Crittenton Women's Union - Helping Women and Their Families Achieve Economic Independence and Better Futures

Woman to Woman

Our Woman to Woman program provides computer and career/life skills training to low-income women aged of 18+ who live in Greater Boston. All hold high school diplomas or GEDs, but are either unemployed or in jobs that do not provide them with self-sufficient wages. Frustrated with their inability to provide for their families, they are extremely motivated to break out of the cycle of poverty by learning marketable skills and developing career plans.

Program objectives include:

Building the capacity for participants to obtain jobs with living wages;
Helping participants build life skills and long-term planning abilities;
Breaking societal and internal barriers to success;
Providing more women the opportunity to attain self-sufficiency.

Each program cycle offers 12 weeks of intensive training (Monday - Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) that includes computer and professional skill-building workshops.

At the beginning of each session, participants identify a career goal and prepare a personal strategic plan to serve as a planning tool, reinforced by workshops on a wide range of related topics. Areas covered include communication and organizational skills, time and stress management, financial literacy, interviewing and resume building, office culture, and dressing for success.

All participants gain basic computer literacy, focusing on building their skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and on using the Internet. Training takes place in a state-of-the-art Technology Training Center, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of women learners. The program incorporates online job training that emphasizes collaborative and supportive instructional methods.

Each participant is then paired with a mentor who commits to one-on-one mentoring for a minimum of one year. Mentors, successful business women from the Greater Boston area, provide encouragement, technical support, access to broader professional networks, and feedback for the women throughout their job search, hiring and employment process.