Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, The Arkansas Times and KUARFM 89.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Arkansas week.

I'm Donna terrell's.

Women play a vital role in today's workforce, and that does not come without its challenges.

The Arkansas Women's Commission, reinstated by Governor ASA Hutchinson, conducted a study analyzing the economic status of women in the workforce that was released during a press conference earlier this week.

Take a look.

In February this year, I signed the executive order that created and formed the Arkansas Commission.

On the status of women, in my view, this is historic.

As I will recite.

It is essential and really important as we look at the future of our state.

And I don't think my administration would be complete after eight years of service without this report that is so critical to everything that we want to accomplish in Arkansas.

And here to discuss its findings and recommendations is my guest, Doctor Cherise Jones branch, a member of the Commission and Dean of the Graduate College at ASU in Jonesboro.

Thank you so much, first of all, for taking time out of a very busy schedule at a conference in San Francisco.

So I definitely appreciate your being here with us.

No problem at all.

I'm happy to do it.

Happy to be here.

Well, let's get started.

How did the study?

First of all, how did it come about?

Well it came about as a recommendation from the Women's Foundation of Arkansas to have this Commission because the last time we had the Commission was about 50 years ago.

So this this was long overdue in order to get a group of women leaders and and one male leader actually the Chancellor of Arkansas State University Todd Shields to talk about the concerns that women have in the state of Arkansas and they have women themselves discussed their concerns and and to share them with us.

And how did you get women to do that?

How were you able to collaborate with women around the state to get the answers you needed?

Well, we had surveys.

We surveyed women around the state, and we also moved to different parts of the state.

We held our meetings in different parts of the state.

So, for example, of course we met in Little Rock, but we also met down in Pine Bluff, AR.

We also met in Jonesboro, AR.

And in doing that, we invited women from those communities to come to our meetings and to share with us their their experiences and their concerns.

OK, so let's get right into some.

Of what came out of this study, the recommendations #1 meaningfully engage the business community to address childcare challenges.

I think most of us understand what that means, but could you explain more?

Absolutely.

What that basically means is women in the workforce are either having trouble accessing appropriate childcare or being having trouble being able to afford appropriate childcare.

And that was a story we heard over and over again as the Commission traveled around the state.

So when we talk about childcare, are we talking about all different socioeconomic?

Standings with women.

Absolutely.

Women are in the workforce, regardless of your socioeconomic background, your salary.

They're all facing these problems and they need help.

Mental health resources.

Women need more mental health resources, right?

Yes, absolutely.

Particularly in this historical moment where we are still in a pandemic and also the fact that these discussions are not being had as fully as as they need to and the COVID, COVID, the pandemic certainly exacerbated all of that.

So that was one of the things that came out of the discussions we had with women from around the state is increase access to these kind of resources, particularly women who live in rural parts of our state.

Increase equity in the labor force and in entrepreneurship.

Let's just talk about equity in the workplace.

Obviously this is something that's been discussed for a really long time in terms of pay, in terms of the ability to to move up in the ranks.

We're still talking about this as we enter 2023.

How do we get to a point where there is equality among men and women in the workplace?

I think the biggest thing is that we keep pushing.

We make sure that our employers know that this is an ongoing issue.

It has not yet been resolved and we keep having discussions about it and the and and that women and their supporters and their allies keep saying that this was an issue 50 years ago, it's still an issue in 2022 and the work is not done, the discussions are not done.

And until the issue is resolved and everything is fair and equitable across the board, we still got work to do and more female entrepreneurs.

Absolutely.

We're talking about the fact that women don't have the same access to resources, or they're not as knowledgeable about the kinds of resources they need to access.

So we need to be having those conversations so that they know that, number one, they're not out there alone, and that number 2, they're there is help for women who are entrepreneurs.

Why is it women have a harder time getting this information compared to men?

I think they don't know.

I also think there's a gendered expectation that entrepreneurs are going to be men.

And so I think with the increased visibility of women who are entrepreneurs, and that's not a small number in the state of Arkansas, I think with that increased visibility, I think they will be able to access better resources because people will realize that we do have women in these areas.

They are operating productive and fruitful businesses.

Now we just need to make sure that they have.

To support to continue to do that.

But then the women who are coming behind them who are entrepreneurs, know about those resources and are able to access them as well.

Were you able to assess if Arkansas is behind other states when it comes to some of these issues?

We are a bit behind, but I think the the advantage that we have is that we are having open and honest discussions about those things.

So I'm fully confident that we're going to be moving forward.

We're we're in a very strong position to make significant changes in in Arkansas and a lot of that comes as a result of the discussions we've had with women around the state, with the Commission and of course part of the recommendation increase mentorship for women, finding mentors for for women so that they can excel it's probably.

