Wisconsin Women of Color Network leadership confab
Surviving a tough economy
Surviving a tough economy
Heidi M. Pascual*
Publisher & Editor
* 2006 Journalist of the Year for the State
of Wisconsin (U.S.-SBA)
Publisher & Editor
* 2006 Journalist of the Year for the State
of Wisconsin (U.S.-SBA)
| For more Asian American stories in Wisconsin, click: |
Part 2 of 2
By Heidi M. Pascual
The Wisconsin Women of Color Network, Inc. confronted head-on the most important issue of the
day — the economy, and how we can “survive” or, tough as it seems — succeed — amid its difficult
challenges. People are losing jobs — by hundreds of thousands — almost every week, as America’s
companies and several state governments, wobble on their foundations. Many big firms have
closed shop, following the death of smaller, and most of all, minority-owned businesses. The group
met at the Madison Area Technical College, a very appropriate choice of venue, on a beautiful spring
day in May.
The keynote speaker and the workshop presenters are known for their expertise in what they do,
and they tackled their topics with passion and energy to really drive their messages across. For
these women of color, the hard times are trials of life that we all have to hurdle and overcome.
Keynote Speaker Daryl Davis Fulmer, Ph.D., is MATC’s Vice President for Learner Success. The
presenters were: Malika Monger, Rose Jenkins, JoAnn Moore, and Gladis Benavides.
Session I: Employment Opportunities
Rose Jenkins (consultant with the Dept. of Transportation, and a DBE [Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise]-Self Employment
Rose Jenkins discussed the following important steps for people who are thinking to start their
own business and be their own boss.
• Self-examination - addresses what you’re going to do and why. Some just jump in because the
grass looks greener on the other side, but in this day and age with our resources being tighter, she
said, “If you got something great going on, maybe now is not the time to take that leap of faith.”
• Choosing a business that’s right for you - “When you commit to be self-employed, you are
wearing every single hat there is to wear. There are no sick days, no paid vacation, no maternity
leave, and you’re going to run whether you have a fever or not. The beauty of being self-employed
these days, working from home, is that technology allows us to work in our bathrobes and slippers.
But again, you have to really know the business you’re involved in and your backup plans if you’re
not going to be in production (a certain day).”
• Business Plan - You have to set benchmarks, and build on those benchmarks to gauge your
success.
“Remember, you don’t have a boss now to periodically evaluate your work. You’d be
responsible to yourself to account for your work. In my business plan, I write down the numbers. I
start with my personal business, my lifestyle. I need to know exactly how much I need to make in
order to sustain my lifestyle. And it’s gotten real tight. But you got to understand what that bottom line
figure needs to be. From that you work backwards. So I have to backtrack to what it means in gross
revenue, because from the revenue, I have to subtract the expenses. By the time I’m down to the
bottom line, I’m taking a draw. That allows me to meet my lifestyle.”
Jenkins added that when you’re self-employed, a big consideration is health insurance. One should
ask herself the quantity of products to sell to enable her to pay for it.
Session II: Educational Opportunities
JoAnn Moore-Getting an advanced degree
JoAnn Moore talked of her educational journey, from being a high school dropout and teen-age
mother to a highly educated woman. “I became pregnant when I was a teenager, so I dropped out of
By Heidi M. Pascual
The Wisconsin Women of Color Network, Inc. confronted head-on the most important issue of the
day — the economy, and how we can “survive” or, tough as it seems — succeed — amid its difficult
challenges. People are losing jobs — by hundreds of thousands — almost every week, as America’s
companies and several state governments, wobble on their foundations. Many big firms have
closed shop, following the death of smaller, and most of all, minority-owned businesses. The group
met at the Madison Area Technical College, a very appropriate choice of venue, on a beautiful spring
day in May.
The keynote speaker and the workshop presenters are known for their expertise in what they do,
and they tackled their topics with passion and energy to really drive their messages across. For
these women of color, the hard times are trials of life that we all have to hurdle and overcome.
