A West Virginia University assistant professor wants to see the Mountain State increase women’s workforce participation, particularly women in substance use recovery. While Jenifer Gamble, field education director for West Virginia University’s School of Social Work, acknowledges great need, especially in light of the opioid crisis, she also sees the opportunity for improvement.
“West Virginia desperately needs to increase our workforce participation rate, which is the lowest in the country for women at only 49.3 percent. With so many communities and families working to recover from the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic, we have a responsibility to help build the kinds of businesses that will address the financial and the social aspects of healthy and stable communities. We need more training programs and pathways to living-wage work and economic stability. We’ve already gotten started on work like this through initiatives like West Virginia Forward. While there is such great need, there is also fertile ground for action.” – Jenifer Gamble, Field Education Director and Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at WVU
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ck/08/16/19
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