SEEING that the majority of households in St. Kitts & Nevis are headed by females, SKNVibes checked in with several recently unemployed women to see what steps they are taking to find work. We found that a lot of these women are employing resourcefulness to make their way out of the unemployment lines.
While both the Labour and Statistics Departments say there are no available recent unemployment statistics, extensive unemployment data were compiled in the 2001 Census. The census findings provide insight into how women deal with the stress of unemployment and the avenues that they tap to find work.
For instance, 537 unemployed male and 336 unemployed female respondents surveyed in the 2001 Census spoke about the steps they had taken during the past two months to look for work.
Sixty males said that they had not taken any steps compared to 24 females.
Seventy-five males said that they had made direct applications (sent out letters) compared to 105 females who said they had done that.
Two hundred and ninety-four men said that they had checked at work sites, factory gates, etc. compared to 150 females.
Fifty-seven men said that they had sought assistance from friends compared to 32 women.
Our 2001 Census findings suggest what so many studies have: although unemployed women are proactive in their job search – by sending out applications, for instance – they tend to be less aggressive in utilizing networking, i.e. the help of friends and acquaintances, which is a method that can dramatically improve one’s chances of finding a job.
Therefore, men tend to spend a shorter time in the unemployment lines than women, partly because they know how to network.
What is clear, too, is that both men and women do not use their social connections enough. Social networking can consist of getting a friend or acquaintance to put in a good word or give your curriculum vitae to the right people. It can consist of asking your friends to invite you out to socialize with their social network and facilitate introductions. It can consist of asking people you know to inform you when a vacancy in their company materializes. Basically, it engages your people skills. You have to be your own publicist.
Meet “Baby Girl.”
The young woman has been unemployed for three weeks; a stressful predicament compounded by the fact that she is three months pregnant. She had worked in a supervisory position at the company, where she put in five years.
Speaking with Baby Girl, I find her to be very street-smart. Better yet, she knows how to seek out contacts for assistance in her job search.
On Thursday, May 7 at 10:30 a.m., I phoned Baby Girl’s cell to introduce myself to her. One of her unemployed co-workers had given me Baby Girl’s number.
Baby Girl told me that at the moment she and yet another terminated co-worker were waiting outside the house of Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas in St. Paul’s.
Determined to get a job and a sympathetic ear, Baby Girl showed up on the request of Prime Minister Douglas. He had spoken with Baby Girl, his fellow villager, at the Labour meeting last Friday and told her that he wanted to meet with her. The Prime Minister told her to come by on Sunday.
“When I went on Sunday, I didn’t get to see him much,” Baby Girl said, adding that, “Somebody went before me and they took up all my time. So he told me to come back on Thursday.”
Baby Girl said the Prime Minister informed her that he would be working from home on Thursday.
When I saw Baby Girl later on Thursday, she told me that she did not get to meet with the Prime Minister.
She said Dr. Douglas told her that he was able to accommodate only his first seven visitors because he had to attend an 11:00 a.m. meeting.
Looking at Baby Girl’s willow-thin figure, one would not realize that she is pregnant. I even joked about it with her. Her vulnerable frame belied the steely determination emanating from her focused eyes.
There was frustration in her voice as she expressed her opinion that unemployed men have an inherent advantage over unemployed women.
She made the observation that way more than half the people who were terminated at her workplace are women. Yet, she said, the terminated men seem to be having an easier time finding work than the women. She mentioned one male co-worker who recently found a job at a major grocery store.
“To me, men are quicker to get work than women. Men are more flexible. Men can do anything. Who is going to want to lift up heavy boxes up there [at the grocery store]? So they have a better advantage at getting jobs. They can always go on a construction site. Construction is all over the place,” she said.
But what Baby Girl lacks in brawn she makes up for with her bold approach. She tells anyone in a position to help that she is looking for a job.
Although Baby Girl says her boyfriend is supportive, she is not content just sitting at home not making any money.
On Friday, May 8, I phoned Baby Girl back around 10:00 a.m. to ask if she had gotten a chance to reschedule with the Prime Minister. She said “no,” but disclosed that she saw Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour, Honourable Sam Condor on Friday morning when she was in town. She approached him and he told her to stop by his office a little later in the day. When I phoned her again around midday, she was waiting to get in to see Minister Condor.
Baby Girl came to the SKNVibes offices around 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
She told me that Minister Condor phoned an employer on her behalf, in her presence. He put in a good word for her. She had an interview scheduled with the employer for 6:00 p.m. on Friday. It was for a cashier position.
Meet Celia Christopher
Celia Christopher, senior field officer in the Department of Gender Affairs, has tips for unemployed women.
“When they come to the Women’s Training Centre looking for work, if we have any skills training going on at the moment I will invite them to be a participant,” she said.
“I also tell them that one of the things they should do, whether they are working or not, is their own little informal survey in the community. See what people are going into town to buy. Once they establish what people are going into town to buy, they should start selling those things from their house and put a little notice on their gate.
“For example, if they are going into town to buy vegetables, she can go to town and buy those vegetables and put a vegetable stall in front of her gate,” she said.
Christopher also encourages women to foster business partnerships. “Link up with somebody who is already selling something in the community and take your products to that person to sell in their shop. Ask them if you could bring your sugar cakes,” she said.
She advises women to get involved in income-generating skills like sewing, jewelry-making and baking cakes, pastries and sweet breads such as banana bread.
“These are things that you can do in your home,” said Christopher.
“When we do the personal development aspect of any skills training, what I say to them is that, ‘When you learn the additional skills, you can always fall back on them in hard times. You can implement the things that you have learnt and set up a micro-business. You have to be proactive.’”
Meet Shela Chapman
Shela Chapman used to work with Baby Girl. Chapman, too, was fired.
Luckily, the single mother had two things going for her that fateful day in April: her business head and her savings.
Chapman is now self-employed, having segued into selling nuts full-time. For many years, she would sell nuts part-time.
“When I was working, I would sell then go to work for 2:00 p.m. or sometimes 1:00 p.m.,” Chapman said, adding that, “When I would get two days off, I would sell on a wider scale. I used to go sell by the Treasury all the time and by the Development Bank. Now, I’m going by the Pelican Mall and different places because I’m doing it on a full-time basis.
She is also making steps to expand her offerings. “I’ve been doing boiled nuts for a while, but yesterday I tried the parched ones and they were really good. So I think I will do both boiled and parched.”
Although Chapman sells only nuts for the moment, she intends to make more items available to her customers.
She also sees herself buying a mini-bus. “Then I will make up my mind whether I am going to do a little cooking and drive around to sell.”
It is this forward-thinking that helped Chapman land on her feet in the wake of her firing. “When I worked, I saved my money,” she said, adding that, “I think you should save for a rainy day. Look at it; suppose I was just squandering all my money?”
Shela Chapman encourages readers to find part-time work to buffer them in the event of a job loss.
“Look at me,” she said. “I went to work the Wednesday night. I worked very hard the Wednesday night, and when I went to work the Thursday afternoon I didn’t have a job. So you have to make preparations for these things.”
Apart from having made the necessary preparations, Chapman appears to have a friend or two in high places. Yet, so far, she has not had to rely on them.
Chapman said that during a recent town hall meeting, Prime Minister Douglas referred to her as “a close personal friend.”
“The PM said he would stand up by me so that I can get a soft loan from the bank,” she said.
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