The 2022 Arkansas Women’s Commission reviewed the state of women through a ten-month community engagement effort. The collaboration included stakeholders across the State to uncover recommendations for addressing barriers faced by women in the U.S. state of Arkansas.
Problems and Purpose
Barriers to enter the workforce in the state of Arkansas include high demand career paths, the effect of COVID-19, and the state of childcare. The purpose of the commission was to make recommendations to the Governor and the State Legislature on how to improve women's labor force participation and how women's accomplishments in the past can be further developed and sustained.
Background History and Context
The first Women’s Commission in Arkansas began with Governor Orval Faubus in 1964 to focus on the social, political, and economic status of women. [1] Over the next eleven years from 1964 to 1975 Governors Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, and David Pryor would all institute commissions to focus on removing discrimination against women and addressing barriers of entry to the workforce. [1] Most recently and almost 50 years since the previous report, Arkansas Women’s Commission was established via executive order of Governor Hutchinson in February 2022. The commission was reestablished to focus on labor force participation especially among single mothers, the participation of women in high demand career paths, the effect of COVID-19, and an analysis of the barriers of entry to workforce participation like the state of childcare. [1]
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The commission was supported financially by the Women's Foundation of Arkansas. Not coincidentally 2022 was the 25th year anniversary of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas creating momentum for rallying support of the initiative. [4] It was organized by four subcommittees, three focused on areas identified by the Governor's mandate along with the Research and Writing Subcommittee.
The commission was guided by Chair Alison Williams, Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Chief of Staff. [3] The subcommittees were organized by the chairwoman. The governor and Arkansas Legislative Leadership appointed the committee of 20 members. Additionally, there were 39 individuals listed as partners contributing to the final report. [3] Throughout the process commissioners interacted with each other during committee meetings and subcommittee meetings. The meetings and interactions commissioners presented a high degree of professionalism and respect. [5] the Commission took a multifaceted approach to ensure maximum engagement with citizens across the State, including holding monthly regional meetings, conducting a statewide telephone survey of more than 400 women over the age of 18 living in Arkansas and hosting a continuously available on-line survey on the Women’s Commission website which garnered more than 80 detailed responses. [4] Phone interviews were conducted, and an online survey dispersed with support and subject matter expertise of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. [4]
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The engagement of the Women’s Commission was open to all with meetings live streamed on YouTube and meeting minutes posted on the commission’s website. [4] Seven regional meetings were held in person and live streamed via YouTube as forums for engaging the public. The ninety-minute meetings, complete with a posted agenda, began with updates from the subcommittee before transitioning to new business engaging topics of study through panel discussions and focus groups. [5]
Additionally, a phone survey was conducted by Issues & Answer’s Network, Inc, with the financial support of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, and insights of commissioner Dr. Todd Shields to complete 408 telephone interviews among a random sample of women over the age of 18 living in Arkansas, provided by Marketing Systems Group. Lastly more than 100 men and women participated in-person in the seven regional meetings hosted by the committee. [4]
Methods and Tools Used
The Research and Writing Subcommittee answered questions by analyzing several forms of data including census reports to update the economic status of women published in the report. The commission developed online statewide surveys, hosted online feedback forums or focus groups, and reviewed individual testimonies and expert recommendations.
