Equity Action Planning in Adult Basic Education

Thank you to Maribel Ojeda for leading our Coffee Talk: Equity Action Planning in Adult Basic Education.

Below are some statistics that were shared during the live event-

From Jobs for the Future:

•6 in 10 Black adults not working IT industry would consider a career change to work in the sector

•55% were unsure where to start

•51% lacked the financial resources

•52% lacked the skills

From Women's Equity Center:

From 2016-2018 63% of the females in the workplace were white. Of the remaining women in the workforce, 14% were Latina, 13% were black, 6% were Asian, and 3% were other or mixed. 

Maribel shared how Pennsylvania examined data and is moving towards equity action planning from the top down in Adult Basic Education. The group discussed how difficult it can be to implement actions versus just talk about DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). It was emphasized that this space in LINCS will give us an opportunity to continue to share ideas and resources to help us improve outcomes of adult learners from BIPOC and other groups that have been left behind in the past. 

 

Comments

Adult Basic Education plays a vital role in creating a more diverse and equitable workforce. We provide a pipeline of adults that are improving their skills to enter the workforce for the first time or re-enter the workforce. Post your comments to one or all of these questions. Feel free to ask a few questions of your own!

  1. How do we currently market adult education to potential learners and partners? What could we do better?
  2. How do we recruit new students from diverse and underserved populations?
  3. Do personal or unconscious biases exclude some students from certain career pathway exploration in our area?
  4. How do we help adults explore career pathways in an equitable and inclusive way?
  5. How can programs work with employers to recruit workers from adult basic education programs? How could these efforts lead to a more diverse and inclusive workforce?