....
u ta en
together, repre ent more than
h If of the f d raj budg t. Home
equity nd r tirement r erve
benefr ting mo tI y the non-poor,
re the poor Ie
ce to bome
undc r urr nt policie .
yndi ated col umni t Wi)­
Ii m R pberry, in a recent eries
o arn I praising Sherraden'
approa h, writes: "In most
tate (and perhap ali), it i vir-
Thomasina Wright Advances
in Non- Traditional Role
NBWPORT NEWS, Va.,-Most
young girl don't dre m of
building nuclear-powered
ubmarine and aircraft car-
ers when they grow up. nd
neither did Thoma in
Wright.
But today, as chief inspec­
tion supervisor of nondestruc­
tive te ting at Newport News
Shipbuilding, Wright is just
where he want to be. She i
also one of a growing number
of female employee who are
moving into upervi ory and
management ranks in non­
traditional roles.
"Talent does not dis­
crimin te by gender," ay
J me L. Ketelsen, chairman
and chief executive officer of
Newport New Shipbuilding'
parent company, Tenneco Inc.
"Clearly, ny company that
excludes women from oppor­
tunities in the management
and executive ranks is hoot­
ing itself in the foot.
"Demographic studies indi­
cate that two-thirds of the
entrants into tbe workforce
between now and the year
2000 will be women," he
'adds, "so I believe it's im--
perative that companies
recognize this source of ap­
titude, ability and com­
petence. Any company that
continues to depend on white
males as its primary source of
management-track employees
is going to have a very limited
field to choose from in the fu­
ture. "
"I DIDN'T exactly dream
of working in a shipyard, but
I always enjoyed math and
science courses more than
other u . ects," Wright says.
"So w I graduated from
hig,h s c ho o l , I Joined the
shipyard's apprentice pro­
gram. The program really
.hetped me to grow; and while
in that program, I al 0 con-
tinued my education and
earned my two-year degree at
a community college."
No..w, five years later,
Wright has earned a
bachelor's degree in mechani­
cal engineering technology
'from Old Dominion Univer­
sity (Norfolk, Va.) and i
working on her ma ter's de­
gree in business administra­
tion. She al 0 upervise the
work of 95 people who are
responsible for ,the quality in­
"spection of welds on ub-
marines and surface vessels.
To other women who are in-
• tere �d in moving ahead in
non-traditional roles, Wright
says, "You have to be deter­
mined and willing to work
hard. It's not a gift. You
have to prove yourself every
day." '
For it innovative programs
and poticle de igned to bring
omen like Thomasina
Wright into the supervi ory
and management rank, Ten­
neco has been named one of
three winners of the 1991
Cataly t Award. The other
winner are SC John on Wax
and Ar hur Ander en & Co.,
f
S.C. The ard i pr e nte d
to o r g a n i z a t i o n t h t
demon trate a commitment to
leader hip development for
their female employees.
"Tenneco, SC John on Wax
and Arthur Ander en have
reco gnized, we 11 be fore sig­
nificant number of women
are pos t t io n e d for senior
management, that they mu t
fill their pipelines with
talented women at every
management l e v e l ," says
Felice Schwartz, pre ident of
Catalyst, a not-for-profit or­
ganization that work with
bu ines to effect change for
women. "The rep they have
taken to develop and integrate
women are ub tantive, com­
prehen ive and vigorou ly
supported by their e nio r ex­
ecutives." "
"WE'RE MOVING in the
right direction," say Ketel­
sen, "but we're not there yet.
We want to be ahead of the
curve, not overwhelmed by it
down the road."
Newport News Shipbuild.
ing is the largest Shipyard in
the United States, employing
more than 29,000 workers.
•
Thomasina Wright
S-eminar for publishers
by NATHANIEL SCOTT
Correspondent
DETROIT - Approximately
3G-write and adult education
students gathered at Lothrop
Library, 1529 W. Warren
Avenue,' recently for a De k
Top Publishing Seminar,
sponsored by the Detroit
Black Writers Guild.
The semi nar concentrated
on the publishing of poetry.
Naomi Long-Madgett,
editor/publisher of -Lo t us
Press and a retired professor
from Eastern Michigan
University, conducted t e
seminar.
Long-Madgett's 'presenta­
tion covered the groundworks
of puhli hing: touching upon
writing, editing, layout,
ues ig n, cover design, paper
quality. binding and market-
ing.
She said many people are
resorting to self publishing
but most of the books are
"tacky."
She added, "Appearance I
everything. "
LONG-MADGETT feels
that if a person is observant of.'
how, other books are put
together, observing such rule
as one poem per page and con­
sistent margin space, an
individual' book can be tas­
te f u l , attractive and have
quality.
Long-Madgett has been in
the publishing business since
1974, .she said. What she has
learned is the result of trial
and error.
She ad v i se d writer e pe­
c i a l l y poet, hat finding a
publishing m ny could be
trustrati if not impossible.
BOOK PUBLISHING AUDIENCE - Writers (poet)
ed catioDal tudent ttend De Top Publl bin
WedDuday, March 13 at Lothrop Library OD W.
AveDue.
f
." h wrote.
"Re ardle of the te ory 0
elf re policy-bou ing, edu -
tion, elf-employment, retire­
ment or other-a et would be
ccumul ted in the e long-term
re tricted ccount . ,he fed r I
government would m tch or
otberwi e ub idize depo it for
the poor, and there would be
potenti I for creative fin ncing
through the priv te ector (for
ex mple, corpor tion might
adopt chool) or tbrough the
efforts of account holders them-
e lve (for ex mple , student
fund-rat ing project or student­
run busine ses).