Keynote Speaker Daryl Davis Fulmer, Ph.D., is MATC’s Vice President for Learner Success. The
presenters were: Malika Monger, Rose Jenkins, JoAnn Moore, and Gladis Benavides.
Session I: Employment Opportunities
Rose Jenkins (consultant with the Dept. of Transportation, and a DBE [Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise]-Self Employment
Rose Jenkins discussed the following important steps for people who are thinking to start their
own business and be their own boss.
• Self-examination - addresses what you’re going to do and why. Some just jump in because the
grass looks greener on the other side, but in this day and age with our resources being tighter, she
said, “If you got something great going on, maybe now is not the time to take that leap of faith.”
• Choosing a business that’s right for you - “When you commit to be self-employed, you are
wearing every single hat there is to wear. There are no sick days, no paid vacation, no maternity
leave, and you’re going to run whether you have a fever or not. The beauty of being self-employed
these days, working from home, is that technology allows us to work in our bathrobes and slippers.
But again, you have to really know the business you’re involved in and your backup plans if you’re
not going to be in production (a certain day).”
• Business Plan - You have to set benchmarks, and build on those benchmarks to gauge your
success.
“Remember, you don’t have a boss now to periodically evaluate your work. You’d be
responsible to yourself to account for your work. In my business plan, I write down the numbers. I
start with my personal business, my lifestyle. I need to know exactly how much I need to make in
order to sustain my lifestyle. And it’s gotten real tight. But you got to understand what that bottom line
figure needs to be. From that you work backwards. So I have to backtrack to what it means in gross
revenue, because from the revenue, I have to subtract the expenses. By the time I’m down to the
bottom line, I’m taking a draw. That allows me to meet my lifestyle.”
Jenkins added that when you’re self-employed, a big consideration is health insurance. One should
ask herself the quantity of products to sell to enable her to pay for it.
Session II: Educational Opportunities
JoAnn Moore-Getting an advanced degree
JoAnn Moore talked of her educational journey, from being a high school dropout and teen-age
mother to a highly educated woman. “I became pregnant when I was a teenager, so I dropped out of
power of knowledge; control over your future; personal satisfaction; increased standard of living and reduced poverty levels. She said
even adults should go back to school because “people are losing jobs, and to remain competitive, people have to go out and reinvent
themselves.”
Gladis Benavides -A discussion on corporate culture
At the outset, Gladis Benavides quoted anthropologist Edward T. Hall on the meaning of culture:
“Man’s (humanity) medium; there is not one aspect of human life that is not touched and altered by culture. This means personally how
people express themselves, the way they think, how they move, how problems are solved, how their cities are planned and laid out, as well
as how economic and government systems are put together and function.”
Benavides explained that some people are process thinkers, while some are linear thinkers. “So sometimes if you’re writing a report,
we may have the tendency to write longer sentences or use more qualifiers,” she said. “Someone asks you to write a memorandum or a
report, you may use five pages, and the person might be expecting two. And so it’s not what we know, but how we put it down in the
context of who’s reading it.”
She also noted that some people, like her, may be intense in expressing things. “My boss would say, ‘You know, I have never seen
you so emotional.’ And because I have a four-degree blackbelt in Taekwando, I said, if I were emotional, he would be dead.” (laughter)
As far as how the cities are planned and laid out, Benavides has a very keen sense of cultural influence. “If you look at Milwaukee, it is the
second most segregated city in the country —geographic, economic, and racial. So economics has a lot to do with in terms of who’s
working and who’s not ...” She cited the case of the Indian Nations, which are geographically segregated in a sense, as well as the case of
Allied Drive in Madison. “What’s wrong with this picture?”
About how economics and government are put together and function, she observed that the schools are tax-based, so we know why
the poorest schools are located in certain areas.
Benavides then explained the characteristics of culture, some commonalities or principles arising from various definitions:
-Every human being has a culture. If you grew up in a rural environment, you might be different from one who grew up in an urban
environment.
-Culture is learned. It is not innate or biological.
-A large component of culture is below the level of conscious expression.
-Culture is shared. It reflects tradition, having been passed from one generation to another.
