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VWW's office remains closed as staff primarily work remotely. Please contact us in advance if you need to visit our Winooski office; our team is available via phone or email.

Our Mission

Supporting Vermont women and girls since 1987

Vermont Works for Women promotes economic justice by advancing gender equity and supporting women and youth at every stage of their career journeys.

Our Programs & Services
Middle school girls use wires and circuits to make a propeller run on a wooden model plane. Introducing girls to a variety of career opportunities is part of Vermont Works for Women's overall mission.

Our Vision

Promoting Economic Justice by Advancing Gender Equity

We are working to create an equitable Vermont where people of all identities and backgrounds have equal access to opportunities and to thrive economically – where they make confident, deliberate choices about life and work that reflect an expansive grasp of what’s possible.

Our Strategic Plan
Trailblazers participants pose for photo by reaching all their hands together in a circle. Trailblazers is one of our programs that advance our mission to promote economic justice.

Our Values

We believe everyone should have equal access to work opportunities in order to make deliberate choices about their careers.

We promote self-determination in life and work and support individuals to take positive risks, face challenges, and pursue their interests as they develop a greater notion of what is possible.

We respect the unique skills, contributions, and perspectives of each individual and recognize that change requires ongoing reflection, openness, and effort.

We recognize that gender is expansive and not binary, and we welcome those who identify as women, girls, transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender-questioning, and anyone who has experienced marginalization, bias, or barriers due to their gender identity.

We recognize that, in addition to gender, many factors shape the lived experiences of individuals in Vermont, including, but not limited to, race, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability, socioeconomic status, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, and experiences of trauma and incarceration.

Our Commitments

  • Anti-Racism: We commit to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to contributing to the work required to dismantle systemic racism.
  • Strength in Partnerships: We are more powerful and effective when we work as a coalition. Partnerships bolster ingenuity, leverage strengths and resources, and address gaps in services that we cannot alone provide.
  • Using Our Voice: We believe in using our voice and experience to raise awareness in the community, advocate for policy improvements, and support our partners’ missions in order to address systemic barriers to economic justice.

Why Gender Equity

Everyone Deserves Access to Economic Independence

Women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals can do anything they set their sights on. However, society continues to perpetuate gender stereotypes which can limit the scope of what people pursue in their professional and personal lives.

It is important for women and girls to explore and access career fields that pay well and are in high demand so they have equal opportunities to earn a livable wage and meet their personal and family needs.

Support our mission
A student sits in the cab of a backhoe while a female operator instructs her how to excavate at Women Can Do. Introducing girls to a variety of career opportunities is a part of Vermont Works for Women's overall mission.

Vermont’s three-year career and technical education enrollment average in nontraditional programs is only 11.71%.

- Vermont Agency of Education, 2022

In Vermont, more than 60% of minimum wage workers are women.

- National Women’s Law Center, 2021

Nearly 4 out of 10 women who work full-time do not earn enough to meet basic living expenses for a single individual.

- Vermont's Joint Fiscal Office, 2019