credited with developing this entire field. she is called upon by the white house, the department of labor,

and major news outlets to weigh issues andand family she has written more than 45 books. i do not know how she has time to do anything else. allen, we are thrilled to have you here. eduardo arrived in the united states as a refugee at the age of 15. he calls himself an american by choice. since 1995, he has been the president of miami-dade college, the largest institution of higher education in america with more than 170 5000 students. his work has been recognized by the last three presidents of the united states as well as by many other governments and he is the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and prestigious awards. thank you for joining us. you, it seemsith that many of the students in your community to live on the

brink. what are some of the ways you are helping them combat these challenges? >> let me give you a sense of the dimension of the institution. close to 70% of my students are low income by federal standards. 48% of these live in poverty. , we haveave done assumed responsibility for their success. it is not just enough to give them access. making sure the students achieve their dreams and are able to fulfill their aspirations is essential. we have too many colleges and universitiestes -- that still ascribe to the idea of swim or sink. if you believe that a college

educated woman interrupts the cycle of poverty. these women on the brink require much more than a faculty member. they require wholesale support systems. if we really care about the students, we have no other choice, it is a moral obligation to provide that. that is what we have tried to do. the best teachers -- dividing access to financial support, providing them assistance with noncognitive skills, developing self-confidence. the opportunity to have -- to be able to know they belong, they have ownership. it is easy for some of us to not understand these things, but many of these women come to us terrified. they do not know they belong in their. -- in there.

are first-generation college students. they have two or three part-time jobs. they are the heads of households. they know it is the only way they can get out of the cycle of poverty is by getting a post secondary education. that is what we are trying to do. it is something we strive every day to do. >> you mentioned childcare issues. treatsd i were handling for the today show on many of these issues, but childcare cap coming up over and over again. what tools do we have in our repertoire to help women trying to forge ahead? >> it is an important issue because if you look at the low- wage workforce, 59% of them are single parents. that compares to seven percent of higher income women.

these women are doing it on their own. it is a funny catch-22 because childcare providers are part of the low income workforce by and large. thatn not pay enough supports this important job. we know from brain development research how important the early years are. tomany of them are forced feel like they have to settle. we interviewed a number of women for our chapter for this report and one woman talked about taking six buses to get her child to child care and to get to work and back again and having to settle for childcare that she did not like. that is sadly the story because we do not really support the importance of the early years, which is so critical. the architecture of the brain is

being developed and we do not support it. low income women are taking care of the children of low income women with little opportunities to advance. among the things we need to do our -- and this is beginning to happen all over the country -- it is partly a values issue. we have to make sure that childcare providers, that it is a career. there is a huge turnover. six years later, only two percent were laughed. it was because -- were left. it was because they could not afford to stay. better choicese than they have right now. there are states all over the country that are working to improve care.

,elping to improve center care creating credentials and standards. a lot that we can do. do we feel we have a responsibility for all of our children because they are the future? others countries feel that way. we do not always feel that way. but you make the point that employers need to be included -- >> you make the point that employers need to be included as a solution to reducing poverty. how can employers do that? perspective, we have to educate early, educate ongoing and provide sustainability in terms of the corporate culture. we are focused on how we build a culture that supports diversity and inclusion. diversitynking about

as thought, style, experience, and approach, as well as race, gender, ethnicity. we do have a heavy focus on women in leadership. what we see we look at our staff, we do not attract enough women up front. we're working very hard on that. universities and graduate schools, the population of women is expanding daily. pointcond piece to your is that we do see a drop-off at particular levels. middle management and senior management level. women of a certain age are having children and leaving the organization. they are not able to make the same career choice that other people are. they may not have the support system and their family. it is our responsibility to ensure they have the opportunities that others do.

