To look back on the 50-year legacy of FEW and gain a peek into the future of the organization, GovLoop sat down with Executive Vice President and incoming National President of FEW, Karen Rainey.

For Rainey, her role is particularly rewarding because of the opportunity to foster strategic partnerships with a host of organizations and government agencies that support the important work that FEW does. “FEW tends to lead you into creating better leadership strategic plans or projects to help you move forward in your career,” Rainey said.

One crucial focus for Rainey’s administration is fostering outreach to more communities and younger demographics, as well as enhancing membership benefits. “In order to enhance our membership, because we are the organization of a diversified workforce, we are trying to reach out via social media to younger demographics and create more partnerships with media organizations like GovLoop,” she said.

Looking 50 years and beyond, Rainey is hoping that FEW “soars boldly to new heights.” “FEW is the organization that represents the voiceless of those who seek opportunities or a seat at the table within the federal sector,” she said. “We work to add diversity, equity and inclusion of women, to serve in leadership roles within our federal agencies and outside of them.”

For Rainey, soaring to new heights also means “working to impact the communities in which we live by building strategic leaders,” she said.

“We must continue to keep our standards high and live true to the inclusion of women and all people who are voiceless in their agencies,” Rainey concluded. “Each year we host the National Training Program where we offer courses that meet the needs of Office of Personnel Management Executive Core Competencies, which means we lead the opportunity for change. FEW helps lead people, we build coalitions and we create business acumen.”

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#MeToo is an ongoing reckoning about sexual assault and harassment – including within the government workforce – that strives to help victims and end sexual violence.

Federally Employed Women (FEW) is a nonprofit advocacy group that has seen these changes firsthand since launching in 1968 after Johnson’s measure.

FEW works to ensure federal agencies do not discriminate against their female employees, and the organization has become a force for government women since starting nearly five decades ago.

Adrianne Callahan, FEW’s National Training Program (NTP) Chair, said this history is not lost on her organization, which is approaching its 50th anniversary.

The NTP is FEW’s annual training conference aimed at helping government employees advance professionally, improve themselves and navigate their workplaces.

“We’ve seen attendance numbers as low as 250 to as high as almost 3,000 to 4,000 attendees,” she said of the NTP’s success over the years. “The organization of course has been in existence for 50 years.”

“It’s an outstanding accomplishment for a nonprofit organization, one of the few organizations that has been working on behalf of advocating for federally employed women within the federal government,” she added.

This year’s NTP takes place in Atlanta from July 16 to 20, and #MeToo is a significant topic at the event.

“Each year we pick an issue, an organization, something to lend our support, to show how we stand in solidarity,” Callahan said. “And this year, FEW is supporting the #MeToo movement.”

Callahan said NTP attendees are encouraged to wear black on Tuesday, July 17 to honor #MeToo, while purple is the recommended color for Wednesday, July 18.

Purple represents activities raising awareness about sexual abuse and harassment, Callahan continued, and the 2018 NTP will also feature #MeToo-related trainings for attendees.

Training Sessions Focus on Hard and Soft Skills

“FEW maps every training session to the guidelines of the Office of Personnel Management’s Senior Executive Service, Executive Core Qualifications (Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, Building Coalitions) and the underlying fundamental core competencies,” according to this year’s event description.

Callahan noted the 2018 NTP is open to everyone, including men and professionals outside the government.

“[Everyone can] find a course or two or three that fits their training needs,” she said. “We focus on leadership, communication skills, team building and even political savvy.”

“[There are] lots of different areas which are included within the OPM competencies that you can apply not only to a federal government career, but to any career,” Callahan added.

Callahan said NTP sessions also focus on grant writing, professional development and retirement planning after leaving the federal workforce.

The 2018 NTP, she added, will specifically update attendees on how society is complying with the federal government’s laws against workplace sex discrimination.

“We focus on equal opportunity, the Equal Pay Act, affirmative employment, policies and procedures, things of that nature usually covered under compliance,” she said. “And this year our speaker will focus on where we are in today’s society with that particular focus area.”

Callahan said speakers at next month’s conference include motivational speaker Rhonda Hight.

Hight is the founder of Let’s Talk, LLC, a company dedicated to human resources consulting, leadership and professional development.