-People can belong to many different subcultures.
Benavides noted that people have “cultural tapes.” “The more obvious the difference from the person you’re talking to, the more your
tapes run,” she observed. “If I see somebody who’s White, I might feel uncomfortable, because I grew up with people who are like me. If I
don’t find my OFF button to my tape, I may be in trouble, because I’m making assumptions.” She added that abstract ideas such as religion
or sexual orientation shouldn’t be topics of jokes especially in the workplace. “These are the things that may get people in trouble because
they’re comfortable talking about stereotypes or making certain kinds of comments.”
On culture being shared, she cited the Hmong community where we see a lot of multigenerational households. “You have the
grandparents who may not speak English (in the Latino community that happens sometimes), and then the parents which are one foot here
and one foot there,” Benavides said, inviting a lot of nods from the audience.
Benavides also stated some premises about culture and race, including the following: -people tend to be racially integrated but
culturally egregated; sometimes racial segregation is caused by economic and geographic segregation; behaviors reflect the environment
in which we live; and age can affect our cultural perceptions and behaviors.
She then gave a brief description of culture’s universal characteristics and explained the implications of “high and low contextual
emphasis.”
-How do your inventory responses help you to understand your behavior in relation to the high-low context framework?
-How has membership in various cultural groups influenced your behavior?
-How do you feel and behave with someone from a different culture?
-What are the advantages and drawbacks of your own high or low context orientation?
“High context people may be too rigid, but are good at processing information. But if you’re too high context, you would be wonderful
and get nothing done. You just go around and go ‘Oh, how are you doing? how’s your mother? I put treats in the back.’ If you’re low context,
you get everything done, but you leave dead bodies in the hallway.
“In your situation, whether it’s advocating in the community, getting together, at work or you’re looking for a promotion, I don’t believe
in selling out. I believe in negotiating with the system effectively.”
After the presentations, Gale Johnson discussed “Women’s Health and Well Being: Body, Mind and Spirit,” followed by the election of
WWOCN Board Members and Delegates to Networking Together Inc. Regional Board. The meeting was capped by a “Women’s Circle Dance”
led by Jan Saiz.
even adults should go back to school because “people are losing jobs, and to remain competitive, people have to go out and reinvent
themselves.”
Gladis Benavides -A discussion on corporate culture
At the outset, Gladis Benavides quoted anthropologist Edward T. Hall on the meaning of culture:
“Man’s (humanity) medium; there is not one aspect of human life that is not touched and altered by culture. This means personally how
people express themselves, the way they think, how they move, how problems are solved, how their cities are planned and laid out, as well
as how economic and government systems are put together and function.”
Benavides explained that some people are process thinkers, while some are linear thinkers. “So sometimes if you’re writing a report,
we may have the tendency to write longer sentences or use more qualifiers,” she said. “Someone asks you to write a memorandum or a
report, you may use five pages, and the person might be expecting two. And so it’s not what we know, but how we put it down in the
context of who’s reading it.”
She also noted that some people, like her, may be intense in expressing things. “My boss would say, ‘You know, I have never seen
you so emotional.’ And because I have a four-degree blackbelt in Taekwando, I said, if I were emotional, he would be dead.” (laughter)
As far as how the cities are planned and laid out, Benavides has a very keen sense of cultural influence. “If you look at Milwaukee, it is the
second most segregated city in the country —geographic, economic, and racial. So economics has a lot to do with in terms of who’s
working and who’s not ...” She cited the case of the Indian Nations, which are geographically segregated in a sense, as well as the case of
Allied Drive in Madison. “What’s wrong with this picture?”
About how economics and government are put together and function, she observed that the schools are tax-based, so we know why
the poorest schools are located in certain areas.
Benavides then explained the characteristics of culture, some commonalities or principles arising from various definitions:
-Every human being has a culture. If you grew up in a rural environment, you might be different from one who grew up in an urban
environment.
-Culture is learned. It is not innate or biological.
-A large component of culture is below the level of conscious expression.