what we are doing around that as well is a number of things. areng sure that as we looking at her talent across the organization, that we are focusing on women, making sure we have our eye toward those women and we are building the from a systems sponsorship perspective, development perspective and in terms of giving those women opportunities that allow them to work within those constraints of their family environment. >> talk about having children causing women to leave the organization. before they even get to the organization, they have to stay in school. one of the most important lessons to come out of the report is that in order to keep girls off the brink, we have to keep them in college. how do you do it? >> when you're dealing with the students, they face terrible

charges -- choices. sometimes it is the choice between rent or utilities or orlth care or childcare graduation or something else. it takes tremendous determination. i feel my students are heroes. when i went to college, if a professor did not go to class, most of my friends would go and drink beer. when a professor does not come to class, my students going complain to the dean's office. they have to pay for parking and they are not wasting time. these are the best students anyone can dream of. they come mostly unprepared for college and they have all of

these other issues and challenges. but they are in an environment when they are able to get the support they need, it will succeed. we see it every day at my institution. embrace that colleges are no longer places where you just get an education, but you also get the kind of support where you are able to achieve the goals in life that will help this country. i will put heroes and she- roes on some t-shirt. the stress you described is something you have studied, ellen. how can you help low income employees that are under more stress deal? ask it goes back to having an effective -- >> it goes back to having an effective work place.

the u.s.tudy of workforce and we do a parallel study of work basis. workers ordy of employees, we look for one of the predictors of what would help employers and help employees, the mutual win-win. for the low-wage workforce, we have come up with seven characteristics of what makes an effective workplace. mostly they include things that you do not have to pay for. treating people with respect. it is not asking a low income women why she cannot get her car fixed. it is trying to take perspective. helping the employees succeed on the job, the support that eduardo was talking about. theyng them understand have life outside of work and helping them manage their work and family responsibilities.

it includes decent benefits because that is the way that people have some sort of sense of security. most of those things to not cost any money. we find that stress is really lower if people work in good workplaces. example,hat, for stress is higher in the low-wage workforce. we tend to read articles about harassing executives. dramatic.ison is very 39% of the low-wage workforce stressed. what is the impact of stress on families? there are things we can do with the workplace and as a society. i did a study where i asked children if they could make one change in the way that they are -- their fathers or mothers affect their lives.

what do you think the kids would give? more time. wished.not what they they wished that their peer to would be less tired and stressed. -- their parents would be less tired and stressed. only two percent of parents guessed that their children would wish that. for parents, we do feel stress, but we have to remember that our kids are watching us i crazy and it is not that we should not feel stress, but we can -- what we can do is that we can say, i have had a tough day. sometimes you have a tough day at school. here is how i will management. it is not that we should try to erase stress from our lives. what kids are really look in at is the stress in all of our lives.

>> do you see ways that changed orcan be change to reduce the stress for their populations? , to increase flexibility, which is another one of those important pieces. focus one a heavy building an inclusive workplace. how do people feel valued? you create a more engaged workplace. that leads to greater productivity and greater happiness. time on how weof train our managers and are whatrs to understand diversity and inclusion means i'm a what the challenges are as it relates to women -- means,

what the challenges are as it relates to women, how do we train against unconscious bias? that is germane to any inclusion strategy. we are all guilty of it. we are putting a heavy focus and training 7000 of our managers on what that means to raise awareness around that so those leaders who impact the population are aware and respectful of the situations. this is a very specific study that we conducted recently. we did a series of focus groups -- i did not realize it was not loud enough. we did a series of focus groups for those we sought dropping out of the workplace. wasof the primary reasons

policies. it was very much around how do we provide better maternity and maternity policies? we were able to increase our policies by 25% on a global basis. it was very much around how do you create situations where people can have flexible work arrangements? for certainpockets regions, certain parts of the organizations, certain individuals are good at making that happen. we needed to put in place the global infrastructure across the entire firm so it is safer for managers and individuals to go forward and say, i need to work four days a week. i need to work from home two days a week. .> that is fantastic for individuals who work in companies where there are not such amazing policies, what is

