Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

Because of Syracuse success at one year anniversary, Cities for Financial Empowerment awards FEC funding to bring on additional full-time counselor

Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and partners celebrate the one-year anniversary this month of the launch of the Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center (Syracuse FEC). The city service, led by the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD), provides free one-on-one, professional financial counseling to city residents.

Because of the programs success in the City of Syracuse, the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund announced that it will increase funding to Syracuse in the year ahead to enable the City to bring on an additional full-time professional financial counselor. The CFE Fund is a national organization that works with mayoral administrations to improve the financial stability of lower to moderate income households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local government.

Financial Empowerment Center 12-month overview

The work being done through the Syracuse FEC has already impacted hundreds of families by providing the kind of financial knowledge and guidance that leads to a better quality of life for many Syracuse residents, said Mayor Walsh. The Syracuse community and many partner organizations have embraced the FEC, which is why we have had so much success in our first year. For many residents in Syracuse, having access to this financial resource will help plant the seeds that can lead to financial stability for future generations to come.

Funded by the CFE Fund, Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E., the Allyn Family Foundation, and the CNY Community Foundation, Syracuse FEC focuses on helping individuals set personal financial goals and eliminate barriers that inhibit financial stability. Home HeadQuarters and United Way of Central New York are also key Syracuse FEC partners.

According to data in 2018 from the U.S. Census Bureau, 30.5% of city residents live below the poverty line, making the need for targeted, expert help to manage financial resources essential.

The first year goal to have 180 outcomes was exceeded by 360% with FEC clients achieving 575 measurable results. With the help of Syracuse FEC counselors, 244 (42%) clients reduced delinquent accounts; client credit scores were improved by at least 35 points; and 82 (14%) clients reduced non-mortgage debt by at least 10%.

Kerry Quaglia

Jasminn Ray, Jenna McClave, Kazmira Pitzrick, and Thom Dellwo, Syracuse FEC counselors, have managed to advise residents consistently since the launch with in-person meetings but also remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the group of professional counselors, nearly 2,000 sessions were held with clients. The public health crisis has increased the need for financial advice in light of widespread job loss and disproportionately affected communities of color, making the added counselor crucial to residents recovery.

Syracuse FEC client, Brendon M., has received assistance through the Home HeadQuarters location. My counselor, Jenna, is the best around. Shes calm, she explains everything to you that you dont understand, and she has a great game plan. She helps with my ultimate goal of achieving financial freedom for me and my family.

Home HeadQuarters is a proud Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center partner, said Home HeadQuarters Chief Executive Officer, Kerry Quaglia. Every day, we see the tangible outcomes surpass every expectation for the program. To date, more than $600,000 in total debt has been reduced for those City of Syracuse residents who have taken advantage of this amazing and free opportunity. We cant wait to see what year two brings for our community.

On average, clients participated in 2.4 sessions to improve credit, decrease debt, increase savings and begin banking by opening safe and affordable bank accounts (31 (6%) clients opened new banking accounts). Increasing cash reserves, 104 (18%) clients were able to save one week of their pay or at least 2% of their income.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and Allyn Family Foundations Director Kate OConnell

Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E., an organization helping to address poverty through systematic change, has seen its clients make upward improvement in their credit scores after utilizing Syracuse FEC services. With a goal to reach a total of 150 clients in identified H.O.P.E. census tracts in the city by the end of 2020, 110 (73%) clients have already received support. A significant increase in credit scores for 21 clients by an average of 35 points has also been recorded, in addition to over 30 clients saving an average of $3,000.

The financial industry is an intimidating place for middle and lower-income individuals and families, said Ocesa Keaton, executive director of Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E. High-interest rates, credit denials, and emergencies often result in de-stabilizing families into poverty. The Syracuse FEC is a way to remove barriers and help people transition through financial challenges.

Meg OConnell, executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation stated The Allyn Foundation applauds the work over the past year of the FEC. OConnell continued, The ability for families and individuals to become financially independent is a critical component to our work, and the Syracuse FEC is accomplishing this goal by helping families eliminate debt, repair credit, and build savings.

One year ago, City of Syracuse formally announce the Financial Empowerment initiative on the steps of City Hall.

A testimonial from a FEC client, Jessica V., stated how she took advantage of the one-on-one counseling to learn how to build her credit score and create a foundation in preparation for homeownership. The counseling I received gave me much more knowledge on spending and savings tactics. I would highly recommend the FEC to anyone who is seeking to improve their finances or just learn more in general about money/debt handling, said Jessica.

The United Way of Central New York is proud to partner in Syracuses Financial Empowerment Center. We are committed to the shared efforts to make it possible for every individual and family to become self-sufficient, securing and maintaining education and income to support their basic needs and build wealth, Nancy Eaton, president, United Way of Central New York, Inc. stated. We join in celebrating the outstanding first year of implementation of the life-changing work being done through the FEC.

The Central New York Community Foundation has been honored to support the Financial Empowerment Center because it has provided much needed support for families as they seek to thrive financially especially in a time of great economic uncertainty, said Frank Ridzi, vice president of community investment, Central New York Community Foundation. The center provides innovative ways for our nonprofit network of service providers to work together for the common good.

Remote counseling is available by way of virtual meetings, email or phone calls. To make an appointment, residents can visit http://www.syrgov.net/FEC, call 315-474-1939 ext.5, or email fec@homehq.org.

Excerpt from:

Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center Helps Syracuse Residents Reduce More Than $600k In Debt and Increase Over $300k In Savings - URBAN CNY

In the wake of a mass movement against racial injustice and police brutality in America, affiliates of Stanford Medical School are speaking up about their experiences with institutionalized racism in the field of medicine and championing diversity initiatives at Stanford.

Students from underrepresented minority groups make up 20% of all graduate students at Stanford and 6% of all postdoctoral scholars at the School of Medicine. Similarly, underrepresented minorities make up 6% of professoriate faculty and 13% of staff.

Associate Dean of the Office of Student Medical Affairs Mijiza Sanchez-Guzman, who serves on the School of Medicines diversity cabinet, said that being one of few people of color in a department is a common source of anxiety for many underrepresented minorities in medicine.

Theres not a lot of us in the field, and so for the ones of us that are here, theres a minority tax, Sanchez-Guzman said. Its the stress of having to serve on every committee and having to do everything its a lot, its a burden.

A leaky recruitment pipeline

Affiliates cited recruiting as a pivotal step towards fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, stressing the importance of starting at the application process.

There is a leaky pipeline when it comes to education leading to the field of medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Lahia Yemane told The Daily. There are many points where we are losing folks from underrepresented backgrounds. It goes back all the way to what your teachers are telling you that you can and cannot do in elementary school.

She added that bias and racism in college advising contribute to racial disparities in medicine.

There are a lot of people who start out as pre-med and drop out, Yemane said. Unfortunately many of these end up being minority students because they are faced with barriers to succeeding. Advisors are the gatekeepers and often tell students when they get a B or C on that test that they shouldnt be pre-med anymore.

Yemane told The Daily that these barriers include academic backgrounds that do not prepare minority students for college pre-med classes, financial barriers and racial stereotypes that peg these students as weak.

Medical school and medical training are in general very expensive, Yemane said. That in and of itself is a deterrence. To make a commitment to medical school, there are enormous costs.

The price of medical school is apparent as early as the application process; both medical school programs and residency programs often require applicants to fly to campus for in-person interviews, which can end up costing thousands of dollars. According to Yemane, this is emblematic of the process and the result: most medical students come from families from the top two quintiles for income status.

The system is not set up for folks that dont have a lot of money, and theres bias through each step of the process, Yemane said.

School of Medicine Scholar in Residence Arghavan Salles M.D. 06 Ph.D. 14 echoed Yemane in saying, There are a lot of factors that make it so that the people going into medicine are the same group over and over again.

You have to fly to every interview on your own budget and stay at a hotel. And of course its very competitive so people go to as many interviews as they can. All of that creates barriers for people who dont come from wealthy families, she added.

Sanchez-Guzman pointed out that at Stanford, potential students also have to worry about studying in a place with high housing and living costs.

Students and residents alike say, I dont know if I could afford to live here on a resident salary, and thats real, Sanchez-Guzman said. As administrators we can try to work with University leaders and offset or subsidize some of these burdens, but due to the high cost of living in the Bay Area its ultimately out of our control.

