I am often asked how a woman can start her own business. From cooking school to gardening, more women are feeling the entrepreneurial spirit and looking for ways to break into the business world.
Connecticut has an active and accessible Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), which was established by the Legislature in 1973. Seventeen appointed volunteer Commissioners join staff and volunteers to work to eliminate sex discrimination in CT. The commission is charged by the governor to inform leaders about the nature and scope of discrimination, to serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups concerned with services for women, to promote consideration of women for governmental positions and to work with state agencies to access programs and practices as they affect women.
The commission offers information for women who want to start a business, among other topics. The PCSW maintains a database of women business owners in the state. Through the PCSW Web site, subscribers can choose to receive e-mail updates during the legislative session regarding bills that affect women business owners. Participating in a mailing list also ensures subscribers will receive invitations to PCSWsponsored events, including Connecticut Women Entrepreneurs’ Day.
The commission partners with other groups to advocate for opportunities for women in business. The PCSW works with the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-CT) to advocate for business issues that affect women. The PCSW is also a supporting organization of the Microenterprise Resource Group (MERG). MERG’s mission is to strengthen resources for microenterprise in Connecticut through cooperation, advocacy, and education. A microenterprise is a locally owned business with fewer than 10 employees that was started with less than $50K.
According to the commission’s Web site, the PCSW also provides opportunities for the public to learn about women’s issues and to become active in their communities around matters that concern women in our state. These efforts include a speakers’ bureau, sexual harassment prevention trainings and affirmative action investigation training. Through the commission’s public information program, PCSW commissioners and staff may be available to speak to a group on a variety of issues. Some include: - Body Image - Legislative Issues Affecting Women - The Wage Gap - Trafficking of Women and Girls - Welfare Reform - Women in Business - Women in the Trades and Nontraditional Occupations - Young Women and Leadership The PCSW also provides sexual harassment prevention training. If you are interested in sexual harassment prevention training but are not a state agency, the PCSW maintains a list of trainers throughout the state. The PCSW compiles and maintains this list as a public service but the PCSW does not endorse the trainers listed or certify the services provided as appropriate. However this list may be helpful in locating a trainer to meet your needs.
For women interested in starting a business, the PCSW can be a useful resource. If you have been considering starting a business, get in the game and contact the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women to find out what you need to know. Log on to the PCSW Web site at www.ct.gov/pcsw for more information, or call the commission’s office at (860) 240-8300.
If you have any questions or would like more information about this subject, you may call my office at (860) 240-8700, or e-mail me at penny.bacchiochi@cga.ct.gov.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
State Rpresentative Visits 4th Grade
Does anyone know our lieutenant governor’s name?” asked state Rep. Penny Bacchiochi (R, 52nd District). “It’s Michael... ” “Jackson!” shouted a student. After the good-natured laughs from students and teachers subsided, Bacchiochi quickly corrected the fourth-grade girl and explained that Michael Fedele was the correct answer.
Bacchiochi’s visit to the Stafford Elementary School fourth-grade class of Kelly Murdock was filled with many more laughs, as well as a good share of astute questions by kids who have been studying United States government and the state of Connecticut.
What can sometimes be a difficult concept to grasp was made kid-friendly and easy to understand by Bacchiochi, who spent approximately 40 minutes talking to students about many facets of her job and government in general.
Bacchiochi, who represents the towns of Somers, Stafford and Union, grew up in Stafford and now resides in Somers. She told the class that her love of the area was a big reason she wanted to become a state representative, but that being able to influence laws that affect the children and their parents was another of her major motivators. “A big thing we do in legislature is make laws,” she told the class. “We have 4,000 potential new laws every year. That’s what we start with in January , and by June, we’ve whittled them down to 400 laws to vote on.”
The children were eager to ask questions and were able to stage a mock vote among students to illustrate how difficult it is to please all the voters, all the time. Bacchiochi used the recycling issue to illustrate her point.
“Recycling is a big, controversial issue in legislature. People on both sides of the issue think they’re right,” she explained. The question of whether the state should add 5 cents to each bottle of water sold — to encourage residents to return the empty bottles for recycling to the store to get their nickel back — or whether the state should let people continue to recycle their water bottles by throwing them in their recycling bins at home, was posed. Is adding 5 cents to each bottle an incentive to recycle, or is it a penalty to those who are already doing it when they put the bottles in their bin for recycling? Children in the first row of Murdock’s class voted, determining that both sides had good reasons to vote the way they did.
Murdock’s students were enthusiastic to show Bacchiochi how much they knew about Connecticut, as they shared their knowledge of the state song, the state bird and other state facts. “Who is our governor?” asked Bacchiochi.
One student replied, “Jodi,” prompting more laughs, as Bacchiochi asked, “Your friend, Jodi?”
More amusement came when another student asked, “What do you do in the Capitol?”
Bacchiochi responded, “Have you ever had a day you just want to go home because your teacher talks and talks and talks and talks?” Everyone in class giggled as they seemed to recall days such as those. “Well, there are lots of days when I listen to people talk for six to eight hours,” she explained.
“Your whole job, do you just sit there?” asked another student.
“Actually, there’s a lot of walking,” said Bacchiochi. “It’s like having a math class, a science class and an English class all going on at once, and there’s going to be a test!”
The state representative had her own questions for the class, prompting some keen answers. “What if no one wanted to take care of the state of Connecticut?” she asked.
Responses included, “Everyone would go crazy,” “It wouldn’t be that organized ,” and an especially clever analogy from a student, “State government would be like a class with no teacher.”
Besides helping people and solving problems, Bacchiochi said her favorite part of her job was talking to students. “I asked if I could come here today,” she said. “I like to talk to classes because you will be running our state government, and one of you will be running the 52nd district.”
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