the best way to get what you need? >> you can have wonderful policy, but if there is jeopardy against using it, you might as well not have it. it is the culture of aware you are not jeopardized. make ang -- you have to business case for flexibility. how itd to talk about can benefit the employer and benefit you. you cannot just talk about what you need. if you can go with a group of people so that is not individual , if you can go with the team and position it like a pilot or a trial. let's see how this affects people. our data shows that flexible organizations are much more productive because when people have more autonomy, they have more responsibility. there are some bad apples, but mostly there aren't. one of the women we interviewed

wanted flexibility to stay in school. arele who stay in school more likely to have flexibility. this woman, when she wanted more flexibility, was told no. it is your choice to stay in school. she said, i have been doing a very good job. she made a case that she was a valuable limp lloyd e, and they gave it to her. -- a valuable employee, and they gave it to her. >> one of the topics we heard a lot about this morning was unemployment. the fact that once you better out of the workforce -- once you are out of the workforce these days, it is hard to get back in. you have been doing a lot with short-term certifications and industry specific row graham's

-- specific programs that can be on ramps to jobs for these women and people. can you talk a little bit about them and how they are working? >> an institution that is publicly funded and assisted because the reality is that most public institutions are -- there is a lot of disinvestment and more legislation seeing education as an expense. you have to create partnerships with the corporate sector in your community, with the nonprofit sector, it takes a village to be able to provide the support system the students need. these programs are good because we work closely with business and industry in the miami area. -- most of those are very flexible in terms of schedules. it could be on weekends or

evenings or mornings. we have internships for the students and very often a job at the end of the program. it takes a lot of going out of trying tort zone reach out into the community, especially with the business sector to create opportunities for students. , theof these programs students beginning earnings are higher. you have to really break with tradition and do the kinds of things that will help the students. we have come into the 21st century. it is a very situation from what we used to have, even 40 years ago. when most americans could go with little education, could go

with -- could go to offices or factories doing manual work and earn a good wage that would allow them to be middle-class. put their children through school. the tire with a good pension. those jobs are gone. today, over two thirds of all of the new jobs are created in the american economy require some kind of post secondary education. going to college today is not a privilege, it should be imperative. more colleges and universities are beginning to realize, it is the only way we will get a significant sector of our population into the productive side of the equation. >> maybe it does not have to be four-year college? >> not for everybody.

a baccalaureate degree over a lifetime point 2 million over a lifetime -- over a lifetime makes $1.2 million over a lifetime. minimum wage without the ability to support a family. today requireson knowledge and skills that were not necessarily necessary a few years back. >> i see you nodding. is extremely important, becoming much more important, that corporations and

companies work much more closely with academic institutions whether it is providing internships and opportunities and making those partnerships real, but also even starting from the baseline in terms of what are the skills we need to teach students today to be successful? -- even at thep high school age, to say, what are those core leadership skills that we need to develop that we need -- to develop? >> we used to think during , it was get a job, any job. and then it was go to school. what we are saying is the kind of support we need at work and the support we need at school are critical.

we cannot do it alone. the notion of the individual, the american myth of the individual hero. i have done a lot of looking at executive functions of the brain. those are skills that take place in the cerebral cortex. to pull together a cognitive and social capacity in pursuit of goals. i believe that if this country were not going to be the country we wanted to be unless we start promoting those skills ike taking on challenges, like the ability be a self-directed engaged learner. all of these are executive function skills. unless we teach those cognitive whenol skills, not only children are young, but when

they are older. ask another skill that seems to be missing -- >> another skill that seems to be missing from our education all the way up through college is the ability to handle your own money. those colleges and corporations to addting some pressure financial literacy education to what they do. can you talk about how that is working? todayt financial entities realize it is good business to educate people on financial literacy. we have a number of banking institutions and financial institutions working with my institution providing the support and sometimes the curriculum. we have introduced financial literacy as a required aspect of the curriculum. every student who graduates from miami-dade college has gone

through education and financial literacy. we believe that is one of the important aspects that will help people make it or break it. >> that is one thing that companies do that is part of the support system is to help people with finances. >> coming from 20 years in financial services, we spend a lot of time providing that service just in terms of networking groups, universities. even internally, you need to look at having a broad-based leadership development curriculum that has those professional skills, but also those hard skills. that is very much around financial literacy. >> we have about five minutes left on the stage.