However, she said, this does not mean that the University should give up.

Recruitment is paramount because when people from underrepresented backgrounds can see themselves here, theyre more likely to want to come here, Sanchez-Guzman added.

When they see people who look like them thriving, not being burdened by being on every diversity committee, and living their best lives, they are likely to think, okay, I could see myself there. And often that is what makes the difference.

Salles said that medical institutions need to do a better job of reaching out to traditionally underrepresented communities in order to select diverse applicants from a pool of potential students or faculty members.

We have a huge challenge recruiting Native people, Salles told The Daily. The percentage of faculty across the country in academic medicine who are indigenous is less than 1% of all faculty, and Black and Latinx faculty members are each only 2% of our total population.

She noted that these statistics pale in comparison to the make up of the national population, which is 13% Black and 18% Latinx.

We have either not made the career welcoming to people who are not White or Asian, or we have not removed barriers for those people to get into the profession, Salles concluded.

You cant be what you cant see, Yemane added.

Cultural change must follow

Affiliates stressed that the recruitment process is only the first step. Cultural change must follow.

We need to figure out a way to make sure that people who are coming in with a different perspective actually feel included, Salles said. Recruiting people who look different is a challenge but its not insurmountable there are excellent candidates at every level. But those people come to the institution, and if the culture around them expects them to fit in to be just like everybody else, thats where the diversity fails. Theres a common saying that diversity without inclusion is really exclusion, and I think thats what were seeing at a lot of places.

Its one thing to get people through the door, but its another to have them stay and really feel valued, Yemane added.

Affiliates said that a true culture shift will only come when the University takes proactive measures towards progress, such as pipeline programs and supporting existing diverse faculty and students. .

Id rather work more proactively rather than reactionary, Sanchez-Guzman said. I feel like a lot of work that weve been doing is in response to whats happening in the community and the country rather than just doing what we should be doing.

This issue obviously started over four-hundred years ago, Yemane said. And now its not that there has to be a tragedy for us to do something. We already know that discrimination is happening and we need to be figuring out how can we as an academic institution do better.

Fifth-year medical student Osama El-Gabalaway B.A 15 M.S 16, who is the outgoing chair of Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA) added that the Universitys reaction should be thoughtful and inclusive.

After tragic crises boil over the country or locally, the University twiddles its thumbs, and puts out half-baked PR statements, El-Gabalway said. One of our goals is to bring the stakeholders into the room where the decisions are made. For example, if there is a Muslim ban, the University should bring Muslim facutly and students to the table and center their voices.

A history of racism, pushed under the carpet

Affiliates said that the University could not succeed in creating a diverse and inclusive environment without acknowledging and addressing the legacy of racism in modern medicine.

We want anti-racist history within medicine, El-Gabalway said. Every section of the curriculum should dedicate time to the history of exploitation of people of color.

He pointed to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, in which researchers experimented on Black men, intentionally withholding treatment from a control group, and the forced sterilization of indigenous communities as evidence of what he calls a discipline built on exploiting minorities.

Sometimes they say oh a risk factor for this disease is race, El-Gabalway said. But its not race its racism that creates the health disparities. That gets kind of pushed under the carpet here. Theres huge amounts of historic distrust and huge amounts of health disparities, so without Black doctors and people within the institution fighting for the change that they know their communities need, none of that trust can be restored or fixed.

Programmingto process and heal

Many affiliates have taken matters into their own hands, championing their own diversity initiatives at Stanford. El-Gabalway said that progress was often frustratingly slow in his experience fighting for an inclusive curriculum and diversity resources and funding.

El-Gabalaway was one of many students who advocated for the Diversity Center of Representation and Empowerment, or D-CORE, which provides a space where any member of the Stanford Medicine community interested in issues of inclusion and diversity can hold meetings or just hang out and study, according to the D-CORE website.

The D-CORE came on the heels of the last BLM wave, El-Gabalway said. There were a ton of notes that were shared between Ph.D. students, masters students and medical students, and these groups joined and put together a proposal of 10 points for the administration.

One of these points, El-Gabalway said was a physical space on campus for students of color in the medical school to congregate and organize.

Other requests outlined in the October of 2016 letter included hiring a full-time Chief Diversity Officer, mandatory diversity training for all community members and a published strategy for recruiting more faculty members form underrepresented groups.

Dean Minor responded to the letter by implementing the D-CORE over the course of the 2016-2017 school year, officially opening the space in October of 2017.

While the D-CORE was a success for student advocates, securing funding presented more of a challenge, El-Gabalway said.

There were points where we ended up having to beg from different departments, which was a painful, slow, labor-intensive and arduous process, El-Gabalway added.

He added that advocates have experienced pushback when asking for pay for students who are working on fostering diversity and inclusion.

The burden is on the students to make change, El-Gabalway told The Daily. The challenge is getting the University to compensate students who often go unpaid for the labor they put into this.

Every time we bring this up, the administration says, your payoff is seeing this place become a better school, El Gabalway continued. And while that seems nice thats not really a sustainable method. The administration makes students put in all the work and when things go bad, the students take the fall.

They are using students to shield themselves from the really hard responsibility of creating sustainable change, El Gabalway added.

Community members have also been working to foster diversity at the residency level. Yemane is the co-director of Stanford Medicine Leadership Education and Advancing Diversity (LEAD), a program she helped found in 2017 with the goal of creating diverse leadership at Stanford Medicine through training and mentorship.

The 10 month program meets once a month for two hours. In this time, residents engage in case-based discussions, attend interactive lectures on diversity and leadership and work in small groups to create workshops with the values of equity and inclusion in mind. Past group projects include designing curriculum about Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients and researching implicit bias in performance evaluations.

The program started in the Department of Pediatrics, but expanded to other departments very quickly, doubling in size to 25 departments after a year. by the second year

Every year as we get bigger and bring in more folks, we also bring in a sense of community, Yemane said.

Yemane says that the program also provides students with the opportunity to share personal stories of microaggressions and discriminating, allowing them to process and heal.

A marathon, not a sprint

As an avenue for making progress towards fostering an inclusive culture, Salles has championed creating an accessible and streamlined process for reporting incidents of discrimination.

These issues are very complicated because if you think about just one incident where something inappropriate is said to someone, reporting those types of incidents is not straightforward and often does not benefit the person who is doing the reporting, Salles said.

As long as that continues to be the case, people will be hesitant to report, and as long as people arent reporting we dont know whats happening. If we dont know whats happening, we cant make change, she added.

She argued that appointing a diversity officer or commissioning a committee to look into discrimination was not enough to eradicate racism and other forms of discrimination.

When incidents happen, the University creates commissions and task forces and committees hoping that something comes out of those, but these bodies arent always empowered to make change, Salles told The Daily. People often create a Chief Diversity Officer role and they think that dedicating salary to a human is going to solve the problem, but that one person cannot change the culture of an institution.

Salles added that these commissions need to include diverse perspectives.

We see a lot of people creating committees or task forces where they dont include people from all different backgrounds, so we need to make sure theres diversity at each level Salles said. The more we can take into account different perspectives the better the solutions will be.

Affiliates also stressed the importance of mentorship.

In many places they just match new hires up with people in their department, and although they have something in common, its hard for them to speak freely because those are the same people that are going to be involved in assessing them for a promotion or a performance review, Salles said.

Thats why its so important to help people from underrepresented backgrounds identify mentors who understand University policies and procedures, she added. Black and Latinx faculty dont get promoted at the same rate as white faculty, so helping people understand early on what milestones they need to meet for promotion would be really helpful.

Mentorship is one of the big keys to helping keep people of color and underrepresented in medicine folks in academic medicine, Sanchez-Guzman added.

El-Gabalway called upon the University to implement mandatory anti-racism training and fully-funded diversity positions as integral solutions.

When the School of Medicine was trying to devise a split curriculum, they brought in consultants and experts and did paid focus groups, El-Gabalway said. So we know theyre capable of doing things, and we want them to attack anti-racism training with the same rigor and same funding that they do with other things.

El-Gabalway requested research assistantships within the Center of Excellence and Diversity in Medical Education, funded teaching assistantships and funding for student research projects that explore racism in the field of medicine.