A little difficult when there are fewer women who are in some of these positions.

Well, I I think it's it that can be an issue, but mentorship does not necessarily have to mean that you're being mentored by another woman, that that's a great idea.

It's probably ideal, but it's just a recognition that there are people who possess a certain set of skills and people who don't.

And putting those people together so that they can they can help women access again the resources they need to be successful.

The the 5th item on here in terms of recommendations incentivize our Kansans.

They enter or remain in the early childhood education profession.

How does that help?

Well, I think it helps because we need people in these positions.

We need people in these schools who are excited about early childhood education and who want to.

Work with our next generation of of young people to to help them be as productive as possible to help them realize all the things that that are possible in in their lives.

And we need people in schools who have big ideas and energy to help make that happen or at the very least to continue to help make that happen.

You know I mentioned at the beginning of this segment that you are at ASU and I know there's a women's business leadership program there, the governor infusing I believe 200.

$1000 to accelerate that program.

Tell us about the program and how this money will help.

Well, the program is the Women's leadership center at Arkansas State University and that was actually started by another Commissioner, Dr Kathy Lloyd.

And so it's really due to her leadership that the center is going to be expanded and continue to do the wonderful things that it has been doing and mentoring young women at Arkansas State University.

But part of that expansion also includes the Delta Women's Leadership Academy, which will be launched hopefully in the next few months.

So which will help women leaders from the Delta region of the of the state.

So moving a little bit beyond the students but maintaining that connection to the students but also helping women who are entrepreneurs, women who are in leadership positions across a range of of vocation with mentorship, access to resources and and and and just the different ways that women themselves lead really focusing on and drilling down on that.

And so you know we're very grateful to.

The Governor Hutchinson for for for helping us with that because initially it just started off as some scribbles on a piece of paper and and it all evolved really really quickly.

So this is a venture that we're very excited about.

We're excited about the the expansion of this idea and the ways that it'll help women in the state.

So women in the state this is at ASU.

So if if you are not close to ASU physically how do you become involved in this program?

Well, when we get the program up and rolling, there is going to be an application process and it'll be headquartered, of course, at Arkansas State University.

But the plan right now is to move around different parts of the state.

So we really want to grow the network statewide.

OK, that's awesome.

Equity and STEM education you know and and we I think it's fair to say that a lot of women might feel intimidated by STEM education.

How do we encourage more women to to not be afraid to jump in and and learn more about computers and computer programming and and all that stem has to offer?

Well, I I think a lot of it starts by supporting and encouraging them when they're really young, if they're interested in the stem field.

But it's also being able to interact with women who are working in those professions.

And it's being a part of programs that cater specifically to women, young girls, young people.

In stem.

It's often difficult to imagine that you can be a thing if you don't see Someone Like You who was doing that thing.

So it's very important again to have that mentorship.

And a lot of this does go back to mentorship and leadership and working with people who are already in those areas so that you can see what's possible because I definitely don't want to imply that women aren't working in those fields and aren't talented enough.

But I do think many of us sometimes are afraid to to to venture out.

But Doctor Jones branch, I want to thank you so much for joining me here and I hope the rest of your conference goes well and and and.

Good luck with all of these recommendations and making sure that our Kansans reap the benefit of of your hard work in establishing this.

Absolutely.

We are all ready and willing to roll up our sleeves to do the work to continue to make Arkansas great.

Sounds wonderful.

Thank you.

And the future of transportation in Arkansas, we're going to talk about that next.

What does the future hold when it comes to transportation?

It's Governor Hutchinson's vision for Arkansas and the heartland to be a global leader in advanced mobility by 2030.

Joining us to talk about this plan are Governor ASA Hutchinson and Cyrus Sigari, chairman of the Arkansas Council on Future Mobility and Co founder and managing partner of up partners.

I wanna thank both of you for being with me for this conversation that we're about to have.

Governor Hutchinson, why is Arkansas leading this initiative?

Well, we're leading the initiative because Arkansas always led and transportation, you think about our great logistics companies, our retailers, transportation is critical to our state and we want to continue to innovate and be in the lead.

So the Council and future mobility is designed to give us new ideas, recommendations as to what we can do as a state to stay innovative, to invest in new technology so we don't lose that leading edge.

So it's very exciting and let me assure you.

These recommendations coming out of this Council led by Cyrus, they're very bold.

They will help us to stay ahead and they're really based upon some of the models that we see in other states that have been successful.

So exciting report and glad we're completing that project.

Well, Cyrus, let me, let me ask you, let's talk specifics now.

Let's talk about what's in the report.

Sure thing.

Well, we've got a couple of pretty bold ideas as the governor mentioned.

