Daily Archives: February 9, 2022

Kira Loera is an 18-year Air Force officer transitioning to retirement. She equates investing with running a marathon. Both are challenging. But theyre both well worth the payoff at the end.

When Loera was growing up, her father would make major financial decisions without consulting her mother. The significant impact his choices had on the familys finances led to her parents divorce. And her mother had to work two jobs to support her and her brother.

This is why Loera decided that she will never, rely on anyone else to put food on the table or a roof over [her] head.

The divorce forced Loera to grow up fast. She had to help raise her younger brother because her mother often logged more than 60 hours a week at work. As a teenager, she rarely saw her. And this was one of the main reasons for Loeras determination to seek financial independence.

I never wanted my family to not see me because I was at work.

These experiences were also the catalyst that set her on the exact opposite financial trajectory of her father.

Now, Loera acknowledges that specific military retirement programs are in place mostly as a formality. They are more to check a box than actually help service members prepare for transition, she says.

Her advice is that its up to you to prepare yourself for life after the military. And she believes that finances should be talked about openly and often. In fact, as much as possible, she says.

The major tools that Loera has taken advantage of to establish financial security at transition are the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). And to boost her savings rate and decrease the gap between her income and expenses, she has saved and invested consistently.

To Loera saving and investing mean more than money. For her they mean having the ability to devote her time to the things that she values, cares for, and is passionate about. Thats her real motivator.

She says that in her perfect retirement she would travel around the world and care for animals. And that is why she has been laser focused on saving. It is also why she supports the Aloha Animal Sanctuary on Oahu. The nonprofit cares for neglected and abused farm animals, a mission that aligns perfectly with Loeras values.

She describes her approach to life in the words of great philosophers regarding the interconnection between habits, values, and destiny. The early habit of saving and investing for retirement set her up for financial freedom. And that created the opportunity for her to be with the people and animals she loves.

Loera advises that the best time to start investing is yesterday. The second best is today. Thats because time in the market far outweighs timing the market. Its a very long game, similar to a marathon. Youre not going to get rich overnight. But diligent saving and investment over many, many years will absolutely set you up for success.

This post was originally published by Victory Capital. Read more on VictoryCapital.com.

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Investing is more like running a marathon than a sprint - We Are The Mighty

Because of recent changes to existing law, Hoosiers with disabilities are now able to save even more under the states INvestABLE Indiana program.

Beginning January 1, 2022, the annual contribution limit for ABLE accounts increased from $15,000 to $16,000. This increase of over 6% will allow savers to deposit even more into their accounts and experience lower fees. The contribution limit is tied to the annual gift tax exclusion limit, which saw an increase this year.

ABLE plans have been making headlines across the country, too. The National ABLE Alliance, of which Indiana is a proud member, recently crossed a significant threshold, exceeding $250 million in program assets. That automatically reduced the Program Management Fee from 30 basis points (0.30%) to 28 basis points (0.28%), bringing further savings to the program and Hoosiers.

Im thrilled to announce that INvestABLE Indiana account owners can now not only contribute more annually toward their savings goals but also experience lower fees, said Amy Corbin, Executive Director of the ABLE Authority. The lowering of fees comes as a direct result of more individuals enrolling in ABLE and saving for their or their loved ones future. As INvestABLE Indiana continues to grow, it is heartening to see more individuals with disabilities achieving increased financial independence and economic empowerment.

INvestABLE Indiana offers seven investment options, including a checking account option with a debit card. Up to $16,000 per year can be saved in an account, with a maximum account balance of $450,000. For individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), they can save up to $100,000 in their INvestABLE Indiana account and not risk losing their monthly SSI benefit. Money can be withdrawn and spent on qualified expenses or INvestABLE Indiana account holders can choose to grow their finances and create long-term savings with tax-free earnings. Contributions and earnings in INvestABLE Indiana accounts are not subject to federal or state income tax if spent on qualified expenses. Contributions are made with post-tax dollars.

More information about INvestABLE Indiana, including how to open an account, can be found athttps://in.savewithable.com.

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Hoosiers with Disabilities can Save More and Experience Lower Fees - WIMS AM 1420

In 2021, Iceland nabbed the top spot on the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Report for the 12th year in a row. A measure of gender parity in politics, the economy, education, health and other key areas, the report praised Icelands strong performance across the board, which enabled the island nation to close 89.2 percent of its gender gapan increase over 2020. The United States, meanwhile, ranked 30th on the list, well ahead of Russia (81st) and China (107th) but behind much of Europe, New Zealand, and a handful of African and Latin American countries.

Icelands high level of gender equality traces its roots to a remarkable period of rapid socioeconomic change. At the turn of the 20th century, herring fishing exploded in the North Atlantic, giving rise to boomtowns in northern Icelandthe equivalent of Gold Rush towns in North America. Seasonal influxes of fishermen fed roaring local economies and attracted herring girls, or women who came from across Iceland to take jobs gutting, cleaning and salting barrels of freshly caught fish. Known as sldarstlkur in Icelandic, they found autonomy and opportunity in places like Siglufjrur, the islands largest herring hub.

Herring girls helped secure the gender equality and economic agency that Iceland is known for today, fighting for equal pay and labor rights. In addition to financial independence, the boom years brought women a taste of life outside of their hometowns and farmsteads. [The period is] often referred to as the herring adventure, says Anita Elefsen, director of Siglufjrurs Herring Era Museum, because it was. Its just so very different from anything else in Icelands history.