let me see if there are any questions from the audience. we will start with the first row. you need a microphone and we will get you one. first question i have for you, are the issues you listed, respect, helping people be successful on jobs, life outside of work, are those skills being taught in business schools? >> no. schools -- at wharton, for example, he has been promoting the skills. there is not really looking at what makes an effective workplace. forave been giving an award effective and flexible workplaces that contain these

characteristics. we know because we survey employees. do they offer sick days? those sorts of things. do they treat people with respect? we have had several thousand companies whin. ,e are trying to make it clear having the contagion factor, all employers need to look at this if they want employees who are more engaged and more likely tuesday. -- likely to stay. >> we keep talking about the importance of small companies getting started. they will argue they cannot provide all of these things. i find there is this disconnect because big companies are not hiring people anymore. a lot ofngly enough,

them are those start up companies. -- maybe not everything at the same time, but they can move into that. the thing that is so cool about , they are dealing with overwork, some of the things that corporations are not necessarily dealing with. not just defining wellness as activity and diet, but well- being. a lot of these are entrepreneurial and start up companies. the navy is a good example. some people feel that things cannot happen in the navy. yet the navy has been innovative for women, men, with flexibility. these things can happen. >> we will go to one more question.

i have been working with the kids at wharton. [inaudible] >> would you like to comment on that? >> based on the research we have look at you really where women fit in your organization, they do fit in functional roles. finance, human resources. they are not profit-loss related. i know it is absolutely a challenge that we face for women in leadership. a lot of are being done right now to try to push women into

those roles. that is exactly it. that is where the academic piece plays an important role. think about the stem philosophy. trying to get more girls focused on harder skills. >> thank you so much. we have to end it there. i want to say thank you. [applause] >> turn to the screens for an early look at maria shriver's interview airing this week on nbc nightly news with brian williams. >> how foolish was that? here.e could have ended >> what draws her to this babe bridge began with one bad decision. she got pregnant during her

first semester at college. got married,ut, and then had three more children. by the age of 32, she was a divorced and homeless mother. >> [inaudible] >> when it all became too much, she thought her insurance policy would provide for her kids if she ended her life. >> i thought it was simple. >> she then decided to work her way back. >> this is not going to defeat me. >> she earned a nursing degree and then a bachelors, a masters in social work. eventually, a phd in public health. >> [inaudible]

i had a vision of what it could be. >> she ran for mayor of riverdale, georgia. [laughter] >> is it hard being the mayor? >> i feel like i am the mama of the county. >> there are millions and millions of women who are on the brink of poverty. what would you say to them? at the -- she prays that her life becomes an example for others. it. made [inaudible] [laughter]

[applause] >> so great to have you here. you are in a unique position. you have been through a lot of the challenges we have talked about here today. you're in a position to do something about them. what is your message to the policymakers? what do they fail to understand about having gone through the struggles? >> thank you for having me here. .t is an honor for politicians to understand that you can be -- you could have been born on the right side of the track with money,

influence. one day, your whole circumstances can change. people -- i do not care where you come from -- want to feel needed and feel that they have self worth. just because your zip code dictates that you cannot do anything, what i want the politicians to know is, i do not fit that mold. are very successful college graduates. i told my children, all some people need is just a hand. not money all the time, but encouragement. making sure the pell grants are available. they say from the environment in which i came that nobody would make it out. i beg to differ.