First is the creation of an Arkansas Innovation Fund to be able to invest in startup companies here in Arkansas to support this really burgeoning ecosystem.

And maybe a surprise to some folks realize that there's 6000 transportation logistics companies already in Arkansas.

The largest export out of the state is aerospace and defense.

So for us to continue to fuel this fire, we going to put the capital into the marketplace to allow entrepreneurs and visionaries to continue to build these new transformative companies of the future.

That's the first thing.

The second thing is take advantage of the the education system that's already here and expand upon it.

So one of the major recommendations coming out of the report is creating Institute of Advanced Mobility at the university.

The Arkansas to really allow the ecosystem from a workforce development and academia to really sort of focus on this one specific area and and and to become a world recognized leader from an academic perspective.

Third is around policy.

What are the specific policy changes that we can make that will allow that companies and entrepreneurs and students to really be able to to go freely unencumbered to be able to take advantage of these these incredible opportunities.

And one specific thing I'll make as a recommendation that they came out of the report is the creation of a space authority for the state.

State of Arkansas and beyond that a feasibility study to look at creating a spaceport here in Arkansas.

And so these are just a couple of examples of some of the exciting new opportunities that state has that came out of the work of the Council.

OK, so I heard about this space port.

I I need you to expand on that a little bit because I don't think we all have a thorough knowledge of what exactly that is and what it means for the state of Arkansas.

Yeah, you bet.

So just to give some understanding of the space industry today, it's about $100 billion industry currently and it's expected to be about a $1 trillion market by the year 2040.

And now the idea of a spaceport in Arkansas might might sound crazy, but the surrounding states actually have spaceports.

Oklahoma's got a spaceport, Texas has a spaceport.

New Mexico has a spaceport.

Florida's got a spaceport.

And this all started by first creating a space authority.

Look at the opportunities are find areas within a state where you can safely launch things up to space without it hurting people if something comes down.

And start to create an ecosystem that supports that.

And so it's absolutely within the realm of possibility that if we put the right resources and the right policy in place and the right investments that we can have a burgeoning space ecosystem here in Arkansas.

Sounds very, very enticing.

Governor Hutchinson, I have to ask you.

I mean, here it is, you're at the end of your governorship in the state of Arkansas, eight years at the helm.

Why is this so important to you right now?

Because we're talking about your vision.

Through 2030.

In terms of Governor, obviously you'll be long gone.

That's true.

First of all, this is important because it fits in so wonderfully with our national leadership position on computer science education and how we're educating the next generation in STEM and technologies.

And then secondly, it is about the future.

And you're right, I'm going to be a leaving at the beginning of next year.

And so this hopefully will set the stage for future action.

I know the next administration has been briefed on this, the legislators we've talked to.

We hope that they will take these ideas and run with them, but that to me is what we build on each other and we have success and then we build on more success to keep those jobs coming here and technology is the way of the jobs of the future.

And Governor Hutchinson, I I know you launched an exploratory committee to to to look at the possibility of running for President in 2024.

So of course I'm going to.

Ask you what is the status of that?

I would think by this time you have some pretty good answers in terms of what your intentions are.

So will you run for President in 2024?

Well, thanks, Donna.

And no decision has been made.

There's technical legal reasons for that.

But I'm, I've traveled to New Hampshire and Iowa this last year.

Response is good, but I'll make a final decision sometime early next year.

And you know, it's probably accelerated because we have former President Trump that jumped into the race as a first announced candidate.

But Arkansas have been very supportive and they'll be the first ones to know.

Well, I tell you what, we see you all over the national news.

So I guess in terms of getting out there that's that's a good thing for you.

Where can our viewers learn more about the subject that we're talking about the future of mobility in the state of Arkansas?

If you go to the website arfuturemobility.org, you can download the report.

You can read the report online.

You'll get to see all the recommendations, what other states are doing?

OK. All right.

Well, thank you both for being with me and good luck with all of this.

We, of course, will be watching.

Thank you.

Thank you, Donna.

Thank you.

And stay with us.

We'll be right back.

Welcome back, everyone.

If you have not heard by now, the town of Earl just recently elected its youngest Mayor, 18 year old.

Mayor elect Jalen Smith joins me now from his hometown and I guess the first thing I should say is congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

OK, so at this moment, at this very moment, you are the youngest mayor.

Youngest African-American mayor.

In the country, how does that make you feel?

And makes me feel amazing, you know?

It just it just so.

Amazing Heartfield to me, being the 1st and youngest African American mayor.

Was it a tough campaign?

It was.

It was.

We had.

I had some bumpy rolls down the line with my campaign.

It wasn't easy.

We had some ups and downs.

But overall we continue to push through.

