One-line solution summary:
Bridge the economic gender gap by equipping women with digital skills that enable them to compete in the job market.
Pitch your solution.
The gender gap has widened with the pandemic, generating a 9-year setback in the fight for employment equality with more than 3 million women leaving the workforce. On the other hand, the demand for digital skills is growing and 54% of companies cannot find the talent they need.
SheWorks! addresses this problem in three stages: Training in high-demand digital skills, a Certified Talent Marketplace to connect women with remote job opportunities, and training as trainers to share the knowledge acquired in their communities.
The third stage, Train the Trainers, is what makes this solution scalable and allows us to reach vulnerable communities. In the end, all the trainees become trainers and gain access to a platform with content and tools to train other women in their communities.
Taking action now to advance gender equality could be valuable, adding $13 trillion to global GDP in 2030 compared with the gender-regressive scenario.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
At August’s 2021 Rate, It Will Take Women 9 years to Regain The Jobs They Lost in The Pandemic.
The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs report shows that the economy gained 235,000 jobs in August 2021. Women accounted for just 11.9% of job gains last month, gaining 28,000 jobs while men gained 207,000. Women will need nearly 9 straight years of job gains at last month’s level to recover the nearly 3.0 million net jobs they have lost since February 2020.
On the other hand, according to Manpower, 54% of the companies in the world cannot find the talent they need.
We work to close the gender gap by training women in high-demand skills to help them improve their employability, while helping companies find the talent they need to remain competitive in the digital economy.
What is your solution?
SheWorks! is an online academy that teaches high-demand digital skills to women from low-income communities to improve their employability and access better-paying jobs.
To achieve the scalability of the solution and that the impact continues to grow over time, at the end of the training in digital skills, women are trained as trainers and access a platform with content and tools to train other women in their communities. This, in turn, allows us to reach vulnerable communities with local references and create a trustworthy environment.
Being based on internet learning, women can learn at their own pace and from anywhere in the world, without having to travel.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The target population for this program is women from low-income, high-need communities in the United States who are currently seeking employment. Women in these communities lack access to transportation, affordable child care, and education to get ahead in the business world.
Our solution not only trains them in high-demand skills, but also detects female leaders within each community and trains them as trainers.
In the "train the trainers" phase, we leave the knowledge installed in the communities and give them the tools so that they can continue training more women in their community. By involving and empowering community leaders, teaching is achieved in a context of respect and cultural understanding.
We offer them a role model to emulate. (If you can't see it, you can't) and we provide scalability over time.
Which dimension of the Digital Workforce Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Prepare those entering, re-entering, or who are already in the workforce for the future of work with affordable and equitable digital skills, training, and employment opportunitiesExplain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.
Women were historically underrepresented in the workforce and this was exacerbated by the pandemic.
In response to this problem, we train women in high-demand skills, improving their professional profile and making them employable, and we also invite them to be part of our certified talent marketplace that gives them the opportunity to connect them with companies and opportunities around the world.
Companies can access this certified talent marketplace to find and hire the talent they need, and being a marketplace of female professionals, these companies contribute to reducing the gender gap.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Delaware City, Delaware, EE. UU.Is your solution already being implemented in one or more of the following ServiceNow locations (Australia/New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom, United States), or are you planning to expand your solution to one or more of these countries?
My solution is already being implemented in one or more of these ServiceNow locations
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth.Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.
Our program has already been implemented in the United States with the "Back to Work Rhode Island" project, training more than 500 unemployed women and connecting them with job opportunities.
We are currently developing this alliance with Facebook where we impact more than 3,500 women in the United States and Latin America.
Our talent market has more than 20,000 professional women where companies can hire them.
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Carla Cassanello
Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for the ServiceNow US Racial Equity Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.
No, I do not wish to be considered for this prize, even if ServiceNow is specifically interested in my solution/I do not qualify for this prize
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successfulWhat makes your solution innovative?
Our approach offers a holistic solution that combines training, connections with job opportunities and finishes with a "train the trainers" stage that allows it to scale and generate organic impact over time in communities.
We are a solution that contributes to reducing the gap in gender skills, employment and discrimination.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
SheWorks! Academy uses an existing user-centric learning software, where women can develop skills they do not have, in a cost-effective way and in a short time and from anywhere in the world.
Once the courses are completed, we test and evaluate the knowledge. If they pass the exams, they receive a digital badge that they can share with any employer or add to their resume.
Provide evidence that this technology works. Please cite your sources.
We use an existing open data learning software, this type of user-centered software has already reached more than 55,000,000 people to develop in-demand skills and earn new credentials.
Until now we have trained +3,500 people in our online academy with an 85% completion rate. 92% of our participants recommend our trainings.
