LIFE

‘Empowerment!’ confidence-building program for women at CCM

Lorraine Ash
@LorraineVAsh

RANDOLPH – In January, the Women’s Center at County College of Morris will roll out “Empowerment!,” a 12-week program designed to help build confidence in women re-entering the work force.

The series, which starts Jan. 13, is being offered for the third time. It’s a cornerstone of Real Solutions, a new job development program that focuses on building skills and moving women into jobs that pay well immediately.

“We take creative approaches that build on an individual's motivation and willingness to learn,” said Director Melissa Elias.

The Women’s Center at CCM continues to provide the core job skills instruction it has offered for more than 30 years — which currently includes daily one-on-one career counseling and computer training in Microsoft Office and QuickBooks as well as legal education clinics and biweekly Job Club workshops.

However, “Empowerment!” goes beyond those skills to bolster women’s confidence and self-esteem. Twenty women will be selected for the series, which is free. Attendance at all sessions is mandatory.

Focus on the self

“This is a holistic program that addresses all those issues that come up when you’ve not been in the workforce and your husband suddenly dies or, after 28 years, wants a divorce,” said Jeanne Rohach of Parsippany, the freelance certified women’s empowerment coach and consultant who leads “Empowerment!”

“When you face adversity like that, your self-esteem goes down and your stress levels go up,” she said, “and you always face obstacles beyond the question of what you will do to become economically self-sufficient.”

Each week of the 12-week series is devoted to dealing with one of those obstacles, including stress management, self-esteem, self-leadership, self-management, motivation, communication skills, presentation skills, and goal setting.

The latter can be particularly challenging for women re-entering the work force, Rohach said, because it requires a sense of vision.

“Some women have never created a vision for their lives,” she explained. “Their vision was established for them when they got married and started raising children. Getting a new one can be really scary.”

Level playing field

In a nutshell, the center designs its programming to level the occupational playing field for women in transition.

The unemployment rate among older women increased from 2007 to 2011, according to a 2012 Older Women’s League report. Generally, it has risen from 3.1 to 3.5 percent for women ages 40 to 65 and older. Women ages 45 to 54 have the highest rate of increase — from 3.2 to 6.7 percent.

Also, women have regained 23 percent of the jobs they lost during the recession while men have gained back 34 percent of the jobs they lost, OWL reports.

“The straining economy has challenged many, in particular women of all socioeconomic backgrounds, ages and ethnicities,” Elias said. “Many women who have been stay-at-home moms and caregivers for years need to re-enter the workforce for a variety of reasons. This often invisible segment of our population needs help getting back in the groove.”

Interactive all the way

The essence of “Empowerment!” is action and interaction, according to Rohach, whose approach to leading the series is wholly experiential.

“The curriculum of the series is never presentational. I never use PowerPoint. I never lecture at them,” Rohach said. “It’s about the women becoming engaged and activated in their own lives. Empowerment is not about dreaming or planning. It’s about doing.”

The approach has been successful for Rohach, who has a degree from the American Conservatory Theater. She uses it at all the venues where she presents workshops, including Dress for Success Hudson County; Birth Haven, a home for pregnant teenagers in Sussex County; and Pathways 2 Prosperity, an anti-poverty initiative in northern New Jersey.

For instance, in the session about self-leadership, Rohach will ask each woman to think of three people she regards as great leaders.

“They can be somebody known to you, somebody in your family, or someone you know from a distance,” she said. “Then, in small groups, I’ll ask them to share their knowledge and information about the qualities and attributes of the people they regard as leaders.”

But the lesson doesn’t stop there. Homework for the following week requires each woman to interview one leader on her list and glean from the encounter information about what actions that leader takes. When the women return to the group, they report on what they found.

“That makes each of them a co-educator,” Rohach said. “They’re not only learning for themselves but giving to every other woman in the room.”

Each woman also must identify one thing her chosen leader does that she doesn’t do.

“That action becomes a goal,” said Rohach, who also uses physical improvisation exercises, stress diaries and other techniques in her workshop.

At Pathways 2 Prosperity, Rohach conducts workshops that help people in poverty create action plans to improve their situations. Dianna Morrison, director of the initiative, where Rohach chairs the educational committee, called Rohach’s ability “unique.”

“Jeanne provides a very interactive experience which allows individuals to internalize knowledge and put it into practice,” Morrison said. “We can provide tools and skills for people, but what’s really important as well is to have that concept of self, to have belief in one’s ability.”

Lorraine Ash: 973-428-6660; lash@njpressmedia.com

Learn more

EMPOWERMENT!

WHAT: A 12-week course for women in transition

WHEN: Orientation 10-11 a.m. Jan. 13; Sessions 10 a.m.-noon Jan. 20, 27; Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24; April 7, 14

WHERE: The Women’s Center at County College of Morris, 214 Center Grove Road, Randolph

COST: Free to 20 selected women

INFO: 973-328-5025 or womenscenter@ccm.edu

•To connect with Jeanne Rohach, call 973-879-1039