University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne recently announced a number of initiatives intended to combat anti-Black racism at Stanford, including new diversity and inclusion fellowships and added support for research on race.

The University releases metrics, but doesnt act upon them, El-Gabalway told The Daily. We want them to present precise strategies. They love the term precision medicine and we want them to weaponize that term to attack the lack of Black and minority faculty with the same rigor as other issues. We want to see them attack retaining faculty of color.

Finally, El-Gabalway asked the School of Medicine to provide mental health support for Black and other minority trainees.

Oftentimes, even after George Floyd, we were using Black faculty we know to do healing circles, El Galabaway continued. They do that out of labor of love, but we want that to be compensated because. Its not fair that we expect Black faculty to do these tasks without compensation or recognition for what that is worth.

Yemane stressed the importance of capitalizing on this time in history at which equity and inclusion are at the center of discourse.

We need to be sure to not lose this moment and to really affect change, she said. A lot of people of color are cautiously optimistic right now. Its nice to hear the words, but we want to hear that there is true action and change. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and to really be anti-riacst is going to take active work.

Salles echoed Yemane, stressing substance over form.

Its really important for people at the top of an organization to not just say the right thing but to really be devoted to these problems, Salles said. That dictates the culture of the organization all the way down. When people see someone saying the right things but never doing the right things, then they dont really believe that that person is truly committed to that issue.

That feeling of it being disingenuous is really damaging to minoritized groups or marginalized groups.

She concluded by arguing that diversity and equity are important because they empower institutions to work at their best.

I think that were seeing more and more that ultimately having a workforce that is diverse is the best way to deliver care, Salles said. Even if all you care about is providing quality care to patients, you have to realize that having a diverse workforce is key to that mission.

Contact Sarina Deb at sdeb7 at stanford.edu

The rest is here:

Medical school affiliates on lack of diversity, burden of the 'minority tax' - The Stanford Daily

Anil AnandCome 5, August, 2020, it will mark the first anniversary of the historic decision to partially abrogate Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and erasing the undesired Article 35A which was most obnoxious in terms of gender bias, other issues apart. There are preparations afoot in the ruling dispensation- both the BJP-Governments as well as the organisation per se, to celebrate the day as a mark of achievement.There may be enthusiasm among the decision makers as it has fulfilled their long standing political agenda overlooking the finer Constitutional nuances and sensitivities of a complex state. Interestingly and even intriguingly the euphoria is missing among the people in the state turned Union Territory, Jammu and Kashmir. A similar mood exists in the other Union Territory carved out of the erstwhile state- Ladakh, though for different reasons.Article 370 and 35 A are no more the burning issues as it is a done deal now although questions would continue to be raked about the manner in which this-end was achieved by the Government of the day in a hasty manner. After all Parliament passed the relevant amendment Bills within a day or so with lofty promises that all ills afflicting J&K would go away in one stroke.So, should August 5, 2020 be celebrated as mark of a national achievement? For the ruling elite the answer is a straightforward yes. And why not! It is another matter, as the media reports suggest, the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir is finding it hard to muster public support to hold a grand show on this day. There are reasons behind that both in Jammu and Kashmir respectively.On political firmament battlelines have already been drawn with BJP and its supporting parties on one side and the entire opposition led by Congress on the other demanding restoration of statehood. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and veteran Congress leader, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad recently held a detailed meeting with Prime Minister Modi in this connection and the partys UT unit is planning to back his demand for statehood through organising various programmes on or before August 5.The one dark aspect of the entire exercise of August 5, 2019 was demotion and dissection of a bubbling state into two Union Territories to be directly administered by Delhi under the pretext that the new form and shape of both UTs- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, will usher the areas into an unprecedented era of growth, employment and economic upliftment, without any mention of the political empowerment particularly of Jammu and Kashmir and more so that of Jammu region. At the turn of first anniversary of the event it can be safely said- from the first hand experience- that nothing of the sort has happened so far.As the August 5, 2020 approached there was frenzy in the State Administration and Lt Governor went on a project inauguration spree. It is good that some of the long standing projects such as the first phase of a ropeway in Jammu were inaugurated. The sole aim seems to be to create a discourse that gels with the upliftment of Jammu premise. However, the real bread and butter issues are still awaiting attention.The big positives of the partial abrogation of Article 370 and eradication of 35 A was the empowerment of some important groups who were so far deprived of their certain basic rights. These include the West Pakistan refugees- it is shameful to address them in this manner even 73 years after Independence but follies of the past and domination of Kashmir centric politics affixed this tag on them, and the Balmiki community who came to Jammu under special circumstances decades back to render their services but became victims of politics. There is a strong reason to celebrate this aspect.All such silver-linings are getting buried under the burden of a demotion which certain quarters are seeking to celebrate. The history of Jammu and Kashmir, as a state, is full of intrigues both in the pre and more so in the post-Independence era. The episode of removal of special Constitutional provisions and the accompanying demotion, also have their fare share of intriguing aspects.The one most glaring intriguing aspect- there are others galore- is the growing clamour for restoration of the statehood as the day of celebration is drawing nearer. It is becoming starker by the day as even some top leaders of the ruling BJP have been talking in terms of going back to the statehood. Are these statements inspired by electoral politics and ambitions or do the BJP leaders really mean it? No one really knows.There are three to four schools of thought airing their views on the current status and situation of Jammu and Kashmir. Firstly, there is the cheering brigade that not only includes the members of the ruling dispensation but also peripheral elements who are mostly guided by political aims and religious overzealousness. They are going at length to find merit in demotion which they have every right to.The second grouping is of those who are justifying demotion and division of the state but intriguingly counting on the virtues of the Dogra rulers and their generals. There is a dichotomous situation developing here in which ruling BJP has lot to explain as they have sought to use the name of these rulers for political purposes purely on the basis of the religious identity of the Dogra rulers. How could they justify the separation of Ladakh as UT when at the same time remembering the great General Zorawar Singh and his army for having led the amazing conquests up to Tibet? Or how could they even justify formation of UT of even Jammu and Kashmir while praising erstwhile Maharaja Gulab Singh for making Kashmir and northern areas part of his domain? There is some confusion somewhere which they need to clear and more importantly people need to understand the gameplan.The third school of thought relates to those who are not satisfied with the current scenario of a decimated Jammu and Kashmir, and have become strong votaries of further divisions and sub-divisions. They are well within their Constitutional right to raise such demands no matter how much impracticable these are. This includes creation of a separate state of Jammu and carving out more Union Territories that includes one for the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community.The fourth and the most dangerous school of thought is that how could Jammu and Kashmir stay together when the two regions have nothing in common. The proponents of such thought have failed to appreciate the fact that the same Dogra rulers, whom they are praising, governed this diversity with aplomb, without suggesting that there were no problems on ground for them. If two persons dont agree with each other, they cannot exist together, seems to be the argument which is fallacious.Where do these demands stand vis-a-vis growing clamour for return to statehood for Jammu and Kashmir which has beenfurther fuelled by important functionaries of the ruling dispensation? Will this reversion of status only include Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh included?My personal view is that reverting back seems a difficult if not impossible proposition at this juncture. Although there is a strong case for statehood but by doing so the current ruling dispensation, both at the governmental and political levels, will only be admitting its folly. Course correction is always an option in politics and matters of governance and this should be taken as a healthy and positive sign but the current system, as reflected during the last six years, is in a different mould. Unless, they wish away the system of solo ride and show intent to carry everyone along particularly in a divert situation such as Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.There can be one possibility of the Narendra Modi Government thinking of reverting back to the statehood status. This could by merely changing the nomenclature from Union Territory to state with all other things remaining the same as existing today. Again, if this happens, it would be to address the political exigencies arising out of an impending electoral battle in Jammu and Kashmir and BJP much keen to ensure their victory. Such a move would be fraught with further dangerous consequences given the current hostilities both at the Line of Control ( LoC) with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.In this entire scenario Jammu has to find its place in every aspect of life. During the last over seven decades Jammuites have only been demanding their share in terms of political and economic empowerment without questioning other regions rights. The comparisons were bound to set in when the regions aspirations were totally and absolutely ignored. The common thread between previous and current dispensations has been to show greener pastures to people of Jammu region without accruing anything on ground.There are broader issues of identity, dignity and political empowerment involved. This holds true for all and more for Jammu as its people have already shown a human face at a personal cost for the last seven decades to accommodate migrants and displaced persons of all varieties and religions. Mere inauguration of peripheral projects is no answer to these vital questions.This is time to take a much wider view of Jammu and Kashmir rather than adopting a piecemeal and divisive approach. More divisions would mean more problems on the border with two hostile neighbours to contend with. More divisions would also mean dishonouring the memory of Dogra rulers as enunciated above.feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com

