Women Work!’s monthly electronic newsletter keeps our network up-to-date on the critical issues affecting working women. Features include:
• What’s happening at Women Work!?
• What’s new at www.womenwork.org?
• Helpful links and resources
• Women in the news
It’s tax season again. And, believe it or not, that could mean good news–and extra cash for you.
FREE Help Preparing Your Tax Return
If you need help preparing your tax return and Schedule EIC, you can get assistance from trained tax preparers free of charge!
Hiring a commercial tax preparer could cost you $55 to $100. It can cost another $30 to $90 to get a “quick refund”. A program called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), run by the IRS, provides free income tax preparation help to low- and moderate-income workers. Anyone eligible for the EIC is automatically eligible to use VITA.
VITA volunteers are trained by the IRS to fill out tax forms and answer questions. Most communities have several VITA sites. To find the VITA site near you, call the IRS toll-free at 1-800-TAX-1040. Ask for the Taxpayer Education Coordinator Office in your state. The Taxpayer Coordinator will be able to tell you about local VITA sites.
Learn more about VITA and other programs for assisting with tax preparation/filing at the IRS site.
Women Work! makes its Program Directory available online to assist individual women in identifying programs and services in their local communities. We recommend that you contact each program in your area directly to learn more about their requirements for participation, the types of training they provide and the types of services available.
The directory is also a valuable resource to business and industry employers seeking to identify qualified and skilled individuals or programs with whom they could develop partnerships to meet their workforce needs. Employers who are interested in discussing partnership opportunities with Women Work! and programs in our Network should contact us at (202) 467-6346 or by email.
We periodically update the directory. If you are aware of more current information on a program or would like to have your program listed, please contact our Membership & Field Services Department at (202) 467-6346 or e-mail us at [email protected].
The Program Directory is organized by state. Please choose a state below, and the programs available in that state will be displayed to you.
Women Work! tip sheets offer practical information for your life. The tip sheets are available below for free download.
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You can request up to 3 free tip sheets to be mailed to you. call: (202) 467-6346 email: [email protected] mail: the order form faxing: (202-467-5366) Join Women Work! and receive a set of all available tip sheets, in addition to all of the other benefits included in a Women Work! membership. For more information and to join, visit our membership page. |
Accessing the Tip Sheets
Below are links to our series of tip sheets. You will need Acrobat Reader on your computer to access these files because they are Adobe Acrobat files (pdf). Acrobat Reader is a free software. If your computer does not already have it, you can download the most recent version from the Adobe site.
Click on the tip sheet name below to access that resource.
Women Work!’s History
In the early 70s, as the divorce rate soared, many women found themselves “fired” from their jobs as homemakers. In 1975, Laurie Shields, a 55-year-old widow unable to find work after 15 years as a full-time homemaker and mother, contacted Tish Sommers, who she heard was “doing something for older women.”
Tish, then 57 and divorced after 23 years, called herself a “freelance agitator.” She said to Laurie, “DON’T AGONIZE, ORGANIZE!”
And organize they did, joining forces with Milo Smith, the first director of the Jobs for Older Women Action Project in Oakland, California, and with Barbara Dudley, a public interest attorney. Together they drafted the first displaced homemaker legislation, introduced in 1975 in California and later in Congress by former Representative Yvonne Burke.
In New Poll, Americans Say a Woman’s Appearance
Affects Whether She is Taken Seriously on the Job,
Considered for Raises & Promotions
In this graduation season, Americans have advice for the millions of women job-seekers who are graduating from high school, college and job training programs: A professional appearance will help you get and keep a job, and win responsibilities, raises and promotions. A new poll finds that nearly seven in ten Americans (69 percent) – and more than eight in ten women – say clothing, hair and makeup are very or extremely important for a woman on the job, and for her confidence. Large majorities say that a woman’s appearance affects whether she is taken seriously, asked to represent her company at outside meetings, and considered for raises and promotions.
The poll was conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Inc., for Work Your Image!, a joint program of Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment and the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA). Work Your Image! is designed to help displaced homemakers, single parents, welfare recipients and other women in transition create a professional appearance to get and keep a job.
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