Corporate Voices for Working Families Celebrates its Tenth Anniversary

Aren’t most families working families?  What exactly are non-working families?  It seems like most families have people in them who are workers or were workers until they lost their jobs.  Nonetheless, people still must fight hard to get all the support they need as workers.

The organization Corporate Voices for Working Families just celebrated its tenth anniversary.  The organization aims to represent the private sector voice in the dialogue on public policy issues involving working families. This nonprofit brings together 50 partner companies that employ 4 million workers and pushes forward the intersecting interests of business, community and families: workforce readiness, family economic stability and flexibility in the workforce.

During its 10th Anniversary Celebration, Corporate Voices brought together over 100 leaders to discuss issues such as creating more flexibility in the workplace, helping workers graduate from college, and aiding disadvantaged youth find their way into the into the workforce.

In her article about the conference, Yvonne Siu framed the meeting within a particular political context.  She notes, “This meeting occurred at a time when our national dialogue is focused on how to stimulate slow economic and job growth, and highlighted what best-practice corporate leaders are doing to build a stronger and more competitive workforce for the future.”

Corporate Voices advocates for employers playing a larger role in encouraging and supporting their workers gain new skills and qualifications.  It founded the Learn and Earn initiative which documents and shares best practice examples of how employers are supporting talent development and college completion among their workers.