that has been greatly exaggerated. i need the politicians to .nderstand, stop and look some people do not have that guidance. programs.re mentoring riverdale, we have begun to embark on changes in the branding and imaging of the city and by telling people -- my children and everybody, your zip code don't make you. your environment don't make you. that is all people need to know. it does not mean that i am not teachable. it does not mean that i don't have morals and standards. sometimes people look at your zip code and they say, they have got crime down there.

in my city, the biggest crime i have is people stealing shoes out of walmart. in the city of riverdale, with the wonderful staff i have, during the recession, we had economic growth. we embarked on new programs. didn't fire nobody. if you open up your mind and your ears and listen, they will see valuable people from whatever race, creed, or environment you come from. >> i write about politics. so many people do not see politics as a solution. always a lot of talk about in more women to enter politics. your background was in social work. how did you make that decision to enter elected office? , i neververy candid

wanted to be in politics. my pastor gave me a prophecy and said he dreamed that i was going to be mayor next year. a nurse said it at work. are you for real? i do not know how to be no politician. life --d to make my out make my life a magnificent of session. if you can liver me from homelessness -- if you can't deliver me from homelessness, i will make my life a magnificent obsession. i asked god to order my steps and give me the wisdom. people do not understand politics. they do not the laws. if you rub my house, i will shoot you. -- if you rob my house, i will

shoot you. of peoplerstanding knowing the law. they do not understand politics. stop stop -- being little boys on the playground. i've had to drop my emotions and my feelings. what is best for the people? that is all. what is best for the people. [applause] in the city of riverdale, i fight for my city. we are getting grants. we have a brand-new city hall. teamwork, people working together.

i am going home on the d at 9:00 tonight so i can say this. would put aside their emotions and see how people are upset that -- affected. they take the good from you and the good from you and mix it together and make a home tie. it will work. it is something that simple. >> you talk about the shame that you faced when you are struggling. people talked about taxpayer dollars and that kind of thing. how do you reassure people that their money is being spent wisely? how do you balance that need for responsible stewardship with the need for compassion? >> you need to get those people who have experienced similar things to have transparency to come out and let the little kids know.

everybody cannot be michael jordan. everybody can't be a robot. -- can be obama. transparency is letting kids see the real people. i slept on the floor. my daughter had a birth defect. i used to leave home at 2:00 in the morning to get to the hospital at 8:00 to get her legs corrected. miles fromalk eight georgia state to my house. how bad do you want to to make a difference in your life? you cannot take no days off. the way i was taught biblically, , you would somebody have created a productive citizen. that you do not

have to be a doctor, or politician. it is what you do with your money. i did not know how to budget no money, girl. i learned later. when i go speak, people think i have had it good because i have a new cadillac and a beautiful home. my kids are very successful. they are doing good. at the end of the day, i have to make sure i give god the glory and telle blessed me somebody every day, you can make it. you ask yourself sometimes and this can be anybody, why is this happening to me? what did i do to deserve this?

everything that i encountered in thanks to myything dad and my mom and my sisters who stuck by me -- at the end of the day, everything i encountered -- and i am not going to cry -- is to be on a show like this to tell people nationally, no matter what it looks like, you ain't got to be a victim of your circumstances. you can overcome anything and , if you do not understand the glory, maybe somebody in the audience can hear, if she did it, i can do it. how many people have gone back to school to get their degrees because they heard my story? we have a wonderful council, city manager. people come to my office and

say, my life cut off. who come in you have been domestically abused. i tell them how to get money and food. day, you havethe to be a servant. how many people have you helped? can you leave office and go home and sleep and say, i did help five people. that is what politics is about. that is what life is about. when i was contemplating committing suicide, i saw a show , oprah winfrey.