IDA would be de igned to
promote orientation toward the
futur longer nge planning,
savings and inve tment, in­
dividual initiative, individual
choice, and achievement of life
goal ."
Asset are import nt, Sher­
raden ays, because unlike in­
come, they repre ent a "stake," a
piece of tbe wealth and produc­
tive capaci ty of America.
People think and behave dif­
ferently when they are building
assets, he believes.
. "OR} NTATION TOWARD
the future begins with assets,
which in turn shape opportunity
structures, which in turn are
quickly internalized," he ex­
plains. "In a sense, assets are the
future. They are hope in con­
e ete form.
Wliole life courses are as-
ed, i teg d and fi l
early ages unless something out
of the ordinary breaks the pat­
tern." Thus if a young woman
grows up in an environment that
provides few options, she may
not even be able \0 perceive
choices other tban to .have
children.
Assets, Sherraden maintains,
alter the reception of informa­
tion. If assets are present, the
youns woman is more likely to
consider college as an option.
According 10 Lo ng '-.
Madgett, in America there are
three major Bl ack publi hers
of poetry: Lotus and Broad-
ide Presses in Detroit and
Third World Press in Cbicago,
Illinois.
In addi tion to those three,
there is the Black Writers
Guild, which also publishers
poetry and fiction. Each pub­
l i her publishes a limited
number of books each year.
Lotu Press, Long-Madge tt
said, averages three book
each year and the Writers'
Guild expects to publish four
. this year.
LONG-MADGETT en-
courages self publishing and
had this bit of advice to pass
on.
She said, "A well put
together book of poetry does
not look cheap."
Peggy A. Moore, the
f 0 u .i d e r / pub lis her 0 f the
Detrott Black Writers Guild,
aij the seminar was "a con­
rh.uatto n of the Guild' out­
r .. ach program.
"We (the Writer' Guild)
put on work hops for the com­
munity and do outreach in the
choo ls," aid Moore, adding,
"We use lihraries, recreation­
al centers and schools in our
community becau e we want
to reach people who (for
-artou rea ons) don't leave
the community."
Jane 1 She ufe It, acti ng chie f
at Lothrop Library branch,
aid "Thi branch has alway
been involved with the com­
munity and we have been for­
tunate that the Detroit Black
Writer have pre ented and
ponsored may thing here."
pberry
note, current welf re policy
focu e on finding n income
level for the poor th t ill in­
duce ocially de i r ble be­
havi�r-"not 0 little to
amount to government-en orced
qu lor, but not 0 mucb to
make a wei fare heck preferable
to low-paid wor ." Thi ap­
proach h been I rgely un ue­
ce sful. In f ct, nothing about
the income-ba ed tran fer y­
tem bas succe ully moved poor
familie , e pecially tho e with
children, into the economic
main tream.
"OW I G
T�I G
government.
Fund from tbe e ccount
can be u ed for hou ing, medical
care or retirement. a re ult,
more th n 80 percent of
Sin apore' citizen own their
own home . compared wi th 30 to
40 percent in Europe, and rate
in th United State th t i 64
percent and declining.
If the legi lation currently
being drafted pa es, it will
come through tbe Way and
Mean Commi ttee and the pro­
gram will be admini tered under
the Trea ury Department in tead
of Health and Human Service .
"That' fin important di tinc­
tion," says Sherraden. "It will be
seen as a savings program, not a
welfare program. It will also
make it a stronger bill, because
the idea of savings has support
among both liberals and conser­
vatives. "
He believes that the program
would be a success if even ten
percent of tbe working or wel­
fare poor took part in it.
HERR DE URG a
whole new way of thinking about
welfare, well-being and wealth,
an approach that balances incen­
tives for spending and con ump-
tion with me asures= that
e courage avings and ac-
cumulation of assets.
William Raspberry apparently
concors: "Sherraden's idea
might not solve America's wel­
fare mess," be writes, "but it
should get us thinking in new
directions .
changes behavior in ways that no
amount of preaching middle­
class values ever could," Jack
Kemp, secretary of Hou ing and
Urban Development, told
Raspberry in a recent interview.
"Democracy can't work wi thout
tbe component that goe to the
heart of what freedom is all
about-the chance to won a
piece of property. That' why
I'm determined to 60 what I can
to put asset in the hands of the
poor."
He is not alone in thi line of
thinking: A bill to et up everal
demonstration projects, includ­
ing IOAs i being drafted by the
House Select Committee on
Hunger under Chair Tony Hall
(D-OH.) Sherraden. who ha
met with Kemp and with con­
gressional leaders over the past
few months and is helping to
draft the' bill, ense a growing
enthu iasm for uelll�owerment"
strategies a 0 1-
(are policy.
"The theme of empowerment
is gainging intere t among both
Republicans and Democrats," he
observes. "They are realizing
that the government must help
Millicent Co ley, Je Sui Experience, Detroit, Mich. lone of �he
four national winner In the Proud Lady Beauty how contest.
E ch winner will receive free lr f re to the Proud Lady Beauty
Show to be held May IS-20, 1991 t the Hyatt Re ency Hotel In
Chic o. The Proud L dy Beauty how I a nation I tr de how
ea ed toward the Black be uty profe Ion I. M ny ttmulatlng
ducatlon I wor hop will be pre ented to provide hllirsyli t .
with the late t technique In hair de I n, hair weavlng, n II rt
ad Ion man e ent.