The 2018 NTP’s sessions offer feds a wide range of hard and soft skill training programs aimed at boosting their personal and professional growth.

Sessions focused on practical skillsets include “Excel Advanced Formulas and Functions,” “Data Analytics with PowerPivot in Excel 2016,” and “Visio Essentials.”

Events centered on navigating workplace culture, meanwhile, include “The Power of Assertive Communication,” “Mindfulness,” and “Positive Approaches to Difficult People.”

FEW is also conducting several sessions concerned with discrimination, including “Prevention of Workplace Harassment,” “Bullying/Cyberbullying,” and “Diversity and Inclusion.”

Feds concerned about their future, meanwhile, can attend several seminars addressing topics like health care and post-career planning.

Callahan said the benefits of FEW’s NTP draw from expertise inside and outside the government to help both rookie and veteran feds.

“We have trainers that are both within the public and private sector,” she said. “We have some of our sponsors who provide training and that can be from career development to personal development.”

“FEW has prided itself on providing informal networking opportunities as well as informal mentoring throughout the years,” Callahan added of the NTP’s benefits. “We have a great time. We have fun.”

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In 1968, the government issued Executive Order 11375 which added sex discrimination to the list of prohibited discrimination within federal government. FEW was founded as a member-driven, non-profit organization shortly after the EO, when many women feared that agencies would not comply with the order.

Coleman-Lacadie explained how FEW serves as an advocacy organization for female feds and minorities by supporting members that report their agencies for non-compliance. “Compliance is really conformance on the part of the federal department or agency with the EEO laws and the federal personnel system,” Coleman-Lacadie said. “FEW has a memorandum of understanding with two law firms in the D.C. area that provide consultations, counseling or intercession on behalf of members in place of formal discrimination complaints.”

As VP of Compliance, Coleman-Lacadie provides regular trainings on anti-discrimination laws at the local level through numerous online mediums to increase accessibility. FEW also requires that members participate in annual compliance training to ensure agencies adhere to laws and regulations.

Working Toward Federal Compliance

Before joining FEW, Coleman-Lacadie was involved in other advocacy organizations. “I was blessed to have a boss that allowed me to get involved with the Federal Women’s Program (FWP) and activities with the Civil Rights Office,” she said.

When Coleman-Lacadie was a part of FWP in the 90s, it was a standalone program among federal agencies. “FWP was very strong, and it helped provide some insight into sexual harassment in a different format, so that the employees could come and learn a little about it,” Coleman-Lacadie said. “They felt safe there. We would talk about sexual harassment and what it looked like as well as what it didn’t look like.”

Coleman-Lacadie’s involvement with these groups helped her recognize the areas in which her agency and fellow employees could improve on compliance. But with only seven states participating, Coleman-Lacadie felt that FWP could increase their membership. “When I became a chair for FWP, I looked around and thought ‘We could do more with this.’ I enlisted members from each of the offices throughout those seven states to be a part of the conversation,” she said. “We grew to about 50 people.” With the growing membership, FWP was able to implement numerous new projects across agencies in different states.

As a chair of FWP, Coleman-Lacadie worked with other leaders to make creative vignettes about harassment and other compliance issues to personalize the learning process for employees. The trainings also included legal representatives, human resource professionals and EEO employees to answer questions from the group.

“I think it really made a difference in our employees’ understanding, because it was not just mandatory training, it was interactive,” Coleman-Lacadie explained. With the original vignettes, the audience could participate and see examples of harassment play out in real time, giving participants a better idea of the negative impacts of harassment as well as how to prevent it.

FEW Today

After attending FWP conferences that overlapped with FEW events, Coleman-Lacadie transitioned to working for FEW. This year she looks forward to FEW’s upcoming National Training Program, which will celebrate the organization’s 50^th year with additional training sessions and dynamic keynotes related to diversity and inclusion.

FEW’s existence and advocacy today ensures that there will always be a source of support for female federal workers. Above all, Coleman-Lacadie hopes that her efforts can make an impact by reducing instances of sexual harassment and other compliance issues. “I value the FEW organization and I think that if more women and men did trainings they would be better informed.”

This article is part of a GovLoop series with Federally Employed Women

Original Article on GovLoop