Originally posted here:

J&K UT: 1st anniversary and unanswered queries - Daily Excelsior

coronavirus, courier mail, coronavirus, covid-19, queensland, two women, spreaders

Trust, community and a sense of common purpose is all that stands between the Australian public and a deadly second wave of the novel coronavirus. Splashing the names, faces and personal details of people who have defied border closures to carry COVID-19 from outbreak areas on the front page of Brisbane's Courier Mail under the incendiary headline "Enemies of the state" not only undermines this fragile balance, it poses a far greater risk to our collective health than the virus. While scientists race for a vaccine and effective treatments, looking to the virus for flaws, epidemiologists and public health doctors have their eyes on the bigger prize, and that's the host. Us. How we behave dictates whether COVID-19 can survive; adapting swiftly, and in unison, holds our best hope of success. The essential ingredient to a successful public health strategy is trust, at every level. Containment is an unglamorous enterprise at its heart, and it pivots on a very simple mantra: test, trace, isolate, treat. We know that this formula works because we have done it before, leading the world with our response to HIV. In contrast to other Western nations, Australia's strategy was predicated on consultation, partnership with, and empowerment of affected communities, not moralising and criminalisation. That approach, now upheld as an exemplar in health promotion, focused on education, counselling and case management, with public health orders and detention used rarely, as a last resort. Then, as now, detractors demanded punitive measures, insisting that people would only do the right thing (in that case, wearing condoms) if it were a crime not to. It is a testament to the leaders of the day, and to those at the forefront of the community-led response, that they resisted the impulse, instead placing faith in the population to do the right thing, which they did, because they were invested in both the process and the outcome. Known as responsive regulation, research has shown that these least-coercive approaches work best in earning, and maintaining, public trust. Trust is everything at this critical moment in our coronavirus response, and it ought not be squandered in the tabloid thirst for clicks, scapegoating and demonising infected people with reductive, xenophobic tropes that only serve to deepen race and class divides. Dog-whistle doxxing puts all of us at risk. It sends the message to marginalised communities that, if they come forward for testing, their identities are fair game for moralising, mere grist to the mill of the culture wars. Privacy becomes a luxury afforded only to a certain class and character of person, those who can afford ski trips and summer cruises. Everyone else is an "enemy of the state" to be pilloried in the public square as a warning to us all. The insistence that, because the women in question were allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise, they deserve the treatment meted out to them, is a dangerous precedent to contemplate. It implies that due process is not a right but something to be adjudicated by the mass media and withheld on a populist whim. Privacy is central to the provision of health care, and the therapeutic relationship. People seek care on the proviso that their confidence is sacred, and the same applies in public health. Co-operation with mammoth efforts to test, trace and isolate COVID-19 cases rests on a tacit understanding that information shared with officials will be handled sensitively and discreetly. Without this assurance, the dance is lost, and so too our best - indeed only - chance at containing the novel coronavirus. Trust begets testing begets tracing begets success. This matters not just at an individual level but, as we have seen with HIV, in engaging marginalised communities. The Queensland Human Rights Commission has warned of a "second wave of COVID-related racial hostility", with members of Brisbane's African community reporting increasing harassment in the wake of the coverage, and the women themselves receiving death threats and calls for summary execution. Sensationalised media coverage has long been the engine room of HIV stigma, but we engage in naming and shaming at our peril, losing sight of the structural drivers that have allowed this pandemic to rip through the same populations the world over: a growing precariat of essential workers without a safety net. SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate in who it infects, but we socially select for its spread, and then seek to condemn on the basis of circumstance. READ MORE: Blaming individuals is cheap and easy, for the media and politicians alike. It doesn't require any kind of critical thinking or impulse for reform, it allows governments to evade responsibility for failings that have contributed to or driven the outbreak. Daniel Andrews' "we are all in this together" turns to "disappointment in these individuals not doing the right thing". But blame becomes a feedback loop, encouraging punitive responses which generate further media coverage, reinforcing blame. It offers justification for sending police into housing estates, detaining citizens under military guard, suppressing protests and "surveillance creep", which is difficult if not impossible to wind back. It also serves as a perverse incentive, emboldening individualistic rhetoric that privileges personal freedoms above the common good (let's call it the "Bunnings Karens effect"). Once we set foot down that path, it will be extremely difficult to recover the collective mindset we need to overcome this crisis. Trust in the process isn't all that matters, we also need to trust one another. Breaching public health orders places that fragile bond in peril, but polarising communities and feeding vigilante impulses poses a far greater risk. In a time of crisis, the media plays an essential civic role. Eschewing that for tired culture-war tropes is not only seriously poor judgment, it's myopic self-service with potentially fatal consequences.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/tPntrWhUbGLyDWYCTv46rt/97868c6c-c7c1-44ff-b73d-28415725ac0d.jpg/r12_758_4793_3459_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

OPINION

July 31 2020 - 2:40PM

Trust, community and a sense of common purpose is all that stands between the Australian public and a deadly second wave of the novel coronavirus.

Splashing the names, faces and personal details of people who have defied border closures to carry COVID-19 from outbreak areas on the front page of Brisbane's Courier Mail under the incendiary headline "Enemies of the state" not only undermines this fragile balance, it poses a far greater risk to our collective health than the virus.

While scientists race for a vaccine and effective treatments, looking to the virus for flaws, epidemiologists and public health doctors have their eyes on the bigger prize, and that's the host. Us. How we behave dictates whether COVID-19 can survive; adapting swiftly, and in unison, holds our best hope of success.

The essential ingredient to a successful public health strategy is trust, at every level. Containment is an unglamorous enterprise at its heart, and it pivots on a very simple mantra: test, trace, isolate, treat.

We know that this formula works because we have done it before, leading the world with our response to HIV. In contrast to other Western nations, Australia's strategy was predicated on consultation, partnership with, and empowerment of affected communities, not moralising and criminalisation.

That approach, now upheld as an exemplar in health promotion, focused on education, counselling and case management, with public health orders and detention used rarely, as a last resort. Then, as now, detractors demanded punitive measures, insisting that people would only do the right thing (in that case, wearing condoms) if it were a crime not to.

It is a testament to the leaders of the day, and to those at the forefront of the community-led response, that they resisted the impulse, instead placing faith in the population to do the right thing, which they did, because they were invested in both the process and the outcome.

Known as responsive regulation, research has shown that these least-coercive approaches work best in earning, and maintaining, public trust.

Trust is everything at this critical moment in our coronavirus response, and it ought not be squandered in the tabloid thirst for clicks, scapegoating and demonising infected people with reductive, xenophobic tropes that only serve to deepen race and class divides.

Dog-whistle doxxing puts all of us at risk. It sends the message to marginalised communities that, if they come forward for testing, their identities are fair game for moralising, mere grist to the mill of the culture wars.

Privacy becomes a luxury afforded only to a certain class and character of person, those who can afford ski trips and summer cruises. Everyone else is an "enemy of the state" to be pilloried in the public square as a warning to us all.

The insistence that, because the women in question were allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise, they deserve the treatment meted out to them, is a dangerous precedent to contemplate. It implies that due process is not a right but something to be adjudicated by the mass media and withheld on a populist whim.

Privacy is central to the provision of health care, and the therapeutic relationship. People seek care on the proviso that their confidence is sacred, and the same applies in public health.

Co-operation with mammoth efforts to test, trace and isolate COVID-19 cases rests on a tacit understanding that information shared with officials will be handled sensitively and discreetly. Without this assurance, the dance is lost, and so too our best - indeed only - chance at containing the novel coronavirus.

Trust begets testing begets tracing begets success.