Though herring fishing had long been practiced in Icelands waters, the countrys herring era only began in forcein 1903, when Norwegian fishing fleets showed up with massive drift nets capable of capturing huge caches of herring. The Norwegian fleets brought jobs, too, from staffing fishing boats to building docks to salting herring for sale in markets across the world.

Within a few years, Icelanders had not only mastered the same high-yield fishing techniques used by the Norwegians but also perfected their own. And the herring kept coming. Once-sleepy fjord towns began to fill up as more Icelandic men took to the sea, no longer as employees of the Norwegians but as captains and crew of locally owned boats. With the opening of Icelands first herring processing plant in Siglufjrur in 1911, the so-called herring boom was well underway.

As the men whod once processed the herring on the docks increasingly went out on the water, a labor gap emerged onshore. Who would be there to meet the boats when they came in and prepare the daily herring haul?

Enter the herring girls, who were referred to as girls no matter their age. They, too, came by the thousands from across Iceland, fulfilling a role so crucial that the industry couldnt have succeeded without them.

The herring girls did the essential work of taking those fish straight from the boats and turning them into a product that could be stored and sold, says naturalist and journalist Jennifer Kingsley, a cultural specialist with Lindblad Expeditions, whose Icelandic cruises often stop at Siglufjrur. It was such a simple act, but the scale was enormous, and it would be hard to overstate its importance.

Herring towns grew rapidly as salting stations, processing plants and warehouses sprung up along the ever-expanding docks. Home to some 1,200 residents today, Siglufjrur reached a population of more than 3,000 by the 1940s. When the fleet was in, 10,000 or more fishermen, workers and herring girls packed the streets and docks. By the time the boom ended in the 1960s, herring accounted for as much as 40 percent of Icelands exports; at least 20 percent of the countrys total exports were sourced in Siglufjrur.

A look at Icelands historic labor systems helps convey the tremendous significance of the herring era. Between 1490 and the late 1800s, poor, landless people in Iceland were subjected to vistarband, a law that obligated them to find work on farms and essentially live as indentured servants. Landowners were required to provide food and shelter, but only men were paid wages. Workers were not allowed to leave the farm without its owners permission.

Vistarband was a form of serfdom that made it extremely difficult to break free from poverty and subsistence living, especially for women, who earned no income. Because landowners were the only ones permitted to have children, women farm workers were largely single, penniless and even more dependent on landowners than their male counterparts. In the late 19th century, about 25 percent of Icelands population, or roughly 20,000 people, worked under the vistarband system.

For women who werent indentured, life still revolved around domestic chores and was largely rural, as sheep-rearing was the largest industry on the island. These women were used to being home alone all year round,cleaning, cooking and caring for their families, says Elefsen.

The herring boom upended this norm, effectively ending the vistarband system by providing jobs and freedom for farm workersfirst the men and soon after the women. Icelands economy shifted over the course of a few decades, from agriculture-dependent to fueled by fisheries. For women and men alike, the herring boom brought unprecedented personal wealth. A herring girl who worked quickly might earn as much as $10 a daymoney that she could spend, save or send back home. Modest as it may seem, this accumulation of wealth helped eradicate exploitative labor practices of the past and drive Icelands eventual independence from Denmark, which had long regarded the island as a sort of backward colonial outpost.

The legacy of the herring era, and especially of the herring girls, is vividly and tenderly recounted at the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjrur. Icelands largest maritime museum, it occupies five former fishery buildings, including a salting station that also served as a womens dormitory, a fish meal and oil factory, and a reconstructed boathouse. Attractions include restored dormitories with original dresses, work boots and personal effects still in place; artifacts that speak to the global reach of Icelandic herring products; historic fishing boats; and heavy duty equipment used in fish processing.

Though the museum offers a comprehensive history of the herring years, its the herring girls themselves who are the stars of the show. The museum hosts salting exhibitions on its front dock, where performersincluding some former herring girlsdemonstrate how freshly caught herring were gutted, salted and placed in barrels. Accordion music, singing, dancing and some lighthearted theatricality accompany the shows, capturing the lively spirit of the herring boom years.

Herring girls daily routines were much more grueling than suggested by these demonstrations. In the early boom years, women worked without aprons, gloves or waterproof boots in all weather conditions. They were always outdoors, Elefsen says. Some said the best weather was the worst, that standing in strong sunshine was worse than a cold or rainy day.

The museum director adds, They had to be ready to start working whenever the ships arrived. There were no shifts or pre-scheduled hours. As vessels approached, local boys ran or biked from house to house, knocking on windows to wake the women up.

Like many of her peers, former herring girl Birna Bjrnsdttir, now 78, began working on the docks with her mother when she was a child. I started on my seventh birthday, she recalls. From that day onward, I helped my mom with packing the barrels. By the age of 11, I had become an independent herring girl. Bjrnsdttir remembers the long hours as one of the most difficult parts of the job, withquite literallyno rest for the weary at times. When I had been working for over 12 hours and finally went home to rest, as soon as I fell asleep, there was a knock on the window and the next ship had arrived, she says.

According to Elefsen, this call to action could happen at any time of day. There are even a few stories [about] boats coming in during a dance. The boys would go on stage, stop the band and call the herring girls to work.

When storms or bad weather kept the ships in port, Siglufjrur became a hotbed of activity. There were always fishermen, herring girls and other workers strolling around town, says Bjrnsdttir. During its peak years, especially in the 1920s and 1960s, the town boasted dozens of bars, several dance halls, a cinema that screened multiple films per day, candy and soda factories, bakeries, and butchers.