-Culture is shared. It reflects tradition, having been passed from one generation to another.
-People can belong to many different subcultures.
Benavides noted that people have “cultural tapes.” “The more obvious the difference from the person you’re talking to, the more your
tapes run,” she observed. “If I see somebody who’s White, I might feel uncomfortable, because I grew up with people who are like me. If I
don’t find my OFF button to my tape, I may be in trouble, because I’m making assumptions.” She added that abstract ideas such as religion
or sexual orientation shouldn’t be topics of jokes especially in the workplace. “These are the things that may get people in trouble because
they’re comfortable talking about stereotypes or making certain kinds of comments.”
On culture being shared, she cited the Hmong community where we see a lot of multigenerational households. “You have the
grandparents who may not speak English (in the Latino community that happens sometimes), and then the parents which are one foot here
and one foot there,” Benavides said, inviting a lot of nods from the audience.
Benavides also stated some premises about culture and race, including the following: -people tend to be racially integrated but
culturally egregated; sometimes racial segregation is caused by economic and geographic segregation; behaviors reflect the environment
in which we live; and age can affect our cultural perceptions and behaviors.
She then gave a brief description of culture’s universal characteristics and explained the implications of “high and low contextual
emphasis.”
-How do your inventory responses help you to understand your behavior in relation to the high-low context framework?
-How has membership in various cultural groups influenced your behavior?
-How do you feel and behave with someone from a different culture?
-What are the advantages and drawbacks of your own high or low context orientation?
“High context people may be too rigid, but are good at processing information. But if you’re too high context, you would be wonderful
and get nothing done. You just go around and go ‘Oh, how are you doing? how’s your mother? I put treats in the back.’ If you’re low context,
you get everything done, but you leave dead bodies in the hallway.
“In your situation, whether it’s advocating in the community, getting together, at work or you’re looking for a promotion, I don’t believe
in selling out. I believe in negotiating with the system effectively.”
After the presentations, Gale Johnson discussed “Women’s Health and Well Being: Body, Mind and Spirit,” followed by the election of
WWOCN Board Members and Delegates to Networking Together Inc. Regional Board. The meeting was capped by a “Women’s Circle Dance”
led by Jan Saiz.
(Top to bottom photos) Rose
Jenkins; JoAnn Moore; Gladis
Benavides
Jenkins; JoAnn Moore; Gladis
Benavides
| (Above) Women's Circle Dance led by Jan Saiz |
school, and worked full-time to take care of my son,” she began, amid the
disbelief of her udience. “It was only when I moved to Wisconsin, from
America’s Georgia back in 1985, when I went to MATC Downtown ... so I earned
my GED from MATC.” Moore also took computer courses to get her foot on the
door. She was challenged by the fact that she couldn’t get promoted in her
jobs. She took classes at the American Institute of Banking and received her
Supervisory Skills Diploma. Later, she went for an associate degree at MATC
and transferred to Concordia University where she earned her BA in
management and communications. She continued her education while working
full-time for the State of Wisconsin. She went to Edgewood College and earned
her MBA, staying longer in school to earn her Total Quality Management
Certification.
Moore explained the benefits of having a college degree, citing her own
story to underscore her point: a higher average yearly income; more job
opportunities; higher benefits for advanced degrees; understanding the
disbelief of her udience. “It was only when I moved to Wisconsin, from
America’s Georgia back in 1985, when I went to MATC Downtown ... so I earned
my GED from MATC.” Moore also took computer courses to get her foot on the
door. She was challenged by the fact that she couldn’t get promoted in her
jobs. She took classes at the American Institute of Banking and received her
Supervisory Skills Diploma. Later, she went for an associate degree at MATC
and transferred to Concordia University where she earned her BA in
management and communications. She continued her education while working
full-time for the State of Wisconsin. She went to Edgewood College and earned
her MBA, staying longer in school to earn her Total Quality Management
Certification.
Moore explained the benefits of having a college degree, citing her own
story to underscore her point: a higher average yearly income; more job
opportunities; higher benefits for advanced degrees; understanding the