This matters not just at an individual level but, as we have seen with HIV, in engaging marginalised communities. The Queensland Human Rights Commission has warned of a "second wave of COVID-related racial hostility", with members of Brisbane's African community reporting increasing harassment in the wake of the coverage, and the women themselves receiving death threats and calls for summary execution.

Sensationalised media coverage has long been the engine room of HIV stigma, but we engage in naming and shaming at our peril, losing sight of the structural drivers that have allowed this pandemic to rip through the same populations the world over: a growing precariat of essential workers without a safety net. SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate in who it infects, but we socially select for its spread, and then seek to condemn on the basis of circumstance.

Blaming individuals is cheap and easy, for the media and politicians alike. It doesn't require any kind of critical thinking or impulse for reform, it allows governments to evade responsibility for failings that have contributed to or driven the outbreak. Daniel Andrews' "we are all in this together" turns to "disappointment in these individuals not doing the right thing".

But blame becomes a feedback loop, encouraging punitive responses which generate further media coverage, reinforcing blame. It offers justification for sending police into housing estates, detaining citizens under military guard, suppressing protests and "surveillance creep", which is difficult if not impossible to wind back. It also serves as a perverse incentive, emboldening individualistic rhetoric that privileges personal freedoms above the common good (let's call it the "Bunnings Karens effect").

Once we set foot down that path, it will be extremely difficult to recover the collective mindset we need to overcome this crisis.

Trust in the process isn't all that matters, we also need to trust one another. Breaching public health orders places that fragile bond in peril, but polarising communities and feeding vigilante impulses poses a far greater risk.

In a time of crisis, the media plays an essential civic role. Eschewing that for tired culture-war tropes is not only seriously poor judgment, it's myopic self-service with potentially fatal consequences.

Go here to read the rest:

Naming and shaming COVID-19 spreaders will drive this virus further underground - The Canberra Times

Mountain Brook High School graduate Caroline Moore really wants to be a feature film producer.

So much I could scream it from the nearest rooftop, she said. Being the woman behind the curtain, making sure that a story has the proper footing to stand tall, is my dream, she said.

Moore is well on her way to reaching that goal.

Graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama this spring, Moore earned a degree from the College of Communication and Information Sciences in communication studies with a concentration in creative producing and a minor in business administration.

While attending Alabama, Moore gained production experience by working for Crimson Tide Productions (CTP) in the schools athletic department during her four years at UA.

In addition, she gained admission to one of the most prestigious graduate film programs in the world in the School of the Arts at Columbia University in New York, which shell attend this fall.

Moving to the Big Apple fulfills another of Moores dreams. This is really a culmination of what I have wanted since I could remember, she said.

When Moore was 4 or 5 years old, she told her grandmother she was going to be a dancer in New York but that her grandmother shouldnt worry because she could come visit her.

I made good on my word in some ways, I suppose, Moore said.

She also has a strong conviction regarding the social importance of film and aspires to do more than merely entertain her audiences.

I see a film as much more than a way to spend two hours, she said. It acts as a mirror in that it should reflect our culture, the bad and the good, in a way that cannot be ignored and is revered for the honesty it portrays.

While working at CTP, Moore amassed valuable training and experience more than she can fully express that will help her in the film business, she said.

It really started from the ground up: the etiquette of a production, the chain of command, when to stick to it and when to break it, the excitement a group of people with one common goal can feel, she said.

Working about 20 hours a week, Moore didaudio and video production for all sports and often worked for ESPN and the SEC Network.

The job was both fun and challenging, and Moore made a lot of good friends and found some valuable mentors.

I always felt like my skills were being furthered by those people we refer to as full-time staffers, Moore said.

Justin Brant and Wyatt Caruthers encouraged her to pursue audio engineering, and she was inspired by Kaye Proctor, who was shining the light ahead for all females in CTP, Moore said.

The work at CTP taught Moore how important the energy of the crew is to the sustainability of the production, she said.

CTP also provided her with some lessons about the tough side of production work. I learned how to take a hit when it came to errors because we were students, Moore said. We needed to be tossed into the madness in order to persevere, to give our utmost effort and, for lack of a better phrase, leave it all out on the field or court, depending on the sport.

It makes sense that she was involved in sports. Moore, who graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 2016, was a four-year starter on the Spartans softball team.

Sports run deep on her fathers side of the family, she said. Moores grandfather, Bud Moore, was a college football head coach and is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

While at CTP, Moore came to honor and value the people with whom she worked and realized how important it is to be invested in people and their purpose within the production and outside of it, she said.

A production, whether its sports or narrative film, requires humans of all different backgrounds and different positions to meld together and make it great, Moore said. I learned what a team looks like at CTP, and I aspire to build one as strong and diverse as I have had the pleasure of serving on.

This belief in teamwork feeds directly into Moores vision of what film producers do.

Producing is making sure that the ideas are heard and people know what they are getting into and they are excited about it, Moore said.

A producer must put herself in everyone else's shoes, understanding the integrity of their position and giving them the credit they deserve, she said

Moore is confident she has the personal attributes, including good people skills, that she needs to succeed in the film industry.

My effort is contagious, and I think that is an integral part of why I want to manage story and people together, she said. I am a very active listener, and I invest myself in conversations and things that are important to other people in order for them to know how invested I am in them as a person.

She has a forceful personality and can feed off of other peoples energies, Moore said.

She looks forward to working with the many eclectic creative professionals in the business. I cant help but think that I would fit and communicate well with them, she said.

A strong sense of values undergirds Moores approach to her creativity, as well. Ive never been good with putting up with intolerance or injustice, and it definitely shows, she said.

Storytelling is also a critically important way to bring people together, Moore said.

If I dont create and build connections between people, then I might as well cease to exist, she said. My empowerment hinges on that of human storytelling. I have no desire to stand idly by and be the only character in my own story because that isnt what life is. Life is in the crossovers and connections and the parts that we cant handle alone.

This applies to social movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement, which needs those connections between all peoples to make their platform stronger than it already is,'' Moore said.

Film is part of that platform, she said, citing the documentary I am Not Your Negro and the TV series When They See Us as examples.

Film is a reflection of the culture we fight to make our own, she said. I am in service to these stories and the people they shine light on. My purpose in life is to empower people, and film is how I choose to do that.

See the article here:

On her way: MBHS grad Caroline Moore to attend film school in NY, dreams of producing films - Village Living

Womens monetary empowerment is imperative to understanding womens rights and gender equality. Economic empowerment consists of womens ability to participate equally in existing markets; their right of entry to manage resources effectively, control over their personal time, lives and bodies; and increased voice and significant participation in financial decision-making in any respect ranges from the household to worldwide institutions.

Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work are keys to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of gender equality, to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all and also goals on ending poverty, food security, ensuring health and reducing inequalities.

Economic participation of women in the labour force or as entrepreneurs is low compared to peers and has declined over the past decades despite strong growth. The gap with men is over 50 per cent the largest among key emerging markets. Participation declines with higher education achievements and family incomes.

The reasons are complex: socioeconomic and cultural factors are important family status increases if women stay at home, house work has become more attractive than poorly paid market work as husbands incomes have risen; and safety concerns and poor infrastructure keep women from market work.

Policy makers and social scientists have for some time now inextricably linked sustainable development to population and economic growth, and the increasing recognition of the centrality of womens empowerment to the success of development programmes.

In India, some of the decline in participation in education of girls may reflect in increasing supply of education and rising marriage market returns to education, especially in the urban areas. Education and family income tend to be highly correlated. Own wage income for the more educated groups is thus less important than household income for participation decisions. Dealing with gender biases across the lifecycle can also have broader, sustainable impacts for equity and remove social barriers. As biases can begin very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, it is important to influence early trajectories of inequality that are more difficult and costly to resolve over time (World Bank, 2012).

Many laws in India protect womens rights and guarantee equal treatment by gender. However, they are not fully applied as traditional and religious customs often take precedence. For example, the son bias, which seems important in India can be influenced by the tradition of dowry payments for girls, which continues despite the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 abolishing it. Another area of weak implementation is inheritance laws while the equal pay laws also need to be worked upon. The monitoring of the implementation of many existing laws on gender equality should be reinforced.

