Educational Access in Massachusetts

Across the country and right here in Massachusetts, there are many barriers to low-income people accessing education. Education level affects the kind of job a person can get, and in Massachusetts to get a job that pays a wage that can sustain a whole family most people have to have education or training beyond a high school diploma. It is especially difficult for low-income women to access this necessary education and training due to unique challenges women face. For instance, women are usually the primary care provider for their children. Also, with our country’s history of discrimination, there is still a wage gap between men and women, so women make even less than men when working jobs without self-sustaining wages. For every $1.00 that a man earns in Massachusetts, a woman only earns 77 cents.

Studies show that women without training and an education past high school have jobs that do not pay enough to support themselves and their families. The National Center on Family Homelessness found that these women need cash assistance longer than those who can access education and training. A study by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston found that the welfare system in Massachusetts does not successfully aid and encourage women to access education while receiving state assistance. Knowledge about a variety of education and training programs and how to make educational efforts count towards work requirements is not widespread enough. Paperwork to get benefits such as childcare vouchers can be tricky and confusing, and caseworkers often do not fully explain a woman’s options.

In December 2007, the national Working Poor Families Project and Crittenton Women’s Union produced a report entitled “Unlocking the Doors to Higher Education and Training for Massachusetts’ Working Poor Families.” They found that there is a large gap in Massachusetts between jobs with a certain set of required skills and people who have the skills to fill these jobs. If women can get the education and training they need for these jobs they will be able to get and keep jobs that pay wages that can support themselves and their families. Women with high school diplomas and no further training often earn less than men at the same education level because the highest-paying jobs at this level are trade jobs, which are dominated by male workers. Women face special challenges in acquiring higher education, and this report recommends that the state work to increase funding for community colleges as well as provide counselors to help women balance their multiple responsibilities and achieve success regardless of their personal struggles.

While government should work to improve access to education opportunities, smaller programs can also help low-income women towards fulfilling their potential. The Woman to Woman program at Crittenton Women’s Union is a course for low-income women that equips them with the skills to get jobs that pay self-sufficient wages. On CWU’s website, there are two tools: a “Self-Sufficiency Calculator” to help people figure out their actual cost of living and the wage they need to live with no government work supports, and a “Hot Jobs” search tool that helps people find jobs that pay self-sufficiency wages. The Hot Jobs tool includes descriptions of the education and skills necessary to pursue these jobs.

One of the best ways women can find out about education and training opportunities is through friends, family, or other community members. If you have participated in a helpful program spread the word to women who you think might be interested!

Nola Kosowsky
Advocacy Intern
Crittenton Women's Union