The National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) and the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL/Women) have released a new report, Winning the Future: A Policy Framework for Empowering Women with Broadband.Read more

Yesterday, President Obama hosted a forum on Workplace Flexibility at the White House. The forum brought together small business leaders, labor experts and CEOs to discuss ways technology can be used to help working parents, including telecommuting.

“Millions of women and men across the country struggle to balance the demands of their jobs and the needs of their families. Too often, caring for a child or an aging parent can strain a career-- sometimes to the point of job loss,” Obama said in a press release announcing the summit.

 “As the parents of two young girls, Michelle and I understand the challenges America’s working families face and we are looking forward to hearing from moms, dads, business leaders, advocates and experts about their ideas for creating and encouraging flexible workplaces, so that working Americans do not have to choose between their careers and meeting the needs of their families,” he said.

You can watch video from the White House event here.

One of the unforeseen benefits of broadband is the scope and scale of businesses being run out of the home.  Of even more importance, during this recession, is the number of women who have been able to continue growing their businesses in the face of layoffs and shut-downs.

The Association of Work At Home Women helps women in a number of dimensions like getting on-line help from experts in making the earliest decisions regarding whether a business idea has promise to actually opening the “virtual doors.”  

Women who work out of their home utilizing broadband have the advantages of being able to manage their household as well as their business, but it has another important benefit:  Work-At-Home professionals do not have to burn gasoline to get to work or take up a parking place.   There is less wear-and-tear on roads and bridges.

Once in the office lights and air conditioning in the form of either heat or light must be generated.   Equipment must be powered up; everything from the coffee machines to the copiers to every computer screen draws electricity.

In “The Green Book,” authors Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen found that workers commute an average of 10,000 miles per year and consume 67 billion gallons of gas.  Telecommuting reduces vehicle miles traveled per year by more than 35 billion and saves almost 2 billion gallons of gas.Read more