one day i will make it to go see her at her show. i encourage everybody here today , i do not care if it is your neighbor. -- youes you can walk up will get the blessing. that is what mayor dixon is about. [applause] >> for a young woman today going through what you went through, do you think things are easier or harder? >> things are easier. i think the mentality has changed. if you do not have food -- we

were dangerous for the little flower and shortening and making chicken and gravy. we learned how to survive. they did not teach children how to survive now. -- we need taught us to learn how to thrive. say, their house and they i ain't got no food. .hey have green beans make you a veggie plate, it is healthy. they think their kids have to have all of the designer things. you are the mama. this is what is going to be today. this is what you are going to wear. when you finish school, you can drive your lamborghini. discipline and respect.

you are trying to live them look like your daughter who is 18 and you have a body that is drooping. you don't tell them, they tell you. our kids tell us what they want to do and we agree. not while you are in my house. we need to take control of our children. you would have better control. you would not feel scared of going out at night. -william is six foot two inches -- my son william is 62. the women need to get a stronger mentality. if you are a single-parent or a divorcee, you do not have to have a man on your side today. you do not have to compromise. we need to have respect for ourselves.

see so many women compromise for their light or gas bill to be paid. do i want a boyfriend? i do. the one thing i am not doing anymore is compromising. [applause] >> i was going to jump off that bridge. imagine i was a perfect size five. i saw that tractor trailer

truck. i can't do that. i can't jump off this bridge. i had an aspirin, i had a gun with no bullets. i cut my wrists, and then came back from the brink. i went to my secret place and i prayed to god. i had an epiphany where i heard my mom's voice. we registered and it was pretty decent.

i said again, i pray that somebody in that audience today who is going through -- who is lonely, a divorce, you are catching a bus, that doesn't change your character or your self-worth. >> thank you so much. [applause] stagewill come to the [indiscernible] pelosi.y

[laughter] >> thank you. >> i heard you were recently inducted into the women's hall of fame. [applause] it was pretty sentimental. what was it like? >> it was very exciting to be , itcted in the hall of fame is very special.

ago on the 165 years anniversary in july. when women succeed america succeeds. >> when you -- could you talk about what you're hearing around the country? >> these women made this first statement that all men and women are created equal.

the right to vote, some years later, women in the workforce leaving home, rosie the riveter. women in every aspect of the workforce, and the women at home. the issue of child care. clearly over 60%. a champion for that.

, and theyational tour are working on these initiatives. it lists all of this up. for every individual woman who is working very hard to make ends meet to balance home and work and the rest, they know that people making public policy understand to the extent that we can, their plight. people talk about raising the floor, minimum wage? what is it that the women or the man talk about as their first priority.

>> what we can say about public policy and initiatives and all the rest, we try to have solutions. but the stories are so compelling and so inspiring. district, row so is the godmother of all of this. whoing with donna edwards is chair of the women's caucus, putting this together across the country. and in roses district, this was the story that you have heard many times. she got to tell her story. now she is driving the school bus. i am not going to talk so much about myself as what i see. and what i see, when i pull that , i predict what is going to happen. a mom in tears will be putting

her child on the bus, knowing that the child is sick, and having no option. if she stays home from work, she has dr. pay. if she stays more than a few times, she doesn't have a job. to takeno childcare care of the child, nor can she afford it? basically, it is a real different and she asian -- differentiation. i will put this child on the bus, the child is sick. either the tireless -- child will throw up or other kids will catch it. is heartbreaking to see the

tears in the eyes of a mom that has to do that. in sacramento, it was interesting. about the conversation pay and pay equity and raising the minimum wage, when we are talking about all of this, be sure to talk not just about childcare but eldercare. in fact, some of my male colleagues, when we approached , they haveall this taken more days off of work to care for their parents than they ever did to care for their children. so whether it is women in the military that have emerged.

