Report Highlights Urban-Suburban Graduation Gap

A new report (“Closing the Graduation Gap“) issued by America’s Promise Alliance, a strategic outreach partner of Corporate Voices for Working Families, was featured in an informative article in The New York Times written by Sam Dillon, “Large Urban-Suburban Gap Seen in Graduation Rates.”

Here’s from the article:

It is no surprise that more students drop out of high school in big cities than elsewhere. Now, however, a nationwide study shows the magnitude of the gap: the average high school graduation rate in the nation’s 50 largest cities was 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in the suburbs.

But that urban-suburban gap, which in part is due to hundreds of failing city schools that some researchers call dropout factories, was far wider in some areas.

The article continues:

 As a whole, the nation’s graduation rate improved by a few percentage points over the same decade, to 71 percent from 66 percent, the study said.

But Marguerite Kondracke, the executive director of the alliance, said the pace of progress remained disappointing.

“We don’t have time as a nation for incremental change,” Ms. Kondracke said. “Just over half the students in our big cities are graduating from high school, and that’s unacceptable.”

Research findings, reports and other information about workforce readiness are available on the Corporate Voices for Working Families Web site.

Corporate Voices: Donna Klein Elected Executive Chair

Donna Klein, President and Founder of Corporate Voices for Working Families, has been elected Executive Chair by the Board of Trustees.

Here’s a letter from Donna about the news involving her and Corporate Voices:

I am delighted to share with you some important and exciting developments involving Corporate Voices for Working Families and me personally. Beginning June 1, I will assume the newly created management position of Executive Chair.

 Corporate Voices has continued to grow and to expand our research and advocacy on behalf of working families and the competitiveness of American business, and we are now in an excellent position to build on our many accomplishments. The Board of Trustees is confident that the timing is right to make a transition. My responsibilities will include continuing to oversee the development of the organization’s long-term strategy; developing and maintaining strategic relationships with foundations, corporations and advocacy organizations; fundraising; working with our Board of Trustees and senior management on the implementation of research and advocacy initiatives; and continuing my involvement with Corporate Voices’ day-to-day operation and management.

 At the same time, our Board is identifying candidates for the position of President, and we expect to announce that selection this fall. This process is part of a robust review of the day-to-day strategic management of Corporate Voices that our Board initiated six months ago, and the goal is to hire a President who brings to that position decades of senior-level business experience and leadership. The new President will report directly to me. In the interim, I will continue in both roles.

 I am looking forward to the new position as Executive Chair with Corporate Voices and the continuation of my many relationships with cherished colleagues: partner companies, funding partners and strategic outreach organizations.

Here’s the news release about the announcement.

 

Corporate Voices: Good Time to Ask for a Sabbatical?

Sharon Klun and Corporate Voices partner company Accenture are featured in a New York Times article that looks at an aspect of work/life balance: sabbaticals. It’s an important and interesting issue. And the article concludes that even during the current difficult economy, now may be a good time to approach your employer about taking some time away from the job.

In fact, employers such as Accenture continue to view this as a way to benefit individuals and the company. 

Also featured in the article is Ellen Galinsky, a member of the Corporate Voices Board of Trustees and president of the Families and Work Institute.

Here’s from the article:

The consulting firm Accenture, which employs 30,000 people in the United States, started a “Future Leave” pilot program in 2005 and made it company policy last year. It allows workers to have a percentage of their paycheck automatically deposited into an individual savings account, which they can then use to take up to three months’ leave, with benefits, every three years.

“You don’t have to disclose why you’re taking it,” said Sharon Klun, director of work-life initiatives for the company. “For Gen-Y, you might say you want to travel the Himalayas, for Gen-X, you might have child care issues.”

So far, 500 to 600 workers have signed up each year, and 200 so far this year.

“These are challenging times, and a lot of companies won’t be able to give raises,” Ms. Klun said.

And also from the article:

The Families and Work Institute, a nonprofit research group, surveyed 1,100 companies with 50 or more employees for its 2008 National Study of Employers. It found that 24 percent of small companies (under 100 workers) and 33 percent of companies with 1,000 or more workers allowed paid or unpaid sabbaticals of six months or more.

The organization is in the process of finding out what expenses, including sabbaticals, are being cut back by companies this year, but that information is not available yet, said Ellen Galinsky, president of the institute.

An unpaid sabbatical may not sound like much of a perk, not when some employers are requiring their workers to take furloughs of a week or two as a way to cut costs.

But there’s a difference between being forced and being allowed to take time off. Keeping your benefits — which most companies allow — and being guaranteed a job after three or six months off can offer some much-needed flexibility for stressed-out workers in these times.

Corporate Voices Featured in Special Diversity Report

Donna Klein, president and founder of Corporate Voices for Working Families, is featured in a special report in the April issue of Smart Business titled “Debunking Diversity.” Here’s from the article, written by Jessica Tremayne:

The million-dollar question about making an investment in diversity is: Will it pay back?

While experts say diversity in the work force is a business imperative, defining diversity by employees’ physical attributes won’t foster a functional or profitable environment. 

The article continues:

Since the country’s demographics are continually changing, a failure to branch out and move past your comfort zone when hiring and communicating with employees will ultimately result in financial punishment for the business.

“It can be difficult for a 50-year-old to be managed by a 30-year-old boss,” says Donna M. Klein, president and founder, Corporate Voices for Working Families, a national business membership organization representing the private sector on public policy issues. “Training to maximize the benefits of these differences instead of allowing them to divide workers is essential. Business benefits are the same as mixing age, race and gender outside of business. It makes for a more interesting conversation at a dinner party.”

U.S. Census Bureau reports show Hispanics are the fastest-growing population, with an increase of 121 percent since 1999. The Asian population nearly doubled since 1990 and the African-American population is predicted to increase to 65.7 million strong by 2050, an increase of 15 percent since 2008.

“Any homogenous group will provide predictable results in problem-solving,” Klein says. “But a diverse group comes up with ideas and problem-solving techniques that would otherwise have never been thought of. Allowing knee-jerk reactions of stereotypes to get in the way of hiring and working with a diverse group is really limiting your potential.” 

The article also looks at a February 2009 Groundbreakers report by Ernst & Young, a Corporate Voices partner company.