In case of Assam, economically approximately 90 per cent of states families earn less than Rs 5 lakhs per annum. Assam was among the lowest five states in terms of GDP growth between 2005 and 2014 (less than 6 per cent). As much as 37.9 per cent of the population fall into the category of poverty headcount ratio of UNDP (Economic and Human Development Indicators 2009-10).

The Government of Assam has been taking affirmative action and implementing policies to further the cause of women empowerment and to ensure a sense of self-worth coupled with womens right to have and to determine their life choices, including reproductive choices. Such policies attempt to ensure womens right to have access to equal opportunities and all kinds of resources so that they get the requisite power to regulate and control their own lives, within and outside the home.

The reasons for low female participation in employment avenues in India are complex with large differences across regions and include both supply and demand factors. Supply of female labour is affected by cultural and socioeconomic factors, access to resources, safety concerns with infrastructure, biases in regulations or income levels. The high share of educated unemployed women also points to demand issues and lack of jobs for those who want to work despite high growth over the past decade job creation in India has been low overall and especially for women. Raising female participation in India requires policies that deal with supply constraints.

The gender equality can be brought about by increasing scopes for women to engage in economic activities. Taking up entrepreneurship by women or women groups can lead to income generation and eventually to self sustenance.

There are positive indicators that female entrepreneurship in manufacturing and services is increasing which is an outcome of proactive government policy initiatives. According to Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) website, over 1 million women have benefitted from entrepreneurship training over the past 30 years in programmes run by the government and NGOs.

Although Assam is one of the states with a perceived improved situation for women in society, this is not enough. There is a need to create an environment that is conductive to gender equality by incorporating informal and non-formal education and public awareness programmes.

Womens empowerment has five aspects: improving womens sense of self-worth; their right to have and to determine choices; their right to have access to opportunities and resources; their right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; and their ability to influence their environment to create a more just social and economic order.

Self Help Groups (SHGs) movement has immense potentialities for economic empowerment of rural women. There is no gainsaying the fact that the group approach has emerged as the most powerful cost-effective instrument designed for pursuing diverse developmental agendas of the poor women. The group approach provides financial supports to rural poor and needy women to uplift themselves above the poverty line through income generating economic activities with the help of bank credit.

Identifying SHGs as the prime vehicle for women empowerment, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, on February 1 this year, ceremonially launched the second phase of the scheme for distribution of revolving fund amounting to Rs 30 crores to around 20,000 women SHGs under Kanaklata Mahila Sabalikaran Achoni in the state. Since its launch, the scheme has been able to touch the lives of more than 18 lakh households and 1,78,720 women SHGs across the state have received financial benefit. Eligible women SHGs are provided a revolving fund of Rs 25000 and a capital subsidy on bank loans upto Rs 5 lakh have also provided under the scheme.

With the help of technology too, women in rural areas can be empowered to attain economic independence. One example of how internet is helping rural women to achieve empowerment is the Internet Saathis. The Internet Saathi Project is a joint Initiative of Google India and Tata Trusts. The Internet Saathis are educated village women who are provided training and given smartphones and a bicycle to carry out their activities. The Internet Saathis came into the scene in March 2016. Armed with tablets and smartphones, these women roamed the villages of Assam on their bicycles, trying their best to influence village folk. With the internet the poor rural women can sell their products like handlooms to a larger consumer group.

A MoU was signed between Government of Assam and Google in 2017, whereby it was decided that Assam government would identify various women SHGs in Assam for imparting Internet Saathi training and provide available training infrastructure facilities at Gaon Panchayat/ Block/District level for bringing a digital revolution at the grass roots.

According to this MoU with Google, Internet Saathi was sought to be aligned with the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Literacy Saksharata Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) which is to be implemented in the state and Google would conduct trainings for women to promote digital literacy among them.

Therefore it is of the need of the hour that all stakeholders of the society come together to pledge to make women economically empowered so that equal rights of women becomes more than a slogan.

(The views expressed by the author are his own.)

More here:

Stride towards economic empowerment of women in Assam - The News Mill

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Collaboration, innovation and generosity - these are some of the key attributes that define Costello Real Estate and Investments, a full-service, premium residential real estate firm located in the Carolinas. Individual agents are considered business partners and have the freedom to create their brand and build their own success. They are making informed business decisions for the sake of their agents.Their motto: #winningtogether.

But like most organizations, there comes a time of reflection. When leaders take a step back and think about what matters most to their agents. Costello REI achieved great success in the real estate world, but how can they build on their achievements within the walls of organization?

Shaping the CultureHeadquartered in South End, Charlotte, Costello REI is one of the fastest growing real estate companies, bringing disruptive technology and paired with a personal touch to deliver a high level of concierge service to home buyers and sellers across the region. The firm was recently ranked as one of the Top 10 Residential Real Estate Firms by Charlotte Business Journal.

Unlike traditional real estate firms, Costello REI uses organic marketing initiatives to achieve success and believe that their winning formula is the inherent and acquired diversity.

But you can't win together if you are not winning from within. Although the firm is having continued growth and success, Costello REI sees the value of creating a culture of highly engaged, productive teams, working together to motivate and improve one's growth.

"Our goal is to be more intentional with additional revenue avenues for our agents, support the growth of our agents on all levels, and deepen the relationships and opportunities beyond the transaction," said John Costello, President of Costello REI. "Our agents are the greatest asset to the organization and it is important to preserve the authenticity of who they are today and what they will become in the future."

The company is growing and evolving. Now more than ever, Costello REI needed to further its mission in winning together and preserving the authenticity of their agents.

It was time to implement a new leadership role to enhance the firm's winning workplace culture.

Driving the Culture

Nelvia Bullock holds an ABR designation and is a PSA certified REALTOR and now serves as the Director of Culture at Costello Real Estate and Investments. In this newly created role, she is responsible for spearheading the growth, engagement and culture of the firm/brokerage. She has already helped pioneer many company events, projects and activities in partnership with leadership to create an atmosphere of inclusion and foster a positive experience for our brokers.

"This position is extremely relevant right now given everything that is happening around the world," said Nelvia. "My vision is to develop a roadmap for agents that will increase reach and impact. Creating a vehicle of empowerment that furthers an agent's professional and personal growth would come full circle in achieving success while living our company values."

Living and Breathing the Culture

Costello REI prides itself on developing authentic relationships with customers, community partners, vendors, and agents. The firm's success is deeply rooted from their core values: Prioritize Relationships, Encourage Diversity, Embrace Technology, Inspiring Self Development and Deliver Results.In a time of crisis, the firm is working to demonstrate these values and implement change that will bring a more inclusive work environment.

For example, Costello REI, along with their partners at Fortified Title, a local title agency in Charlotte, donate funds per closing to Feeding America, a national food bank dedicated to ending hunger. This can provide more than 50,000 meals each month for people in need.

And they are just getting started.

Whether it's addressing social injustice, advocating for local organizations in need of support, working with youth, or partnering with healthcare organizations, we are building an engaging workplace community and bringing agents within our firm together for purposeful collaboration.

Now, that in itself is truly #winningtogether. To learn more, visit CostelloREI.com

Contact Information:

Costello Real Estate & Investments, LLC

2010 South Tryon, Suite D Charlotte, NC 28203 (980) 938-8920[emailprotected]

For more information, please visit:www.CostelloREI.com

Follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/costellorei/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/costelloreinvestments/Twitter: https://twitter.com/CostelloREI4310LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/costello-real-estate-investments

SOURCE Costello Real Estate & Investments

CostelloREI.com

Read the original here:

Bringing Culture to the Forefront at Costello Real Estate and Investments - PRNewswire

Tory Burch

Photo by ANGELA WEISS

On Monday, Tory Burch surprised 50 women across the nation with a surprise Zoom callto personally congratulate the founders on being selected for the fifth annualTory Burch Foundation Fellows Program, which supports the empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

The fellowship, which receives thousands of applications annually, provides women entrepreneurs with $5,000 for business education and access to an online community of peers, along with one year of virtual workshops, webinars and networking. Since its launch in 2015, the Fellows program has provided over $800,000 in grants to 130 early-stage women entrepreneurs.