The former herring girls interviewed by Elefsen recall the period with a gleam in their eye: My mothers neighbor is in her 90s, the museum director says, and shes told me that as a teenager, she remembers having to elbow her way down the main street, it was so crowded, and seeing couples kissing, people spilling out of bars, fistfights on the sidewalk.

The women also reflect fondly on the fishermen, whod roll into port for a few days before heading back to sea. I asked one woman what she missed the most about those days, adds Elefsen. She said shed love for it all to come back, and told me that the young men are just not as handsome today as they were back then.

In 1968, the Arctic Ocean herring fishery collapsed as a direct result of overfishing. The once-plentiful Atlantic herring was on the verge of extinction, and Icelands economy took a sharp tumble. Siglufjrur and dozens of towns like it emptied out. Fish processing plants were abandoned, boats sat idle in harbors and docks no longer hosted lively gatherings. But even as many herring girls returned to domestic duties, their impact on Icelandic politics and society continued to resonate.

The work market had developed enough that there were more opportunities for women, Elefsen says, and certainly more at the end of the herring adventure than at the beginning.

Toward the beginning of the boom years, the herring girls had capitalized on their sudden and dramatic economic power. They knew the industry could not function without them. The herring industry gave Icelandic women a much bigger sense of independence, says Elefsen. Because they were such a critical part of the herring supply chain, women workers learned to use their voices and fight for their rights. They unionized as early as the 1920s, held their first successful strike for higher wages in 1925 and regularly negotiated for improved working conditions. Herring girls were also pioneers in pay equity. Paid by the barrel, women who could cut, gut and salt quickly often earned more than the men working on fishing boats or on the docks. They made good money, and that money bought agency and independence from fathers, spouses and boyfriends.

Herring girls organizing efforts took place around the same time that women won suffrage in Iceland. The countrys first womens rights organization formed in 1894 and collected signatures on voting rights petitions. By 1907, 11,000 women and menmore than 12 percent of the populationhad signed on. In 1915, women over 40 were granted the right to vote, and in 1920, the country introduced suffrage for all citizens ages 18 and up.

Iceland, like every other nation in the world, has yet to close the gender pay gap. But its come closer than many, achieving a 14 percent disparity between mens and womens incomes (the U.S. wage gap is closer to 19 percent) and leading a concerted government effort to eliminate the pay gap. In 1975, 90 percent of women in the country went on strike, demandingand winningpassage of a law that prohibited gender discrimination in the workplace. As of 2018, the law also requires Icelandic companies to demonstrate that they pay their male and female employees fairly.

Progressive laws in Iceland mandate gender equality lessons as part of school curriculums, offer some of the worlds most generous parental leave policies, and require company boards and government councils to be comprised of at least 40 percent women. For nearly half of the past 50 years, Iceland has had a woman president or prime minister; in 2021, almost 50 percent of Icelands elected representatives in parliament were women.

Today, observers often cite Iceland as a model of gender parity for other nations to follow. The historical arc of those achievements leads back to a period of rapid change in the countryto the salting stations of Siglufjrur and towns like it, and to the hard work of the herring girls.

The herring girls were essential to this industry, says Kingsley. It couldnt have worked without them. And we are not used to thinking of womens labor in this way, especially not in a historical context.

Special thanks to Anita Elefsen, director of the Herring Era Museum, for her help with interviews and translations.

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How Iceland's Herring Girls Helped Bring Equality to the Island Nation - Smithsonian

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Entering into the crypto markets and the DeFi (decentralized finance) financial system can be a challenge. The crypto markets have been dominated by men until now, but this trend is changing. Women can make a big impact on a market that will be the next big driver of financial innovation.

DeFi is new, but it also represents a huge change in how money moves. The potential use cases for DeFi are global, as DeFi can make connections that no other form of financial technology is capable of. This opens up a new avenue for women around the world to participate in the DeFi ecosystem both as developers as well as users.

Because the blockchain industry hasnt cemented itself in society yet, most people dont have the general industry knowledge necessary to get started in DeFi. The new industry also has a fairly complex learning curve in regards to the tools used. Many fresh investors stick to mostly safe investments like Bitcoin or Ethereum. But as crypto slowly enters the mainstream, the public is beginning to want to know more about how blockchain technology, crypto and DeFi fit into an overall investment strategy, as well as how the market works.

This presents an even greater opportunity for women to get involved in an industry where men have led for over a decade. Some women are already taking advantage of this to bring education, technical know-how and the accessibility of DeFi to other women entrepreneurs. Some of these women are trying to change the way the blockchain and decentralization are utilized in underprivileged communities around the world, changing our perspectives and breaking fresh ground.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About Cryptocurrency's Next Big Thing: Decentralized Finance

Economic freedom, entrepreneurial pursuits, independence and security are empowered by decentralization. There are no gatekeepers, and public blockchains are open to all. While this is clearly powerful for larger financial entities, the unbanked masses may be the largest untapped market for DeFi.

Given these advantages, many people are turning to the blockchain as a way to get around restricted traditional monetary systems and gain more control over financial opportunities for themselves, their families and their enterprises.

Decentralized finance improves transparency, accessibility and equality. It maintains a borderless system that allows for equal access to anyone. As long as they have a connection to the internet.

Women are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency as a means of taking advantage of these strengths as well as avoiding a system that is designed to reward entrenched interests in a largely patriarchal society. DeFi use cases give broader access to financial tools to supplement their incomes without relying on their spouses or traditional banking institutions. In other words, the blockchain provides a mechanism for women to participate in an industry that allows them to take control of their financial independence. Access is open to all now. Its time for women all over the world to take notice and use this as a chance to fight back.