So you have a twin brother who I understand encouraged you a lot and and if I remember his exact words that I heard, he said, you know, just because everyone in the town of 2000 knows you doesn't mean they're going to vote for you.

And that's true because.

The vote was 218 to 139.

Did that surprise you?

Yes, ma'am.

My brother Jayden, he's, he always should have encouraged me.

When I'm at home sitting down, jaden's like Jalen now I'm doing some work, have to be done.

And I was like, no, I've done all I can do.

He said no need to get back out there.

And he's continuing to work, knock on doors, talk with people.

And I did just that, you know.

Because it made me realize while I'm sitting down, I feel like I'm not doing it and doing nothing.

Jamie, with that extra burden, he kept pushing me, even though I used to get I get mad, but he kept pushing.

Well, that's good.

It's always good to have a twin brother, right?

Yes, ma'am.

So what kind of responses did you get from your now constituents in terms of your age?

Were any of them concerned that you're 18?

Yes, I had some some older people telling, telling me, well, he's too young, he can't do anything.

You know, as I tell people today, I use negativity as motivation to me to prove them wrong.

So what's the very first thing you plan to tackle once you take the mayorship in January?

Public safety.

There's most mostly important with our Police Department and fire department.

Our police.

We don't have a 2720247 Police Department.

I want to improve that.

I'm making sure all the cities in the seat of Earl is safe at all times.

Day, night, midnight, around the clock.

We want to make sure our citizens insane.

Are you safe.

And also what I fire department we have fires that takes, you know our volunteers like 30 to 40 minutes to get to a fire and we want to improve that with having fire and fire, fire volunteers living within the city limits of Arkansas.

So how do you plan to get that accomplished when you know you're going to be working with City Council members, you're going to have a staff.

How are you going to make them realize that, hey, I'm the person that, that that heads up, heads up the city?

We're working with not only the City Council, but also working with the people because at the end of the day, we also, we all have to work together to put, to push, to push, to make our city better.

You know, I won't, they won't take me, but working with my team, the City Council and the people coming together for the better of Earl and move it forward.

You have some experience.

You know, you may be 18 years old, but you, you don't take this position without experience.

Number one, you were the high school senior class president and you were also the President of of Student Government.

You just graduated in May.

But you head up those those areas.

How does that help you in terms of taking this position for the city?

Well, in those organizations, especially through the government, because this where is all there.

Everything started with student government.

It was, it was it was hard, it was challenging.

We went through obstacles, but we kept pushing.

You know, when someone told us no and when someone told me no, I went forward.

I kept pushing.

I kept pushing that limit because I knew that our students needed more, more opportunities, you know, more things here within the school district.

And we got when we got it.

You know what?

People telling me no, I kept going.

I kept pushing and had some people to counter, you know, wanna throw me and ice this or expel me.

But I kept pushing because I knew that our students wanted more and I did as well.

And so I pushed and I had a passion.

I had to drive to making sure our school was better.

Speaking of which, I want to do the same from city.

Speaking of which, from what I understand, you made a promise to the young people there in the town of Earl that if they voted for you, then you would look out for them.

So what specifically do you want to do for the young people in Earl?

I wanna, I wanna get out of these young people more involved, not only with within city government, but have them like create jobs for them so they can have like something to do like with job programs already calling to want to come in and help.

So I want to help to get help them get the job and to help them make, you know, look at life more different.

So I know you have at least four years ahead of you as the mayor.

Do you have aspirations, political aspirations beyond the city of Earl?

Yes, ma'am.

I hope one day to be the President of the United States of America.

Well, you know what you're, you're actually off to a a pretty good start, especially, you know, being that you're 18.

Yes, ma'am.

So has this always been a goal of yours?

Politics.

It haven't.

Throughout the years I've out in elementary school, I always wanted to be in law enforcement.

I want to be Arkansas State trooper.

But as time came with high school, I had a group of people come to me and asked me to join student government.

But I told them no because I'm like, what is that, you know?

And so I went home and I thought about it and I looked myself in the mirror and I said, Jalen, do you want to do this?

And I said yes.

And I thought they got done my research.

I went back and I joined, but I didn't win.

But I was blessed to be a High Representative for two years than what I was.

I was in 7th grade.

I was, I was eighth grade representative and I was blessed to have that opportunity to move forward.

Absolutely amazing.

Well, I do know that you are a student at ASU and general studies and a lot of that work you'll be able to do online as you govern the city.

Well, Jalen Smith, mayor elect, Jalen Smith, we absolutely wish you the best.

Good luck to you and and let us know how things are going, OK?

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you so much for having me.

Alright.

And that's going to do it for this Arkansas week.

I'm so glad you were able to join us.

I'm Donna Terrell.

We'll see you next time.

Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, The Arkansas Times and KUARFM 89.