This comes at a time when small businesses are struggling in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown. According to astudyby researchers at the University of Illinois, Harvard Business School, Harvard University and the University of Chicago, at least 100,000 small businesses have shuttered since mid-March, and analysts claim this is only the beginning of the worst wave of small-business bankruptcies and closures since the Great Depression.

Burch admits that this has been a difficult time, even for her own company, which has had to temporarily close a number of stores since mid-March.

Ron Antonelli | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Burch admits that this has been a difficult time, even for her own company. In late March she was forced to furlough employees and temporarily close about 115 stores across the U.S. and Canada. To stem the devastating impact and revive cash flow during the shutdown period, Vogue reported in April that Burchsent an email to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urging the Trump administration to provide relief in gaining back or postponing duties and tariffs, as well as offer federal support for rent relief.

Burch, who claims that her Spring 2021 collection will be smaller and she won't be participating in September's New York Fashion Week, is now helping her fellows navigate the storm. The fashion icon is no stranger to challenges: Just 16 years ago, up against established brands like Coach, Michael Kors and Kate Spade, Burch launched her apparel line from her kitchen table. Now she has more than300boutiques across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, and her clothing and accessories are available at over 3,000 department and specialty stores worldwide. Last yearsales reportedly topped $1.5 billion.

Burch spoke with CNBC candidly about how she is navigating her fashion brand through this crisis, the weighty challenges and huge opportunities that lie ahead for rising entrepreneurs, the new crisis-management measures every company should think about and her view on the changing small business landscape.

What is your personal view on the Covid-19 crisis, especially how it has affected businesses both large and small, and what are some key takeaways you have gained over these past few months?

Wehave spent the last few months runningourcompany fromourkitchen table just like I did when we first launched in 2004. I had the idea for my business in 2002, after a crisis, and I launched our foundation in 2009 once again, after a crisis. There is an element of serendipity when looking back. It was not a conscious decision to take advantage of acrisis, but it enabled usto execute on a powerful, unique strategy. When a new normal begins to unfold, customers discover new needs, and we are all open to trying alternative ways of doing things. In turn, innovation is accelerated, and strong companies will emerge even stronger.

And for small businesses,this is a moment to take advantage of yourinnateflexibility. It feels counterintuitive, but I firmly believe there are great opportunities now in all industries, it's about how agile you are and how quick you can pivot for the future.

How do you see retail changing post-coronavirus?

The relationship with the customer will remainparamount.I believe in storesand the in-store experience,but the industry willcertainly evolve. We are already seeing an acceleration of e-commerce; what started as two distinct channels in-storeand e-commerce is now trulybecomingone global omnichannel.

If you were just launching Tory Burch at this point in time, what would you be thinking? Would you be hesitant to move forward?

The most important thing to know whenever you start a new business is that it will be incredibly difficult. You have to be ready for a lot of hard work.Starting a new business is a leap of faith, and what matters is solving a problem in a unique way. Whether or not you are in the midst of a global pandemic, there is no perfect time to launch.

How has your view on entrepreneurship changed, if at all? Do you think people will be more hesitant about starting a small business now?

Now, more than ever, we need entrepreneurs with unique ideas, as well asthedetermination andresources to see them through.Small businesses areessentialto oureconomy they account for 65% of net new job creation,contributing to their communities and drivinggrowth and innovation. They are also a critical source ofopportunityfor womenand minorities. Before the shutdown, the U.S. had 12.3 million women-owned businessesgenerating$1.8 trillion a yearwithmany of these businesses run by women ofcolor.

Starting a new business is a leap of faith, and what matters is solving a problem in a unique way. Whether or not you are in the midst of a global pandemic, there is no perfect time to launch.

How has the pandemic affected sales for Tory Burch?

This has been a very difficult time. The fashion industry has literally been shut down, similar to the airline industry.Many of our stores have beenclosedformonths. Navigating through the crisis has been tough but also a tremendouslearning experience.Wehavebeen careful not to over-or underreact. Having a diverse team and operations in markets all over the world has helped us make the right decisions. There have been a few bright spots like strong growth in our e-commerce business and we have doubled down on those. We are using the pandemic as an opportunity to reset, and we are confidentwewillemerge stronger.

In which ways have you had to pivot during this crisis, if at all?

Running a business from home much less designing a collection is notsomethingIever imagined.Fortunately, we have found new ways of working and it has been coming together.A number of our salesassociates continued to work with customersvery effectivelyby phoneand onlinethroughout the shutdown.Nowthat we are reopening our stores, we are offering private appointments as well as personalized and virtual experiences, andcurbside pickupis availablein select locations.Wearemaking nonmedical masks;as well as doing what we can to helpfrontline workers.The largest health-care workers'union told us they needed sneakers, fanny packs and easy-to-clean clothing to wear under scrubs,andso we donated 24,000 pieces to the United Heathcare Workers Union. We also donated materials for masks and hospital gowns inapartnership with Catholic Health Services in Long Island, which services six New York hospitals.

What crisis-management measures are you putting in place for your company based on the recent events?

Before the virus began spreading globally, we took steps toprotectour supply chain, but we never planned for a global pandemic.Fortunately, we run the business with a relatively conservative balance sheet, minimizing debt,and that approach has served us well.

It's an exciting but uncertain time for these 50 fellows. What new advice will you be offering your fellows based on the coronavirus crisis that you may not have provided in the past?

I've realized more than ever the importanceofsurrounding yourself with astrong, diversegroup of trusted advisors. Whether it's yourteam, customers or family being brave, listening andlearningfromeach otheriskey.

Tory Burch, founder of the Tory Burch Foundation with female entrepreneurs.

Source: Tory Burch

What advice, if any, has changed now?

Knowwhat problem you are solving and the exact need of your customer. This advice is timeless.Asyou face new challenges,take time toreflect on why you started, what you stand for and how your company can make a difference in people's lives.

Will your fellowship program be changing in any way as a result of the uncertainty the pandemic has created?

The program will be virtual this year, and we will be looking at the topics we have always covered finance, digital, PR and funding through a new lens.Facilitating networking and peer-to-peer mentoring is a big part of the program, and Iamthrilledourexperiencesover the past monthshave taught usthat it is possible tocreatea strong and supportive communitywithout physically being in the same place.We hope to be able to come togetherfor an intense week of workshops at the end of the Fellowship.

Most important, what crisis-management measures do you think are imperative now for those launching a new business?

It is essentialto have a solid balance sheet with cash on hand to weather a crisis.

Many sectors, such as online education, telehealth and digital payments are booming now. Hospitality is one of the hardest-hit sectors. What are your thoughts on some of the new sectors that have seen enormous growth during this time, and how long do you think it will be before those struggling will recover?

This crisis makes you think differently. Even in the hardest-hit sectors,new opportunities are available to us that we never could have imagined. We know this will continue to be a difficulttime for so many, but I am optimistic that we will be able to rebuild and create anew normal.

For more on tech, transformation and the future of work, join the most influential voices disrupting the next decade of work at the nextCNBC @Work Summitthis October.

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Tory Burch: 'We are using the pandemic as an opportunity to reset' - CNBC

The COVID 19 crisis is changing the world of work in every sector. In government agencies, the crisis and shift to remote work have prompted a very different approach to staffing and workforce management. The crisis has altered how supervisors and their people interact and communicate, made front line workers essential, and highlighted the value of individual expertise and initiative. In a crisis everyone needs to be responsive and focused on delivering results.

Three decades ago the private sector was confronted with a similar problem. Until the late 1980s it was business as usual for U.S. companies. That decade saw global, low-cost competitors emerge, forcing companies to become more agile and responsive to market developments. The proliferation of personal computers and the internet facilitated decentralized decision making and opened the door to worker empowerment. It's common in business today to find employees who rarely see their supervisor. The number of employees working remotely has mushroomed but its not a new problem for business.

For public employers, the transition to a new normal promises to be far more complex; the pandemic has exacerbated workforce problems that have existed for years. Its also given employees a reason to work remotely, and that, as one writer commented, changes a workers life fundamentally, which then impacts countless other lives and local economies. Large numbers will want to continue working from home.

Although it's difficult to look beyond the crisis, the fall election and the direction the government takes in 2021 could have significant public service implications.