Female-led firms received only 2.3 percent of VC investments in 2020. That number is a mere 2.1 percent in the first eight months of 2021. As more women enter the startup and tech worlds, the demand for equality grows. Thats because data shows that diverse teams are more profitable, regardless of the field.

Only around one in ten people in America invest in crypto, and the market has yet to gain traction among women either. Thats especially strange considering that crypto has, in many other ways, delivered on its promise to spread equality. It is the only financial system in which young people actually have a higher participation rate than older people.

In the early days of Bitcoin, it was widely thought that cryptocurrencies would bring in a new era of diversity in the financial services business, which has been plagued by gender inequities for years. In spite of the ability and claims of crypto to address inequality, The State of U.S. Crypto Report found that 75 percent of crypto owners are men.

On the other hand, people of all races are roughly equally likely to hold cryptocurrency: 11 percent white, 11 percent Black, 10 percent Latino, 14 percent Asians own Bitcoin, with the remaining 13% of owners being undetermined. That means that Bitcoin has managed to break down barriers to investing based on race, but it has failed to do so in terms of gender. So far.

Related: How Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Can Revolutionize Businesses

The problem lies in investment opportunities, not in interest or aptitude. A 2016 report shows that women leave corporate tech jobs at twice the rate of men. The male-dominated culture tends to drive women out. But in spite of how difficult it seems to be for women to break into crypto, a few noteworthy women have shared their thoughts on how the industry is evolving. There is good news.

Kinjal Shah is a senior associate at Blockchain Capital and a backer of the Komorebi Collective, which supports female and nonbinary crypto entrepreneurs. She believes that this new financial system can be built in a different way, and she hopes that more women and minorities will enter the trillion-dollar industry. "If this is the future of finance," she remarked, "I want more women to be sharing a piece of that pie... From the outside looking in, the face of crypto is very male. Now that Im on the inside, I know so many women.

Related: This Is Why We Still Need Women's Networking Groups

Julia Rosenberg is one of the few female founders at Orca Protocol. While raising funds for her company, she realized that she hadnt spoken to any female investors for four weeks. The investor? Kinjal Shah.

Both Rosenberg and Shah saw an opportunity to influence the developing DeFi world in a way that was distinct from the traditional tech and banking systems they were used to.

That meant actively employing and recruiting women, especially on the technical side, for Rosenberg. Orca Protocol boasts a female co-founder, chief executive, adviser, and product design lead among its nine workers.

Another great example of how women are entering the blockchain industry is the launch of Defy Trends which is a women-led DeFi analytics firm. On September 30th, the four female founders were named as one of two winners at The Startup Showdown in Miami.

They were awarded a $120,000 USD investment from Panoramic Ventures, which was also one of the competition's judges. They were chosen as best company for the competition out of 200 promising applicants. This puts them in the above-mentioned 2.1 percent of women-led companies that got investment funds in 2021.

The platform is designed to assist investors in making smarter decisions with real-time data analytics and a social sentiment tracker for each coin. The data is crunched by machine-learning AI algorithms.

It even includes an environmental impact assessment to help investors make responsible decisions as well as profitable ones. This is combined with a worldwide analysis that tracks how each coin interacts with each other in a broader ecosystem.

In 2020, a survey by CoinMarketCap revealed a 43 percent increase in women in business. The earnings potential of investing in women-led firms is attracting the attention of blockchain companies. Women Who Code just received a $150,000 grant from Algorand to fund their blockchain deep-learning curriculum for women engineers. Gemini and The Giving Block, two companies that help others raise funds through cryptocurrency, have raised their own funds by reaching out to cryptocurrency donors on International Women's Day 2021.

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is an ambitious fund created to help children around the world. It is focused specifically on blockchain-based startups that help facilitate financial inclusion. Over 50 percent of the companies involved here are women-led. The goal is to make open-source, decentralized financial instruments and marketplaces more accessible to local communities and small business owners, allowing them to interact with these revolutionary systems in new, useful ways.

In fact, some studies suggest that the use of small-scale, informal lending in poor nations is extremely common. This implies that women could easily transition away from illegal lending, and use DeFi platforms that simply require the use of a smartphone, and cryptocurrency. In addition to helping the unbanked access credit at fair rates, illegal money lenders would be impacted negatively.

Having women at the forefront of the industry's early phases of development is a promising sign. Because this time around, education and access are much more important points of focus. It is reasonable to think that, moving forward, growth will begin to spread more evenly.

However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take over 200 years to close the global economic gender gap at the rate were going. It is vital to ensure that women continue to have equal access to blockchain technologies and education and that great ideas like the ones mentioned above are given support.

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DeFi Will Help Women Take Back Control of Their Finances and Close the Wealth Gap - Entrepreneur

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On February 15, the Museum of American Finance will present NFTs: Welcome to the Metaverse, a timely virtual panel discussion with leaders in the NFT (non-fungible token) market to discuss the current explosion and future opportunities within this crypto segment. NFTs are a family of crypto assets that hold ownership of unique data linked to a blockchain (e.g. Ethereum). They are typically packaged as digital collectibles, works of art, music, video game items, real estate of virtual reality platforms, and concert tickets. With the NFT market exceeding $27 billion, the panelists will discuss those factors that separate this highly profitable digital market from the rest, including:

The panel discussion will be moderated by Michael Maloney, Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law, and will include an introduction by Ronny Yakov, Chairman & CEO, OLB Group.

