The Butler County Chamber of Commerce held a great event Thursday — the Women Shaping Our Region conference at the Regional Learning Alliance’s conference center at Cranberry Woods — and we’d love to see more in the county.

Topics discussed during the event — which was hosted by county Commissioners Leslie Osche and Kim Geyer, and included a panel of five women community leaders — included workforce shortages, mentorship and collaboration.

One of the event’s themes was trying to understand the challenges facing women in the workforce, especially amid COVID-19.

Many who had “pink-collar jobs” — lower-wage, front-facing positions occupied primarily by women — were among the hardest hit during COVID-19, being furloughed or laid off.

Another hurdle for women during the pandemic has been child care.

Bobbi Watt Geer, president and CEO of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, said a shortage of child care during COVID-19 has resulted in many women leaving the workforce. In southwestern Pennsylvania alone, about 13,000 women left the workforce as of autumn 2020, while more than a million did the same nationwide since February.

“Women are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic,” Geer said. “They are being pushed out of the workforce because of all of these expectations on our shoulders. Without child care that we trust and depend on, we can’t fix this workforce problem.”

This is true, and many of the work-related problems caused by the pandemic do not have easy solutions. However, several ideas touched upon Thursday were good ones.

Belinda Richardson, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Butler County Community College, said effort needs to be made to provide opportunities for “pink-collar” workers who lost their jobs by “retooling” and teaching those who choose new skills that will put them in a stronger position when they re-enter the workforce.

Another important concept mentioned is mentorship for molding the next generation of women leaders.

On the one hand, we agree with the panel’s speakers that women leaders in the county should step up to mentor young women and help them along their career paths.

On the other, it shouldn’t be entirely up to women to do this. Some of the women who spoke during the conference noted they’d had male mentors. So, it’s on both men and women leaders in the county to do their part in mentoring women for leadership roles.

“The best way to build communities is to come together,” Richardson said.

Agreed. We hope there’s more coming together at similar events that will promote the pursuit of leadership roles to young women in the county.

— NCD