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
Does this technology introduce any risks? How are you addressing or mitigating these risks in your solution?
The solution presents certain risks, typical of a 100% remote education platform. First, everything associated with learners and educators, starting with their personal data and access credentials to the platform, which implies an important challenge because there is always the need to take care of the privacy of all those who interact with the platform. Then there are the physical risks of the platform, hardware and software. Being a 100% platform, interaction with resources occurs 24/7 from anywhere in the world, so ensuring high availability is essential.
These risks are mitigated by having logical security policies, focused on ensuring the data of all users and administrators, as well as the security features of the implemented LMS. Along the same lines, the LMS is implemented on cloud infrastructure that ensures more than 99% availability, so access to resources is guaranteed.
Select the key characteristics of your target population.
In which countries do you currently operate?
In which countries will you be operating within the next year?
How many people does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?
We serve 20,000 women from the United States, Latin America and to a lesser extent, with the participation of women from Europe and Africa.
We currently train +3500 people in Remote Work Skills, Digital Marketing Fundamentals and Technical and Soft Skills to facilitate learning spaces. This program aims to install capacities so that women can replicate the knowledge acquired in their respective communities, achieving a multiplier effect.
Next year we will serve +50,000 people who work mainly in the United States, Spain and Latin America. In five years, we will be serving +500,000 women.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and -- importantly -- how will you achieve them?
In the next year our project seeks to directly impact +50,000 women and indirectly with the "Train the trainers" program to +6,250,000 women.
In the next 5 years we seek to directly impact +500,000 women and indirectly with the "Train the trainers" program to +60,000,000 women.
In addition, by improving the economic autonomy of women, it will also benefit their families.
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
We are measuring progress with two tools, one of them is a monitoring tool of the training platform and a second tool measures the incorporation of new knowledge, in addition to these two points we always apply satisfaction surveys for users and in each development of our courses we have a support team that manages students. In addition to these points, we are implementing an investigation unit within Sheworks! to deliver another type of data analysis to be able to impact in a better way through our trainings and leave analyzed information so that other training centers can also improve their trainings.
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
How many people work on your solution team?
At SheWorks! there are 26 full-time workers and a variable number of on-demand employees.
How long have you been working on your solution?
SheWorks! has been working on this solution for 5 years to close the gender gap in the work world.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
SheWorks! was born of the need to generate access to jobs that dignify and empower women. Our team is made up of 92% of women, who are recognized for the impact of their actions. The founder, Silvina Moschini, is the first Latin American woman to take a company to the status of “Unicorn”.
Our team is made up of professionals with +20 years of experience in the digital ecosystem, working with communities and developing online learning programs.
Our team is also part of programs based in Community building: Startup Weekend, Google Developers Groups, Women Tech makers, among others. Community building + training platforms have been proven to work over the years and have long-term results.
What is your approach to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive leadership team?
Since the founding of SheWorks!, we have worked to decrease the gap in skills, genre and unemployment through the empowerment of women by creating a digital ecosystem, focused on the specialization of remote talent.
We have a diverse and multicultural team with highly experienced people that allows us the ideal combination to manage this project. VP in HR companies, experts in education, experienced in project development with governments and multilateral organizations, supranational and NGO's, with technical expertise in remote talent, IT, marketing and communication.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Government (B2G)Why are you applying to the 2021 Digital Workforce Challenge?
At SheWorks! We believe that the more women we can reach, the better impact for them and their families and we will generate significant changes if we can implement pilots with agile scaling models.
With our own multiplatform learning software, we will be able to scale achieving a lower cost per trainee, in addition to providing a cloud ecosystem for trainers where they can feel supported and have updated content.
Please provide an overview of your current activities in those locations.
Our program has already been implemented in the United States with the "Back to Work Rhode Island" project, training more than 500 unemployed women and connecting them with job opportunities.
We are currently developing this alliance with Facebook where we impact more than 3,500 women in the United States and Latin America.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Please explain in more detail here.
We are looking for partners that allow us to reach vulnerable communities while we adapt culturally to each one.
We are looking for training partners that allow us to facilitate high-demand technical courses with globally recognized certifications.
And also, we are looking for technology partners that allow us to develop multiplatform online learning software based on open data.
What organizations would you like to partner with, and how would you like to partner with them?
For community partners we look for organizations that have great reach in vulnerable communities and with social impact objectives to improve the lives of women.
For training partners we look for great references in each industry, such as Google, Facebook, PMI, among others.
For technology partners we are looking for experts in multiplatform software focused on users and prepared to have a large number of users.
Solution Team
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FC
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Carla Cassanello VP of SheWorks! Academy, SheWorks!
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Solution Name:
SheWorks! Academy Train the Trainers