Since 1919, when the right to vote was first on their agenda, Business and Professional Women (BPW) members have been working toward the same thing: equality for women in the workplace. Berkshire Chapter President Carolyn DiCarlo, says equality in the workplace is still a major focus.
DiCarlo is a Certified Insurance Counselor and Property and Casualty Broker at Colt Insurance in Pittsfield.
The national BPW began working on passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1937, and they are still working on it, DiCarlo said. Locally, they also work within three key programming areas: advocacy, information sharing and education. The Berkshire group — which is essentially central and south county since North Berkshire has another chapter — is made up of 65 members; statewide 550 women and men belong. The Berkshire group is the largest of the local chapters in the state, DiCarlo said.
The first Monday of every month, BPW members hold a dinner meeting at the South Mountain Grill in Pittsfield to network with each other and to learn. This month, March 3, the speaker will discuss finances; next month it’s team building. They’ve focused on issues as wide ranging as breast cancer, nutrition and taxes. The incidence of breast cancer is significantly higher in Massachusetts than nationally, so DiCarlo said, they’ve put some energy into educational programming about that. Since women are also often juggling too many responsibilities, work-family balance is another topic.
Equality issues, like the one that originally motivated the women in 1919, are still high on the agenda she said. Though much has changed in the workplace — and of course women can vote, a few outstanding issues remain. Still women earn 69 cents to the man’s dollar, and still there is significant sexual harassment in the workplace.
But BPW also deals with issues of importance to women that are outside of the workplace. Violence against women and health issues are among the topics that they feel are important to address.
The local BPW also raises funds for two to three scholarships each year, DiCarlo said. The scholarships go to women who are returning to work and college.
The national BPW is headquartered in Washington, D.C. From the headquarters BPW staff lobby and work on the larger political issues facing women in the workplace.
BPW is open to men and women, said DiCarlo. Members include women and men of all occupations, including accountants and bookkeepers, a tavern owner, entrepreneurs, coaches, small retail business owners, consultants, attorneys, bank and insurance company employees. The group is very supportive of its members, she said.
Business and Professional Women/USA have the following mission statement: To achieve equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education, and information. Business and Professional Women/USA, founded in 1919, promotes equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education and information. With 30,000 members in more than 1,600 local organizations represented in every congressional district in the country, BPW/USA includes among its members women and men of every age, race, religion, political party and socioeconomic background.
DiCarlo said the national BPW broke off from the international organization over a year ago, though she isn’t entirely sure why. She said there was discussion at a recent state BPW meeting about joining the international group again.
According to websites, the international BPW has chapters all over the world, and has a similar mission statement and vision to the BPW-USA.
The next monthly Berkshire BPW meeting will be held March 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the South Mountain Grill in Pittsfield. A $20 fee covers dinner and program. During that program Dominica Bernardo, former financial advisor will speak on finances: “Prioritizing - Where does the money go? Insurance; education planning; estate planning; retirement planning; investment basics.†Registration is required by calling 637-0858.
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Berkshire Food Project Closed for Power Issues
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Berkshire Food Project is closed Monday because of a power outage early in the morning.
"We are unable to get proper electricity and heat to the building," according to Executive Director Matthew Alcombright. "We hope that this can be resolved and be open tomorrow."
The project does have some sandwiches and frozen meals that will be distributed at the entry.
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