Workforce Development 
The Workforce Development Spoke focuses on identifying, creating, and clearing pathways for women into better jobs. Utah women have traditionally experienced high levels of occupational segregation, with large percentages of the total female workforce in roles that offer low pay, little prestige, and minimal room for advancement. Many women also take career breaks and need support in entering the labor market as returning adults. The Workforce Development spoke will include educational providers, community organizations, employers, government entities, and individuals with lived experience dedicated to helping women prepare for the careers that are best for them, in a wide variety of industries and sectors. The goal is for more Utah women to be able to find sustainable and significant ways to provide financially for themselves and their families. To learn more, check out the resource box below.
Spoke Leaders
Marta Nielsen
Program Specialist
LinkedIn Profile
Marta Nielsen is a Sales and Leadership Specialist for Utah State University’s Remote Online Initiative. She is passionate about increasing women’s access to work opportunities through remote and flexible work.
Heather Nemelka
Founder & CEO, Elavare
LinkedIn Profile
Heather Nemelka is the Founder of Elavare, where she champions initiatives that help women re-enter the workforce. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Silicon Slopes AI Chapter, where she advocates for greater representation of women in emerging technologies.
Teri Slaugh
Account Manager
LinkedIn Profile
Teri Slaugh recently joined Elevated Background Checks, where she helps organizations simplify and strengthen their onboarding processes. She serves on the Salt Lake SHRM Board of Directors and lends her energy and expertise to community efforts whenever she can.
Bold Vision & Goals
To make Utah a place where more girls and women can thrive, the Workforce Development Spoke leaders and partners have crafted the vision and goals below.
Vision: Increase the confidence, competence, and connection of all Utah women so they can find successful employment that works for themselves and their families.
Goals:
- Increase number and percentage of women in high-quality roles within high growth industries by 5% by 2026 and 10% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
- Increase the number of companies offering formal return-to-work positions to 15 by 2026 and 30 by 2030. [Metric Forthcoming]
- Increase the percentage of quality part-time job opportunities for women (i.e., jobs that offer some degree of flexibility, pathways to full-time work over the long term, and allow women to develop valuable, transferable skills). [Metric Forthcoming]
- Increase the percentage of low-income single mothers, women who have experienced violence or trauma, women from underserved populations, etc. receiving restorative opportunities that participate in educational coaching and get a job afterwards. [Metric Dashboard]
- Shift Utahns’ agreement (understanding and perceptions) in the following areas: [Metric Dashboard]
- I am aware of and know how to access resources and support to attain a quality job. [Increase women’s agreement by 10% by 2026 and 20% by 2030]
- I believe that I am currently employable, or I can become employable within the next 12-24 months. [Increase women’s agreement by 10% by 2026 and 20% by 2030]
- My current circumstances permit me to maintain successful employment over the next 5 years. [Increase women’s agreement by 10% by 2026 and 20% by 2030]
- I believe that in Utah I can find successful employment that works for me and my family. [Increase women’s agreement by 10% by 2026 and 20% by 2030]
- Jobs in trade fields are good career choices for women to pursue. [Increase Utahns' agreement by 5% by 2026 and 10% by 2030].
Thriving Statement: Women thrive when they have the confidence and connections to find successful employment that works for them and their families.
Research:
Community Resources:
Partners
Working Groups
- Career Reentry & Part-Time Work: Shay Baker (Program Manager, Return Utah, State of Utah)
- Community Resources: Danette Pulley (Collaborative Strategy and Engagement Consultant) & Meghan McFall (Director, ashTEC)
- Reskilling & Retraining Programs: Heather Nemelka (Global Head of Stakeholder Relations, Spinnaker Support)
- Partner Relationships: Nichole Harrop (Career Growth Coach, Growvio)
- Trades: Concetta Defa (President, Women in Trades) & Alexa Tudor (Senior Design Phase Manager, Mortenson)
What You Can Do
Talk to employers you know about the importance of offering flexible, part-time opportunities for women. Highlight the benefits for women, families, and employers.
Raise awareness by sharing workforce development resources with 10 people you know who would benefit from this information (e.g., women of working age). See the resource section of this document for potential resources you could disseminate.
Find and share success stories of women in high growth industries and encourage young women and women seeking employment to learn more about the roles and opportunities available. High-quality roles in these industries include architectural and civil drafters, automotive body and related repairers, cardiovascular technologists and technicians, computer programmers, and electricians.
Get Engaged: Ways to get engaged include partnering with us if you’re an organization working in this space and already running workforce development programs and initiatives that will help women; help us build connections with great employers that are committed to recruiting, hiring, developing, promoting, and retaining women at all levels for their organizations; and spread the word among women in your circle that will benefit from workforce development programs and resources. Thank you for your interest!
Angela Rawlings
Spoke Coordinator
LinkedIn Profile
bwf.workforcedev@gmail.com