Panelists include: Michael Amar, Co-founder, Paris Blockchain Week Summit & Paris NFT DayBenjamin Cole, Loschert Chair in Entrepreneurship, Gabelli School of BusinessDevika Kornbacher, Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLPJames C. Row, Founder and Managing Partner, Entoro Capital, LLC

The program will be held on a virtual platform from 5:00 6:15 pm (ET). The panel discussion will be followed by audience Q&A. It is free to attend, but advance registration is required. More information can be found at http://www.moaf.org/events/nft. The event can be accessed at https://moaf.brandlive.com/nfts-welcome-to-the-metaverse/en/registration.

NFTs: Welcome to the Metaverse is sponsored by OLB Group. It is presented in partnership with the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business.

About the Museum of American Finance

As a socially relevant organization, the Museum of American Finance seeks to improve understanding of the influence of financial institutions and capital markets on the US and global economies, and on individuals lives. The Museum is dedicated to educating the public on finance and financial history through exhibits, financial literacy programs and public events. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum seeks to empower individuals of all backgrounds to strive toward financial independence, while encouraging curiosity and discovery. For more information, visit http://www.moaf.org or connect with the Museum on Facebook or Twitter.

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Museum of American Finance to Present Virtual Panel on NFTs: Welcome to the Metaverse - Business Wire

02.08.22

Senator Murray: Whats promising is that during this pandemic, weve seen a widespread use of inclusive practices that can make work more accessible This is great newsso we need to act on the lessons of this pandemic if we want to ensure that recent progress is a foundation for lasting change.

***WATCH SENATOR MURRAYS OPENING REMARKSHERE***

(Washington, D.C.) Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led a hearing on overcoming barriers to employment for workers with disabilities and building on recent progress, including the widespread use of inclusive practices to make work more accessiblelike flexible schedules and remote options.

The hearing marked the first hearing on disability employment since the Committee last discussed the topic in 2014but many of the challenges workers with disabilities faced then still persist today. In the hearing, Senator Murray highlighted how workers with disabilities c0ntinue to face unacceptable wage discrimination, inaccessible workplaces, damagingly lowand falseexpectations about what they can accomplish, and ableism and discrimination in hiring.

In the aftermath of this pandemic, workers with disabilities arent just grappling with lost wages, job loss, and long-term unemployment. They are still facing other longstanding barriers to joining the workforce, participating in their communities, and obtaining economic self-sufficiency, said Senator Murray. Barriers like ableism, damagingly lowand falseexpectations about what they can accomplish and discrimination in the hiring process . Barriers like inaccessible workplaces whether thats the result of a lack of physical accessibility or challenges accessing digital information and assistive technology. And barriers like unacceptable pay discrimination. People with disabilities are paid 87 cents on the dollar compared to workers without disabilitiesand thats not even accounting for workers who are paid subminimum wages.

But Senator Murray also highlighted recent promising progress including a steady rise in the employment rate of people with disabilitiesas weve seen a more widespread use of inclusive practices and innovations that can make work more accessible. She noted how these accommodationslike flexible scheduling, alternative work arrangements, and teleworkare some of the most requested, and according to a recent survey of employers, cost nothing to provide.

By embracing inclusive practices and improving accessibility, businesses can increase their talent pool by more than 10 million people. Whats more, employing people with disabilities has been shown to reduce turnover, and increase productivity. Whats promising is that during this pandemic, weve seen a widespread use of inclusive practices that can make work more accessible, and recently there has been a steady rise in the employment rate for people with disabilities, continued Senator Murray. This is great newsso we need to act on the lessons of this pandemic if we want to ensure that recent progress is a foundation for lasting change.

In addition to urging employers to embrace inclusive practices and continue providing reasonable accommodations, Senator Murray also noted that she hopes the Committee can work in a bipartisan way to address barriers to employment for people with disabilitiesas they have already done to advance the Assistive Technology Act out of Committee.

I continue to work with my colleagues to get this legislation passed into law and I hope we can work in a similar, bipartisan way on challenges like ending wage discrimination and workplace segregation for workers with disabilities, and providing them with the training and support they need to succeed in competitive, integrated employment, said Senator Murray.

The hearing included testimony from Dr. Lisa Schur, Professor, Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ; Ms. Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft in Redmond, WA; Mr. Francis A. Kineavy, a Disability Advocate from Sea Girt, NJ; and Mr. Brian Dennis, Workforce Program Coordinator of Disability Services at Iowa Workforce Development in Des Moines, IA.

Senator Murrays opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:

This pandemic has been hard on workers across the country. They have been worried, they have been sick, theyve had to care for loved ones who got sick, or find child care after a school closed, theyve lost wages, jobs, and opportunities.

And while weve recently made great progress in our economic recoverywith unemployment down to four percentwe are far from done. Workers are still struggling to get the training, education, and support they need to find good-paying jobs.

And for workers with disabilities, these challenges have been even greater. Some people with disabilities are at even higher risk of severe COVID, and are over-represented in essential jobs that put them at higher risk of exposure.

And in the aftermath of this pandemic, workers with disabilities arent just grappling with lost wages, job loss, and long-term unemployment.

They are still facing other longstanding barriers to joining the workforce, participating in their communities, and obtaining economic self-sufficiency.

Barriers like ableism, damagingly lowand falseexpectations about what they can accomplish and discrimination in the hiring process. In 2020, disability discrimination was the basis for more than one-third of all charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Barriers like inaccessible workplaces whether thats the result of a lack of physical accessibility or challenges accessing digital information and assistive technology.

And barriers like unacceptable pay discrimination. People with disabilities are paid 87 cents on the dollar compared to workers without disabilitiesand thats not even accounting for workers who are paid subminimum wages.

These barriers add up to a devastating effect. The poverty rate for people with disabilities is a whopping 26 percent, thats unacceptable.

