Women in the work force face a tale of two cities, former Labor Department Secretary Alexis Herman says. Some are high on the hill and doing well. “But we can't forget that we have many women who are still in the valley,” Ms. Herman said, foretelling what she will speak about during a visit Tuesday to Cincinnati.

IF YOU GO

• What: 2002 YWCA Salute to Career Women of Achievement luncheon   • When: Noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday   • Where: Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center   • Cost: Individual tickets $50; corporate Table Sponsorships $1,000 to $10,000   • Tickets and information: 241-7090

        Ms. Herman will be the keynote speaker at the YWCA Salute to Career Women of Achievement luncheon, which will honor eight Greater Cincinnati women for their professional prominence.

        Ms. Herman said her speech at the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center will honor those women — but will also point out what needs to be done to elevate other working women above the challenges they face.

        Women need to be more skilled and higher educated; there needs to be better policies that address the work/family balance; and there needs to more attention on the gender wage gap.

        “Two-thirds of minimum-wage workers are women,” she said. “When they talk about minimum wage, that's really a women's issue.”

        Ms. Herman, sworn in as the 23rd secretary of labor in 1997 under President Clinton, was the first African-American to lead the department.

        During her tenure, she was widely credited as an important leader in the effort to move people from welfare to work. Ms. Herman helped lead this effort in a period marked by a 30-year unemployment low.

        But unemployment is back to 6 percent overall. Most worrisome about the rise was the greater proportional increase among women, blacks and Hispanics.

        She also sees different patterns in the jobless data, such as a greater number of white-collar workers out of work. People need to be better trained to adapt to where the jobs growth is, she said.

        Part of that problem is branding and perception. For example, women now are free to become doctors, but few men feel free to become nurses, leaving critical shortages in medical staffing.

        “There's not worker shortage, but we still have a skill shortage,” she said. “We still have an economy where there are skill mismatches.”
Honorees
        The YWCA Salute to Career Women of Achievement luncheon is the single largest fund-raiser for the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, a 134-year-old organization. The proceeds support YWCA programs serving more than 20,000 women and their families.

        Women of Achievement honorees are:

        • Kathy Beechem, executive vice president at Firstar Bank.

        • Lisa J. FitzGibbon, president and CEO of Work Resource Center.

        • Deb Henretta, president of Global Baby Care at Procter & Gamble Co.

        • Karla Irvine, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal.

        • Vivian Llambi, president of Vivian Llambi & Associates Inc.

        • Kimya Moyo, district math curriculum manager at Cincinnati Public Schools.

        • Gwen L. Robinson, president and CEO of Community Action Agency.

        • Dorine R. Seaquist, senior vice president of patient services at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

        The luncheon also will honor Whitni Len Cotton, Walnut Hills High School senior, as the Mamie Earl Sells Young Leader Scholarship Award winner.

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