Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub
Problem Statement
The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts’ Research Report on the Status of Women and Girls, 2019 highlighted that women in Hampden County were underemployed and experiencing high rates of poverty. The impact of COVID-19 on professional women in Greater Springfield has disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic women—women concentrated in low-wage employment that ceased for extended periods or were laid off entirely due to the changing economy and stubborn gendered stereotypes.
A recent McKinsey report indicates that “women are more vulnerable to COVID-19–related economic effects because of existing gender inequalities.” Even women who did not lose their jobs were and still are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to exposure.
Framework
The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts is collaborating with key area partners: Arise for Social Justice, Dress for Success Western MA, Springfield WORKS, and the Western New England University School of Law Social Justice Center. Our partnership will strengthen our common goal to disrupt the social and economic systems preventing Springfield’s low-income women, particularly those of color, from prosperity.
The Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub has developed the framework below to capture the specific concepts that define a woman’s economic security.