And the challenges that make it hard for people with disabilities to participate in the workforce arent just a problem for themthey are bad for working families, bad for our communities, and even bad for businesses too.

At the same time our economy is growing and demand for workers is high, there are millions of working-age people in our country who have a disability and want to participate in our economy, be financially independent, and get a good job but almost half of them report facing a barrier to employment.

By embracing inclusive practices and improving accessibility, businesses can increase their talent pool by more than 10 million people. Whats more, employing people with disabilities has been shown to reduce turnover, and increase productivity.

Whats promising is that during this pandemic, weve seen a widespread use of inclusive practices that can make work more accessible, and recently there has been a steady rise in the employment rate for people with disabilities.

This is great newsso we need to act on the lessons of this pandemic if we want to ensure that recent progress is a foundation for lasting change. This pandemic has shown how innovative practices can boost accessibility in our workforce programs and in businesses across the country.

Flexible scheduling has helped workers with disabilities and chronic illnesses adjust their work hours in order to take care of their needs. Remote options have helped address challenges with accessibility, helped workers who might struggle to commute and made technology like closed captioning for video meetings more common.

Accommodations like flexible scheduling, alternate work arrangements, and teleworkare some of the most requested. And according to a recent survey of employers, most accommodations cost nothing to provide. This is progress we should be building onand where we have a history of bipartisanship.

My friend, the late Senator Johnny Isakson cared deeply about these issues, and I was proud to work with him on this Committee to support people with disabilities through legislation like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. And the spirit of bipartisanship he brought to these issues remains.

I know Senator Hassan, Senator Casey, Senator Cassidy, Senator Collins, and so many others remain committed to this work. As is shown by the Committees bipartisan vote last year to advance legislation reauthorizing the Assistive Technology Act which will help increase access to wheelchair ramps, screen readers, hearing aids, and other assistive technologies that help people live fully in their communities and access, obtain, and maintain employment.

I continue to work with my colleagues to get this legislation passed into law and I hope we can work in a similar, bipartisan way on challenges like ending wage discrimination and workplace segregation for workers with disabilities, and providing them with the training and support they need to succeed in competitive, integrated employment.

Ernesto, a worker with a disability from my home state of Washington, shared with me last year how this kind of support made a difference in his life. In August, he enrolled in the Basic Food Employment and Training program. With the new skills he gained through the program, he quickly managed to get not just one job offerbut two.

And Ernestos experience is just one example of how these programs help people with disabilities get competitive, integrated job opportunities, gain financial independence, and participate more fully in our communities.

There are so many more people in Washington state, and across the country, who care about this. Right now, one in four Americans have a disability, and more and more workers are identifying as having a disability due to long-COVID.

It should be obvious that we cant build back stronger, fairer and more accessible if we leave over a quarter of our nation behind. We must do everything we can to include everyone we can in our countrys future, instead of returning to a normal that didnt work for so many people in the first place.

And I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses about how we do that. Now Ill turn it over to Senator Burr for his opening remarks.

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Senator Murray Leads Hearing on Boosting Employment for People with Disabilities | The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor &...

TAIPEI At age 18, Taiwanese can live independently, get married, stand trial as an adult, and even get called up to serve in the military but they cannot vote in presidential and legislative elections. A quarter of a century after democratization, Taiwans national voting age has remained at 20 despite years of discussion and slow changes designed to enfranchise 18-year-olds.

Since 2017, Taiwanese citizens aged 18 and over can vote in national referendums and in 2023 they will officially be recognized as adults, opening the door to financial autonomy as they will be able to access loans, credit cards, and rental contracts.

Whether they will also be able to choose their president and representatives will depend on whether a constitutional amendment can overcome major obstacles.

Standing in its way, potentially, are conservative social views that still see 18 and 19-year-olds as politically immature. The move also faces opposition from the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang, one of Taiwans largest political parties. Supporters of the amendment include the ruling center-left Democratic Peoples Party and the centrist left-leaning New Power Party two parties popular with younger voters as well as the centrist Taiwan Peoples Party.

I think the kids right now are quite different from the old days, obviously. Theyre more mature, more informed, more educated, said legislator Lo Chih-cheng, the director of the DPP International Affairs. So, I think its the right time for them to have the right to voice their own rights.

Lo told VOA in January that the voting amendment has moved through the committee process and the DPP hopes to see a vote by the end of March so it can be put to a referendum in November. Thresholds are high, however, as it would require the support of three-quarters of legislators and then more than half of eligible voters. It is also possible that the vote could get pushed to the next legislative session, according to authorities at the DPP International Affairs.

Taiwanese youth ignited a political storm in May 2014 when they occupied the legislature to protest a trade bill with China that they feared would give too much leverage to Beijing. While the trade agreement is long gone, the political groups and ideas that came out of the demonstrations have entered mainstream Taiwanese politics.

The Sunflower Movement is widely credited in DPP President Tsai Ing-Wens win the 2016 and then 2020 presidential elections after she adopted many of its platforms. Chief among them has been a move towards depicting Taiwan as an independent entity from China, even though it is claimed by the Communist Party in Beijing.

Still, there is historic skepticism towards young voters in Taiwan and greater East Asia. South Korea only lowered the voting age from 20 to 18 in 2019, following in the footsteps of Japan, which amended its laws in 2015.

Public support for lowering the voting age in Taiwan has also largely fallen along party lines.

A 2021 study by National Chengchi University on Taiwans elections and democratization found that while more than half of DPP supporters agreed with lowering the voting age in 2021, more than two-thirds of KMT supporters opposed it, according to polling data shared by a Lowy Institute report.