Government has two well documented workforce problems. It's losing large numbers of experienced workers to retirement plus few younger workers are interested in government careers. The George Floyd protests are likely to intensify the declining interest. Now a new Government Accountability Office report highlights the heavy turnover among new hires: "More than 60% of recent federal employee hires left within two years, as a recent headline put it. The hours invested in recruiting, onboarding and training a new hire make that costly.

A related problem is the emergence of new fields, exemplified by cybersecurity, along with jobs requiring new skills. The latter involve hard skills like blockchain and analytical reasoning as well as soft skills like persuasion and critical thinking. Additionally, supervising remote workers necessitates a different skill set to be effective. The proposed 2021 budget called for reskilling 400,000 federal workers but apparently to date only a handful of IT specialists have graduated. The need extends far beyond creating cybersecurity specialists.

Although not a workforce problem, governments culture of compliance is deeply entrenched. No agency should make meeting the requirements of the rules ... more important than delivering value to taxpayers. The prevailing culture is a high barrier to improved performance. Civil-service rules contribute to that culture and are a barrier to responding to COVID-19 as well as raising performance levels. Culture change is badly needed but thats not feasible in the absence of civil service reform.

Those problems predate the pandemic and are attributable to governments antiquated and ineffective people management practices. The policies and systems governing hiring, onboarding, career management, and performance management need to be replaced. Training and development are central to the need for reskilling. All of that and more comes together to improve the work experience thats causing new hires to quit. COVID-19 diverted attention from the need for reform.

Unfortunately, the crisis buried the March 2020 report, Inspired to Service, from the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service created to address governments staffing problems. In addition to reviewing the military selective service process, the commission recommended changes to increase participation in military, national, and public service. The commission concluded civil service personnel systems require urgent attention. The difficulties facing [agency staffing] are so severe that strategic human capital management [was identified] as a high risk area in need of transformation if [government] is to work effectively and efficiently.

The report concludes that existing practices block younger Americans and workers with critical skills from entering public service and jeopardize the ability of agencies to replenish their workforce in the face of a looming wave of retirements, and notes that modernizing the civil service will be politically and technically difficult. It makes a number of recommendations to address near-term, urgent problems and long-term, structural issues:

This is a damning statement for the civil service system. The commission saw that reform as urgent and elevating and investing in the human resources function is the key. The final report discussed long term, structural changes that are only possible if HR offices are prepared to take the lead in each agency.

In the business world upgrading the HR function has been a priority for the past decade. HR now has a seat at the executive table. The often-cited Fast Company article, Why We Hate HR, was published in 2005. It was countered in 2015 by Whartons Peter Cappelli in the article Why We Love to Hate HR and What HR Can Do About It. He stated, Little has been done in the past few decades to examine the value of widely used practices By separating the effective from the worthless, HR leaders can secure huge payoffs for their organizations. The early turnover of young employees should set off alarms.

Cappellis argument is directly relevant to public employers. Its time to separate the effective from the worthless. It's not an exaggeration to argue failed people management practices threaten government operations. Change cannot be initiated until after the November election but it's fully possible to begin documenting the practices that need to be replaced. There are problems that should not be deferred. Reducing the early termination of new hires, for example, is essential.

To set the stage for change in the months after the January inauguration, agencies should undertake surveys and focus groups asking managers and employees for feedback and suggestions to improve workforce management practices. That should be an early step in defining a new normal.

In a recent radio interview, New Yorks Governor Cuomo outlined a similar strategy for defining a new normal. His recommended approach starts with answering a series of questions (including a couple I added): What is our mission? What do we want to accomplish? How many workers are needed? How do we want to organize? What skills are essential? For teams with both in-office and remote workers, how can we best manage a hybrid operation? How will we measure results? The answers provide a basis for identifying areas where change is needed.

Cuomos comments are unusual for elected officials. Most have little or no experience managing large groups of employees. Their focus is public policy, not effective management. They need to understand why for years the Government Accountability Office has made human capital management a high risk area. Elected officials also need to understand the potential gains from reform. Their solid support is essential for successful change.

Managers and employees can and should also play a valuable role in planning and implementing new people practices and systems. New practices of course are tools used by managers and they need to feel comfortable using them. That was the very successful strategy adopted by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in the years after it was created. Today the lead goal in its 2025 Strategic Goals is:

People: We will emphasize people first mission always as we invest in recruiting and retaining a world-class workforce that advances our tradecraft and innovates solutions to meet mission needs.

People first is a strategy every agency should consider.

But government needs more than new HR practices. In business, the role of HR is undergoing a significant redefinition and expansion. That was discussed in a Harvard Business Review article, People Before Strategy: A New Role for the CHRO. Three leading business consultants argue HR executives should work closely with CEOs and chief financial executives as a troika. Additionally, in the new role, HR specialists are advisers to line managers on workforce concerns:

Its time for HR to make the same leap that the finance function has made in recent decades and become a true partner to the CEO the CHRO should help the CEO by building and assigning talent, especially key people, and working to unleash the organizations energy.

The importance of effective talent management and unleashing the organizations energy is the key to raising performance levels. It will require creating an HR center of excellence to move the commissions recommendations forward. The potential gains warrant the investment. HRs administrative specialists should be a separate center of excellence.

The pandemic and emerging budget problems make it imperative to manage governments people assets more effectively. The commission is correct, The Federal civil service personnel systems require urgent attention. With an aging workforce, government needs to attract and retain a new generation of highly qualified workers. Workforce analytics show the cost of continued inaction will be high. In the words of the commission, the work of public servants [is] vital to the security and well-being of the Nation.

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HR Holds the Keys to Revitalizing Public Service - GovExec.com

Electronic Arts is bringing more games to PC platform Steam (The Sims 4 included), while its EA Play showcase revealed gameplay from Star Wars: Squadrons and FIFA 21, early looks at new Need For Speed, Dragon Age and Battlefield titles, and several promising indie games from partner studios.

FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21

Video games as athletic and personal empowerment: FIFA 21 (PS4 XBO PC, Oct 9) and Madden NFL 21 are given the next console generation treatment in this sizzle reel for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X editions of the games. EA is offering separate one-year upgrade paths for digital and disc editions of the games from PS4 to PS5 or XBO to XSX versions.

Star Wars: Squadrons

After a pre-rendered cinematic at the start of the week, this first look at gameplay (intercut with more cinematics) from the Oct 2 PS4, XBO and PC game covers its both-factions single-player campaign, eight types of space ships and their components, various multi-player battle modes and VR capabilities.

The Sims 4 on Steam

It's been a phenomenon since 2014 the franchise as a whole since the year 2000 and, until now, the PC edition of The Sims 4 has only been available through EA's own Origin platform. That's changed now with this latest cohort of Steam re-releases, along with excellent Apex Legends precursor Titanfall 2 and, earlier in the month, Need For Speed Heat, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect Andromeda and others.

Apex Legends for Switch and Steam

Speaking of free-to-play, microtransaction-fueled battle royale Apex Legends is coming to Steam as well. Like genre leader Fortnite, which launched for Switch mid-2018 after earlier console and PC launches, it'll be on Nintendo's console around the same time, in Fall 2020.

Seven Switch games

In fact, Electronic Arts is committing to a seven-game slate for the Nintendo Switch, with Apex Legends, Burnout Paradise Remastered (which launches June 19) and Lost In Random accounting for three of them.

EA's Indies: Lost in Random, It Takes Two, Rocket Arena

What's this Lost In Random then? Announced this time in 2019 alongside then-mystery title It Takes Two, it's the 2021 release from Swedish artisan Zoink. It Takes Two (2021) is another blend of involving story and creative gameplay from the celebrated Hazelight Studios; Rocket Arena is an acrobatic hero shooter reminiscent of Overwatch and classic Quake.

Five short teases: Need For Speed, Dragon Age 4, Battlefield, Untitled creative game, Skate

Three big franchises were cued up for more comprehensive reveals midway through 2021: Need For Speed, Battlefield and, most likely Dragon Age, with Star Wars: Squadrons studio Motive also working on something new and, as rumoured, skateboarding franchise Skate is on the comeback trail. AFP Relaxnews

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Seven big announcements from EA Play 2020: FIFA 21, Star Wars: Squadrons, The Sims 4, more - The Star Online