the story i love best, a college in new york. we are talking about a head start. we are talking about head start. spoke, you know the story. five kids, single mom, now she is going to speak to hundreds of women about her situation. she says i have been very confident about my work in my role as mom. speech on myy children last night. i made the speech and i said to them, do you have any questions? old said, i just have one question. who gave you permission to use my name in your speech? [laughter]

it's about respect, self-esteem, it's about whoever you are. if that isn't an argument for -- but they were able to get that in the omnibus bill. neanderthal might be the real word. we are basically the only country, one of three that doesn't have paid maternity leave. we are really behind. think aboutis, to why. you have been added for a long time. people think it is counter to american entrepreneurial spirit. does it have to be considered being just a thing for women?

what is the basic family leave policy that the rest of the world has? >> we have been working on family medical leave act when president clinton was elected. people like pat schroeder and george miller had been working on it for a very long time. as newer people came to congress, we were working on it. at 100 million families have taken advantage of family and medical leave in our country. for many people, it is not paid. is a big difference. that is part of the initiative we have to see change in. is why i am so grateful to maria shriver and the shriver report because so many people are working in so many different ways that it raises visibility and gives people hope that something can be different if they way and with their voices that we can have paid family and medical leave again for children

as well as for other family members that may be sick. it affects what men as well as women -- we just have to get it done. other countries look to us and say, what is it that you don't get about eight? -- about it? the same thing is childcare. he competition for talent has made some difference. if they want to attract real talent, they will just have to adjust some of these policies. i don't want this in any way to be interpreted as a political remark. we have to build the public support for it and make sure that elected officials from all sides of the aisle understand this is a priority of the american people. president lincoln said that public sentiment is everything.

had some heavy lifting to do in his day and the public had to be with him when he did it. the public wants this. elected officials have to hear that. to the extent that the change is added to it so it is not countered with "it will cost jobs." it will unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of america and give people options. that is why we are proud of the affordable care act because it does things similar to that as well. this can be done. >> there are many struggling in red states than blue states, that would be my guess. republicans saying they are raising this as a distraction

from what happened with the affordable care act. the atmosphere that we know exists in washington, where is the hope to building bridges or a way that so many americans are struggling to make a priority? >> public sentiment is everything. i keep saying that. to the extent that elected officials are aware that the public is aware makes all the difference in the world. we have been planning this for a long time, researching the main issues. prioritizing is very hard to do. important, paid leave and childcare for women in the workplace. affordablepected the care website was not going to work. we were in sync with the 155th anniversary.

the 50th anniversary of signing thennedy fair pay act. one of our residents was in atsachusetts at the library radcliffe institute about the anniversary. they had pictures of women surrounding the president and he signed it, all of these incredible people including eleanor roosevelt. and what was their recommendation? equal pay for equal work. balancere, family work, 50 years ago. let's just do it. there is nothing partisan about it. >> it is said that women pay more attention to these issues when they legislate that men do.

there is a growing number of women in congress. is it good practice to have women on both sides of the aisle? >> absolutely. we want more. there is not enough. that is not to say that we haven't had -- there are others that have been champions. 40 years, how much more can we ask of him and his family? some of you are entertaining thoughts of entering a public arena. it is really important to have many more women here. some of the great work they have done with issues that relate to family, i assure you that if you

had more women in elective office, it would help national security, economic security, aspectc life, and every including all the issues that we know firsthand about and want to improve. how we get more women. if you reduce the role of money in politics and increase the level of civility in the debate, more women will run for office and that is a very hopeful thing. >> why is that? is it fund-raising that they don't get into politics? had $100 probably million spent mischaracterizing who i am.

say, iee that and they could never take that. my familyver subject to mischaracterization about me. among those options, include service to our country. we go back to a young woman who might be considering this. or i can have somebody spend millions of dollars mischaracterizing who i am, at school about what somebody said about their mother on tv. constitution -- amend

the constitution, informed citizen participation and empowerment. for a democracy, a government of the many, not a government of the money. elected andys got we want you to go. they want to subject you to negative publicity and if you're forceful in your presentation, [indiscernible] a have to make sure it is competition of ideas and what people have in their heart and in their mind about how to make the future better for our country. i am telling you, it is worth it.