The KMT is likely aware that 18- and 19-year-olds are unlikely to vote for their party, which typically courts older or business-minded voters, said Timothy Rich, who researches electoral politics as an associate professor at Western Kentucky University and Director of the International Public Opinion Lab.

Partisans at this point could certainly anticipate that an increased youth vote would help certain parties and not others, Rich told VOA.

Changes in the voting age are expected to benefit the DPP but also smaller parties with pro-independence platforms. While the addition of 18 and 19-year-olds votes is not expected to shake national politics, they could tip the balance in races with tight margins and possibly earn one or two more seats for small political parties.

The biggest and least appreciated effect, however, could be disrupting the KMTs deep roots across Taiwan. Despite losing the support of young voters in recent presidential elections, the party still has a sizeable base and political influence in local politics. But an influx of young voters could begin to weaken their base, said Rich.

These are often close races, ones that often do not actively court a youth vote. I could imagine that potential candidates could look at previous races, see how similar candidates performed without the youth vote, and anticipate where they would have a chance, he said.

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Movement to Lower Taiwan's Voting Age to 18 Gains Momentum - VOA Asia

In 2019, EQ3 and SOS Childrens Villages Canada launched a partnership to help support some of the most vulnerable children, young people, and families around the world. With a focus on supporting programs in countries within the EQ3 supply chain Indonesia, India, Mexico, Vietnam, and Canada the three-year partnership has seen staff, customers, and suppliers make a direct difference in the lives of vulnerable children, youth, and families.

EQ3 has raised over $90,0000 to support our work through a combination of company gifts, employee engagement campaigns, in-kind donations, and matching gifts. To date, this generosity has allowed us to empower and change the lives of children, youth, and families in Indonesia and Mexico. Notably in Canada, EQ3 helped to fully furnish an SOS home and two Youth Intensive Housing Program suites, giving families a beautiful space to call home and supporting youth in their transition to independent living in British Columbia.

Some of the highlights of the partnership include the impact they have created for vulnerable children, youth and families in Mexico, Indonesia, and here at home in Canada

In 2020, EQ3 employees were invited to help choose which program to support, and Mexico was selected.

Nearly 60 % of the population of Huehuetoca, Mexico, lives in conditions of urban poverty. Many of Huehuetocas residents recently migrated from rural areas where they used to make a living as subsistence farmers.

Now in the city, they do not possess the skills that would allow them to find work and their situation often worsens. Unable to find work, most are unable to meet their familys basic needs such as food and clothing. Indigenous women and girls in Mexico also face added social, economic, and cultural marginalization, making access to education, training, and secure employment even more difficult.

In 2020, EQ3 supported 150 families in Mexico, most of whom were unemployed single mothers, struggling to take care of their many children or grandchildren.

With EQ3s investment, Indigenous single mothers were supported to find employment and received access to skills training to generate an income. One of the trainings provided thanks to EQ3s support was in textile printing techniques (silkscreen).

Participants were taught the skills needed to start and sustain their own business, like accounting and other technical skills. Within a few years, and thanks to their small business, many mothers are expected to reach financial independence and be able to afford their childrens education and healthcare, improve their home, and provide their family with three meals a day.

Like many urban areas in developing countries, Jakarta is coping with numerous social problems, such as poverty, unemployment, and homelessness. Families from other urban and rural areas continue to move to the capital city in search of a better future.

However, life in the capital is often difficult for people with little education or training. Jobs are scarce and many parents are unemployed, unable to afford food, education, and healthcare for their children.

Single mothers in particular struggle to secure a job; without access to day care for their children, they cannot find employment or are forced to leave them unattended while they are at work.

Funds raised by EQ3 in 2021 will go towards supporting 228 vulnerable families and more than 600 children in Jakarta facing extreme hardship.

SOS Family Strengthening Program in Jakarta responds to the needs of vulnerable families struggling to care for their children and prevent child abandonment. As most of the program participants are un- or under-employed entrepreneurs, income-generating activity trainings for struggling parents is offered.

With the support of EQ3, vulnerable parents receive entrepreneurship trainings in various areas such as how to breed chickens, grow vegetables or fruits (watermelons and melons) and produce eggs for market sale, as well as patchwork crafts, hairdressing, and other creative industries. Upon completing their training, participants receive a loan to help them buy the necessary equipment to launch their business and are supported until they reach financial independence.

In Canada, EQ3 is helping Indigenous youth navigate pathways to independence through SOS Childrens Village British Columbias Youth Intensive Housing Program.

For youth in British Columbia leaving the care system, they can face significant challenges. The Ministry of Children and Family Development cuts off financial support for care leavers at 19, the result has left many young people unsupported and moving in and out of homelessness.

This intensive 12-month program provides housing to youth in a supportive environment, while they build the essential skills to prepare them for independence. The program offers support to young people by not only providing housing but also by placing a strong emphasis on life skills, self-management, and wellness.

In addition to being provided fully furnished suites thanks to the support of EQ3, program participants are entitled to take all the furnishings with them once they have completed the program. This includes everything from a bed to appliances in the kitchen. Thus, giving the program graduates all the tools they need to transition into independence.

We are incredibly grateful to the entire EQ3 team who have shown so much drive, enthusiasm, and compassion towards helping the worlds children facing so much adversity and lack of opportunities. Together, we are transforming the lives of our young people and laying the foundation for a brighter future. All of this would not be possible without the support of the EQ3 Spirit Team, staff, senior management, and customers.

