We are pleased to bring you the latest edition of the Economic Opportunities Program’s newsletter! Learn how the Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) and its initiatives are driving change and helping low- and moderate-income Americans connect to and thrive in a changing economy.
Expanding access to quality jobs
Can retail jobs be better jobs? At our Working in America event, “ What’s in Store: The Future of Work in Retail,” panelists discussed how technology, new business models, and other factors are changing retail. What this means for the future is more complicated than whether or not there will be jobs. Panelists described opportunities to invest in workers and make retail work more rewarding work — with benefits for customers, communities, and investors too. Read the summary and watch the full video online.
EOP’s 2017-18 Job Quality Fellows recently released a statement of purpose describing the Fellows’ shared vision for a more inclusive and equitable future. Next, we will be releasing a series of multimedia profiles of each member of the Fellowship’s inaugural cohort describing the approaches they take to improve job quality in their communities. Look for the first profiles in the coming weeks and more to come throughout 2018.
Reconnecting work and wealth
Can hard work still provide sustained economic security for workers and their families? Reconnecting Work and Wealth is a joint initiative — led by EOP and the Financial Security Program — dedicated to exploring this question. Maureen Conway and other leaders across fields shared ideas for how to reconnect work and wealth in a new video. Lata Reddy, senior vice president of diversity, inclusion, and impact at Prudential Financial, described the importance of reconnecting work and wealth in a blog post.
In early December, FIELD, the Financial Security Program, and six nonprofits convened for the Nonprofit Leaders in Financial Technology (nLIFT) winter meeting in San Francisco. Comprised of leaders in the fields of technology and financial inclusion, nLIFT members discussed their primary challenges, analyzed their business and revenue models, and discussed ways that they could work collectively and with partners to advance the group’s shared goal of leveraging technology-driven platforms to develop a fairer and more inclusive financial system.
New Endeavors in the New Year
EOP welcomes Dan Porterfield as the new President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, effective June 2018. We look forward to working with Dan to promote the principle of inclusion, address the critical challenges facing working people and aspiring entrepreneurs, and advance promising strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income Americans connect to and thrive in a changing economy in 2018 and beyond.
As we set our priorities for the new year, the Economic Opportunities Program and its initiatives hope to hear from you. Have you read a Workforce Strategies Initiative publication, attended a Working in America event, or participated in one of our leadership development or fellowship programs? If so, EOP invites you to fill out a brief survey and let us know what you think of our work.
EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative recently launched a new website. Packed with the initiative’s current and past work, this new website offers a simple interface and improved navigation to help you find the content you need. Like WSI’s new look? We look forward to sharing a new, fully-redesigned FIELD website with you in the coming months as well.
Are you involved in upskilling at your company? Do you help businesses develop upskilling strategies or programs? UpSkill America would love to hear from you. The feedback you provide in this brief survey will inform our work this year.
Finally, the Economic Opportunities Program has settled into the new Aspen Institute headquarters at 2300 N Street NW, Washington DC. EOP has many exciting events planned throughout 2018. We hope you will join us at our beautiful new offices and event space for our Working in America series discussions and other conversations. We look forward to hosting you here!
Upcoming for the Economic Opportunities Program
On Friday, February 9, at 12:00 pm ET, the Economic Opportunities Program will host “I Am Not a Tractor: A Book Talk and Discussion on Worker-Driven Social Responsibility,” our first Working in America event of the year and the first EOP-hosted event at our new offices at 2300 N Street NW, Washington, DC. Register today!
On Wednesday, February 21, the Economic Opportunities Program and the Latinos and Society Program will host another Working in America series event at our new offices. The panel discussion will explore structural challenges Latinos face in the American workforce today and opportunities to address these challenges. Be sure to save the date.
The Aspen Institute will host the 2018 Summit on Inequality and Opportunity on March 8 at Arena Stage. This all-day event will convene 400+ policymakers, civic leaders, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and practitioners from all over the country for a day of ideas, problem-solving, and values-based exchange.
From the Aspen Institute blog
What’s new at the Economic Opportunities Program – January 2018
To Fix the Education System We Need Good Jobs
Well-Paid Maids: Startup Advances Social and Business Mission
Good Jobs Are Good Investments: Lessons from SOCAP 2017
Maintaining the American Dream Means Reconnecting Work and Wealth
Rethinking the Future of Retail
Join the conversation
Follow the Economic Opportunities Program initiatives on social media to join the conversation!
“As white wealth was created, Black poverty and segregation was also created.” @jaisalnoor #racialwealthgap https://t.co/PYPcDbhzUB
— FIELD at Aspen (@AspenMicro) November 14, 2017
For all the talk about the “end of retail,” it is one of the largest employers in the country, accounting for about one in eight workers in the private sector @portereduardo #talkgoodjobs https://t.co/oMYM4J21v1
— Maureen Conway (@conway_maureen) November 28, 2017
Are there better ways to accelerate shared efforts to yield more good companies and good jobs? @mpopov1229 #SOCAP17 https://t.co/Psib777qZl
— Workforce Strategies (@AspenWorkforce) December 3, 2017
How is @Starbucks advancing the #upskilling movement? By giving its workers a chance to move ahead. https://t.co/2GCvMqU7w7
— UpSkill America (@upskillamerica) December 11, 2017
About EOP
The Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) advances promising strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in a changing economy. Over its 25 years of work, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, to start businesses, and to build assets and economic stability. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org/eop.
EOP has several initiatives, including the Workforce Strategies Initiative, FIELD, UpSkill America, and Good Companies/Good Jobs. Learn more about these initiatives by visiting their respective websites: aspeninstitute.org/wsi, aspeninstitute.org/field, aspeninsitute.org/gcgj, and aspeninstitute.org/upskill.
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, CO; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org.
Thank you to our many partners and funders for supporting our efforts.
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