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The commission was set to focus on the study of four main areas each organized by their subcommittee. The first was the labor force participation of women in the State especially among single mothers and in high demand fields such as STEM and entrepreneurship. [4] The second subcommittee was set to study the impact of COVID-19 on Arkansan women. [4] The Third, the family caregiving subcommittee, reviewed and reported on the child care economy in the State. [4] Lastly, the research and writing subcommittee, supported the survey and reporting efforts. The research and writing subcommittee determined a meeting cadence appropriate for the progress of their work, in some cases meeting weekly to review individual and expert testimonies on the areas of their study. [4]
While the subcommittee meetings were public engagement efforts leveraging the network of subject matter experts in the field, there were also seven regional meetings, each of which was hosted at a different location throughout the state accompanied by a zoom invite to convene the subcommittees and public. Each of the meetings lasted 90 minutes; every agenda and meeting minutes remain available online. The conversations began with reports from the subcommittees typically taking 15 to 30 minutes followed by a combination of guest speakers and focus groups. [5]
The focus groups were an opportunity to hear directly from women in the community. [5] The focus group hosted in Jonesboro, like the others, began with ground rules, including use of a microphone for transcription and use of I statements. Four questions were presented on a slide to facilitate the group discussion. The first was an open-ended prompt asking for stories on the barriers women have faced across categories of career, family, health, social, and educational. [5] Next participants were asked whether if COVID-19 had a noticeable impact on part of their life and if so, how. [5] The final two questions covered the role of policy both in creating or reducing the barriers women face.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The commission’s final report was designed to highlight the findings of the committee and actionable recommendations for Governor Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas General Assembly. [4] The analysis completed by the commission is summarized in a 48-page report documenting the findings and providing recommendations based on their collective effort. [3] On the day of the report launch showcasing the recommendations, five organizations announced collaboration efforts to address their respective areas including two non-profits, a state agency, a state university and a corporation. As a result, eight recommendations were developed. From the Family Caregiving subcommittee, there was the recommendation to meaningfully engage the business community to address child care challenges, incentivize Arkansans to enter or remain in the early childhood education profession, and provide technical assistance and capacity building for expanding child care businesses.[3] The Labor Force Participation subcommittee identified four recommendations as follows: the need to increase equity in the labor force and in entrepreneurship, increase mentorship for women, increase awareness of programs designed to assist single parents and increase equity in STEM education.[3] Lastly the impact of COVID-19 highlighted the recommendation to increase access to women’s mental health resources, especially in rural communities.[3]
Analysis and Lessons Learned
As a result of this engagement, no major discoveries have been made about the barriers facing women given they are felt almost universally across the state, but the level of collaboration required to address the needs was elevated. Funds from the governor’s discretionary rainy-day fund and additional corporate funds were allocated to recommendations made by the commission. [6] The cross-sector collaboration of government and corporations highlighted the needs are vast and creative solutions are required. Ultimately the census research completed in the report, including metric updates on the demographics, education, labor force participation, earning, and pay enhance our understanding of the nuance and variation in women’s economic status within Arkansas. [4] The surveys and committee findings report on the lived experience and expert recommendations. Overall, the report highlights the significant challenges faced by women but acknowledges there is still much research and advocacy that could be done.
References
[1] Executive Order 22-05, 3 C.F.R. (2022), State of Arkansas Executive Department proclamation. https://web.archive.org/web/20220218142155/https:/governor.arkansas.gov/images/uploads/executiveOrders/EO_22_-_05._.pdf
[2] Parry, J. A. (2000). “What Women Wanted”: Arkansas Women’s Commissions and the ERA. The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 59(3), 265–298. https://doi.org/10.2307/40027988
[3] Arkansas Women’s Commission (2022). Report of the 2022 Women’s Commission: Analyzing the Role of Arkansas Women in the Labor Market and Economy. Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. https://women.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/AWC-Final-Report.pdf
[4] THE HISTORY OF THE WOMEN’S FOUNDATION OF ARKANSAS. Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. (2022, December 20). https://womensfoundationarkansas.org/25th-anniversary/
[5] Williams, A. (2017, August 17). Arkansas Women’s Commission Meeting #6. Russellville; STATE OF ARKANSAS.
[6] Grajeda, A. (2022a, December 7). Childcare access a barrier to women’s workforce participation in Arkansas, study finds • Arkansas advocate. Arkansas Advocate. https://arkansasadvocate.com/2022/12/07/child-care-access-a-barrier-to-womens-workforce-participation-in-arkansas-study-finds/
External Links
Report of the 2022 Women's Commission
Notes
The first version of this case entry was written by Tori Scott, a Master of Public Service candidate at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and then edited. The views expressed in the entry are those of the authors, editors, or cited sources, and are not necessarily those of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.