Albany, NY – Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D,WF-Fresh Meadows) partnered with YWCA divisions from across New York to call for adequate funding for women’s workforce development programming in this year’s state budget. Joining her in Albany was YWCA of Queens’ Executive Director, Katherine Kim along with YWCAs from Brooklyn, Orange County, Binghamton, Cortland, Schenectady (Northeastern NY), and Troy (Greater Capital Region).

“Women are the backbone of our economy. That’s why we need to do much as possible to support workforce development for women.” said Assemblywoman Rozic, who chairs the Assembly’s Task Force on Women’s Issues. “Something that will help us achieve that is investing in workforce training services that assist women on their path towards economic self-sufficiency – whether married, single, with children or not.”

This year’s Executive budget proposal includes a $175 million allocation for workforce investments that would be coordinated by a new Office of Workforce Development. Together with the YWCAs of New York State, Rozic is urging for a portion of these funds to explicitly address the economic security of women.

“The YWCA of Queens is so encouraged and excited by State Assemblymember Rozic's efforts to allocate funds for female single headed households. For over 40 years the YWCA of Queens has stood as a beacon for the newly arrived female residents of Queens, providing ESL, High School Equivalency classes, workforce child care and other services to help them in achieving self-sufficiency,” said Katherine Kim, Executive Director at the YWCA of Queens. “Women have historically been overlooked when it comes to employment support and Assemblymember Rozic's stewardship of this initiative shows a nuanced understanding of the barriers that female single headed households face in gaining and keeping employment. Passage of this bill will be good for women, and good for Queens!”

YWCA of Queens, under leadership of Executive Director Katherine Kim, stands out for its efforts to support immigrant women in workforce development via adult ESL classes, a mobile food pantry that serves 350-400 individuals in Northeast Queens during each giveaway, and know your rights workshops educating individuals on issues such as housing and employment discrimination.