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EQ3 Partnership: Three Years of Giving and Impact - SOS Children's Villages Canada

Nannie Helen Burroughs, Educator and SuffragistBlack female activists have dealt with double discrimination throughout U.S. history, making the achievements of early-20th century educator and suffragist Nannie Helen Burroughs particularly remarkable, said Sharon Harley, associate professor of African American studies. A longtime champion of Burroughs, Harley is now writing a full-length biography, Nannie Helen Burroughs: Standing Up for Justice, which will be published in 2023 by Yale University Press.

Nannie Helen Burroughs was a Washingtonian, a black Baptist feminist thinker, an educator and a staunch advocate for Black working-class women. Burroughs founded, in 1909, the National Training School for Women and Girls in northeast Washington, D.C. Her Christian-based religious beliefs motivated her to build the vocational school that promoted racial advancement and womens empowerment.

She helped to lay the foundation for modern Black feminist theology, joined in labor organizing and teamed with others to establish early foundations for modern-day movements to gain justice for African Americans and women. She used a savvy approach to womens education to support their financial independence. She was a courageous woman ahead of her times, determined to be a vocal advocate for the dignity of girls and womens labor within and even beyond the Christian tradition.

I came to admire Burroughs for standing up for women's rights and advocating for poorer domestic service workers despiteor because ofher own humble roots. Though I knew little about her or her school that I passed on a daily basis growing up in Washington, D.C., I now know how she was an amazing woman leader who needs to be known more broadly.

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Five Black Pioneers You Should Know About - Maryland Today

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RFG Advisory, an innovative and fast-growing platform for independent advisors, has been recognized as a 2022 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers by InvestmentNews. InvestmentNews honors outstanding employers in the financial advisory business who invest in building a work environment and culture that attracts the best employees every yeara distinction RFG Advisory has received two years in a row based on employer and employee surveys.

We are beyond grateful to receive this accolade yet again from InvestmentNews and collectively share it with a team of A-players who put forth the maximum effort into everything they do, said Bobby White, CEO and Founder of RFG Advisory. Financial advisors who affiliate and join RFG do so because of an innovative culture that sets them apart and gives them a true competitive advantage. Culture is the lifeblood at RFG Advisory, a badge of honor we wear proudly.

RFG Advisory is humbled to receive this rewarding recognition from InvestmentNews for two years in a row, on behalf of the financial advisors we love serving, said Shannon Spotswood, President of RFG Advisory. An unrelenting focus and dedicated commitment to the well-being of our community serves as our North Star. This reflects back the tech-enabled innovation and distinctive Servant Heart-Warrior Mindset culture that RFG is known for.

InvestmentNews collaborated with Best Companies Group, an independent research firm specializing in identifying great places to work, to create the survey and recognition program.

Weve all seen the value of a great work culture over the past year, and InvestmentNews is excited to once again recognize those firms that are taking a lead in providing great financial advice and being a great place to work, said George Moriarty, Chief Content Officer at InvestmentNews.

RFG Advisory has achieved accelerated growth and notable industry recognition in the wealth management industry beginning with this two-time recognition for Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers by InvestmentNews. RFG was also named Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors in 2021 and a Finalist for the InvestmentNews Innovation Awards 2021. Furthermore, in 2021, Dany Martin, MBA, partner and wealth advisor at WFA received the InvestmentNews 40 under 40 Award. RFG Advisory was named an Innovation Awards finalist and Best Places to Work. In 2020, RFG President Shannon Spotswood was recognized as a Women to Watch honoree by InvestmentNews.

Moreover, in 2021, RFG received two ThinkAdvisor LUMINARY Awards in Thought-Leadership and Education. For two years, RFG has been named a finalist in the wealthmanagement.com Industry Awards in 2021 and 2020 for non-custodial support platforms and a Top 300 RIA by Financial Times in 2020.

To learn more about the InvestmentNews 2022 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers, please go to Bestplacesforadvisers.com.

Learn more at RFG Advisory at https://www.rfgadvisory.com/ and follow RFG Advisory on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

About InvestmentNews

InvestmentNews is the leading source for news, analysis and information essential to the financial advisory community. Since 1998, our standard of editorial excellence and deep industry knowledge has allowed us to educate, inform and engage the most influential financial advisers. Through our weekly newspaper, website, newsletters, research, events, videos and webcasts, InvestmentNews provides exclusive and up-to-the-minute news, as well as actionable intelligence, that empowers financial advisers to serve their clients and run their businesses more effectively whenever, however and wherever they need it.

InvestmentNews' headquarters is located in New York, with an office in Washington D.C. InvestmentNews is part of London-based Bonhill Group plc.

About RFG Advisory

RFG Advisory is an innovator in the wealth management industry. Passionately committed to serving independent financial advisors and their clients, RFG Advisory prides itself on being a service company first, a technology company second and a hybrid-RIA third. RFG Advisory delivers a turn-key integrated platform that provides Advisors all of the tools and resources they need to be the CEO of their practice, not the COO, including turn-key technology, institutional-caliber investment management, marketing, compliance, business consulting and operational support. Focused on amplifying independence, Advisors who affiliate with RFG Advisory maintain all of the equity in their business and pay a basis point fee for access to RFGs investment and technology platform. Additionally, through RFG Capital, the firm buys stakes in advisor practices to facilitate succession planning and provide loans to advisors to enable the move to full independence.

Securities offered by Registered Representatives through Private Client Services. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory products and services offered by Investment Advisory Representatives through RFG Advisory, a Registered Investment Advisor. Private Client Services and RFG Advisory are unaffiliated entities.

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RFG Advisory Recognized as a 2022 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers by InvestmentNews for Second Consecutive Year - Business Wire