SIL Alum Fem Equity and PIVOT Baltimore partner to support formerly incarcerated individuals in Baltimore
Two Social Innovation Lab alumni ventures are teaming up to ensure that women released from the correctional system have the services and support they need when reentering society and the workforce.
PIVOT Baltimore is a non-profit that connects women released from the corrections system with critical services needed to reclaim their lives, rejoin their families and reinvigorate their communities. They provide housing referrals, transitional support, family counseling, and job training and placement during their 8-week program. After finishing the program, PIVOT graduates will benefit from premium membership with Fem Equity, a social enterprise serving women of color by providing the tools, support, and confidence to make empowered decisions for career success and financial security towards an equitable society.
According to Adeola Ajani, founder and CEO of Fem Equity, funds raised by the company’s recent “Know Your Worth‘’ crowdfund will offset the initial costs for PIVOT graduates to tap into Fem Equity’s membership services throughout 2022. The crowdfunding campaign, which ran from February to April 2022, ultimately brought in more than $7,000 from 20 supporters.
The PIVOT-Fem Equity collaboration was announced on April 2, 2022, at Fem Equity’s ‘Know Your Worth’ crowdfunding campaign closing celebration held at the Johns Hopkins FastForward U space. At the event, Veronica Jackson, Executive Director of PIVOT Baltimore, shared remarks from her experience working with PIVOT participants and seeing the challenges they face on a daily basis, including the pay gap.
According to Jackson, there is a $32,000 pay gap between formerly incarcerated women vs. men in Baltimore city. The systemic issues that create this gap are also seen in the carceral systems. In the state of Maryland, there are no pre-release centers to help women preparing to be released from prison. Meanwhile, there are a few programs for men.
“Women and men experience a huge pay gap difference. But a returning citizen — a woman, especially a black woman — experiences an even wider gap,” said Jackson. “That’s why we are so thankful to partner with Fem Equity in serving women. Through this partnership, PIVOT graduates will participate in masterclasses with Fem Equity. They will help the women to continue to reach new heights in their careers and experience knowing their worth in the workforce.”
According to Jackson, PIVOT helps to plant the seeds of careers, and Fem Equity will help to water the seeds.
“This is in hopes that one day women who were once viewed as underserved and not valued will be viewed as equals and compensated equally and successfully thriving in their careers.”
Fem Equity and PIVOT recently applied to the CLLCTIVLY Adaptive Village small grants competition asking for $25,000 to implement a need-based scholarship program for PIVOT graduates to receive fem Equity employment coaching and financial literacy curriculum at no cost to them, which will result in closing the pay gap for post-incarcerated women in Baltimore city. The initiatives with the most votes in each category win, and one vote is allowed per day. View the Fem Equity-PIVOT pitch to learn more and vote.
About PIVOT Baltimore (SIL Alum ‘18)
Founded in 2017, PIVOT creates an ecosystem of opportunity including access to housing, transportation, mental health care, addiction treatment, family services, job training, job placement, and community connections.
PIVOT brings together employers, service providers, government agencies, non-profits, faith-based groups, and community members at large to change perceptions and reduce the stigma of incarceration that follows women for a lifetime.
Learn more: https://www.pivotprogram.org/
About Fem Equity (SIL Alum ‘21)
Founded in 2020, Fem Equity strives to make pay equity a reality for all women of color by providing the tools, support, and confidence they need to make empowered decisions for career success and financial security towards an equitable society. So far, Fem Equity has graduated its first cohort of members. From the first cohort, members were able to obtain and negotiate for salary increases in the amount of $18,000.00, cancel the same amount of credit card debt, and 80% are now working in their intended fields.