opportunity, and more women, of course -- nothing could be more hopeful than to have more women in the political process. >> when you're thinking of questions, i will ask you one last inspirational thing. is it true that you eat ice cream for breakfast? that inspired me to he doughnuts for breakfast. >> i have been known to. grandchildrend my overheard me saying this. if i only had one food, very dark chocolate ice cream. morning, noon, and night. >> i will choose one person from each section. >> thank you for being here and talking to us today. as part of my job, i try to

encourage women with children to become politically active and be familiar with the issues. i will be starting a speaking tour in a couple of weeks talking about the family act. i want to be able to say to them, it only takes x number of e-mails to your officials office for them to know. the years ago, the number was 15. if we get 15 phone calls, each one of those represents thousands and the constituency is paying attention to the issue. can you give me something to say to them? needsunt because she only 20 to make a difference. i have the privilege and honor of representing san francisco and the congress, so anything less than 5000, we don't even notice. say that they all should be writing in. 15 won't make much of a dent.

issues,at oppose these culturally, whatever, they are very forceful on the other side with their messaging. if you wanted to be a true grassroots message and not astro turf. i would also say that there is nothing more eloquent to a member of congress than the voice of his or her own constituents. and to the extent they can make a physical appearance, some of the districts are far-flung, somebody nearby can go and say i represent x number of people that are concerned. let's put it another way. reallyust say nothing

good will happen unless they mail in. we can do all the maneuvering we want on capitol hill, the outside mobilization is what makes good things happen. >> someone from the middle have a question? i was photographed for the shriver report and i work for an organization called foster forward. i come from a foster care background. i utilize a lot of the services in i got my bachelors degree the work that i do. [applause] i deal with a lot of youth who don't think they can make it, a lot of women who are single parents. how do we motivate women to walk the walk and actually show these people that with proper

guidance, we can make this. i am nervous, so my mind is going. the mayor said that support can go so far and it is not always about the money. me putomeone that made on my cap and down because i missed my graduation because my daughter was sick. these support systems to be part of our lives represent these things we are trying to change? yourd bless you for personal success and thank you for posing that question. and i have had these conversations and one of the beauties of the shriver report is that it not only gives the aboutcture to the country pulling women back from the brink and defining the challenge that is there.

.he priorities are reaching out we want to make the difference. is made in each person's individual life. doing,rage that you are doing,reach you are especially to young women, so they know the prospects they have, it is really important. there are so many organizations contributing to the design of something that looks like a much better future because we are unleashing the power of women. do,ant everything that we making them aware of their opportunities as important as making the public policy.

i want to tell you, years ago when she first published the and we said to -- you know her story, but she worked at that minimum wage level. do these people know that we are fighting for them to raise the minimum wage? she said, i haven't the faintest idea. caught ifve gotten they saw me reading the paper unless i move right to the sports page. they don't have the time. they are keeping their families together and they have all these things going on. ideahaven't the faintest that we are making the fight. , it is really

important that they know how it affects them. the fact that it is getting so much play is something that we have been trying for years. is the story of women in america. cover this. [applause] >> one last question. lex i am with the grassroots organization. wanting to make their voices heard. if you can talk for the women who are on the brink, son of the -- some of the specific tips generally making sure how to make them real.

i think that people have to know that there is heightened awareness of what the -- it doesn't have to be this way. there is heightened awareness of what can -- when we took the majority in the first 100 hours, ge forse the minimum wa the first time in 11 years. we will try to raise it again. long overdue. they are aware of what the possibilities are.

>> is the impact of women and men on these issues that relate to family is that it changes the thinking, or reshuffles the republicans, that is a success. it is more important to pass legislation than it is to win the election, unless they don't want to pass the legislation. the fact is they have to hear. know, they have to know that people are aware that these are possibilities. also, and this is my life, no we are not going away. this is not one meeting. this is a way of