Kyle Kellams: We begin with what may be unintended consequences of pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs aside, as DEI has become politically combustible. Many public universities have halted scholarships for women and underserved populations, and some foundations and charitable arms of corporations are pulling back from helping fund girls-exclusive or women-exclusive programs and projects.
We asked Anna Beth Gorman, executive director of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, about this. She says her team is witnessing changes for programs they sponsor, including some that have even been in operation for more than two decades.
Gorman: What we're seeing in the landscape in Arkansas is that we're actually seeing nonprofits having to navigate funding shifts and how public agencies and private funders and corporations engage in programs that support women's advancement in general. We have always been proud to stand at the intersection of public and private partnerships. We've got great relationships with state agencies, with major universities, with some of our largest employers in the state of Arkansas, and they're still supporting. They still want to support the work that they're doing, but they're not sure if they can based on language concern about, is this somehow related to, you know, DEI work? And we would argue that we've never been a political entity ever. We've always been about the economic development of women in the state of Arkansas.
Kellams: So is it a challenge to separate what in some circles might be partisan attitudes or approaches from that nonpartisan — has that been a challenge?
Gorman: That's right. So I think the challenge is like, we are not partisan. We are data driven. And we focus on economic mobility, not political ideology. The work that we do in economic development is through the lens of women. If you look at our state right now, for example, I can think about, especially — we just heard this morning there's relief is going to come for Arkansas farmers, right? So Arkansas farmers are a very specific demographic in the Arkansas economy, right? Women are a very specific demographic in the Arkansas economy. And we stand at a place to really talk about what are the challenges that exist for women, what are the solutions that are out there, what is data telling us, how can we lean in and be more supportive? Because we know when Arkansas women thrive, our economy thrives.
Kellams: And when you say that, what is it about women thriving, women-led organizations thriving in Arkansas that helps the broader economy thrive?
Gorman: I mean, when you boil it down, the circumstance of a woman is the circumstance of her children. So we're talking about the future of our state. If you say you care about children in Arkansas, then you care about women's economic security. If you are concerned about our maternal mortality rates in Arkansas, then you care about women's economic security. If you care about SNAP benefits, if you care about free and reduced lunches and children not being hungry in the summer, then you care about women's economic security. Economic security is really the systemic challenges that all Arkansans face. Disproportionately, women in Arkansas are carrying that load of financial burden.
Kellams: Was there a point in 2025, or a conversation or two, when you realized, oh, things have really become challenging?
Gorman: Absolutely. We saw in the legislative session at the public university level the elimination of scholarships for women and minorities at public universities, which just means higher education is less affordable. I mean, there weren't very many to begin with, but now we're saying that we're going to make even something that was already cost prohibitive for a significant portion of our population — you know, where are those resources? Those are drying up. You're really seeing public organizations, companies, reevaluate their investments in the state of Arkansas, changing what we want to invest in because we're worried that if we invest in a woman-serving program, that's not a safe investment, that we might be under scrutiny for that. We’ve seen that. It is absolutely — we've seen it in our organization as a financial loss this year. Support for programs that we've been hosting for almost 30 years. These programs were born of what we can do in Arkansas to really try to help women get into places.
So, for example, we've been hosting a conference for eighth-grade girls since 1999, introducing them to careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math in partnership with some of the most recognizable companies across the state of Arkansas. High-demand careers where we have got to see more Arkansans interested in getting the skills they need to get there. And we have been doing a program before STEAM was even STEAM — the letters together. We've been hosting this program because what we know from our data is that those are pathways to better-paying jobs.
So we create this program to integrate eighth-grade girls because we know that the science, the data tells us that that is the pivotal age in which a young girl is going to start really making decisions about her future. Like, if I don't think that I'm good at this, I might like it, I might be interested. But if I don't have people around me that tell me that I'm good at this, if I don't have my friends that are interested in this, then I'm going to lose interest and choose a different path. And that's where we literally lose the potential workforce of tomorrow.
I know this program is one of the programs right now that is harder for us to fundraise than a year ago.
Kellams: I know through previous conversations with you and with College of Engineering deans and administration faculty, the number of women in engineering represents — depending on age, state, or region — sometimes in the very low 20s or high teens, percentage-wise. And we know that Arkansas, especially Northwest Arkansas, has a workforce gap. So it would seem to me that trying to get more women interested in STEAM, where they've been underrepresented forever, would seem to be a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats sort of equation. But you're telling me you've heard from people that they're a little bit concerned about investing in that because they're afraid that if it's girls in eighth grade, that might be problematic right now.
Gorman: Oh, I'm telling you, Kyle, that we have public institutions that will no longer promote a program that's just for girls. I'm telling you that is what we're seeing. And the answer is, well, then our organization has to work harder to get the word out about it. Like, okay, well, we've been working pretty hard for 27 years now, and it's now more difficult for a public institution that's receiving state funding to talk about a program.
And again, when the legislation was introduced in this last session, Representative Mary Bentley went to the well and said, and I promise you, this will not impact girls in STEM. And within two months we were having public institutions say they cannot support girls in STEM.
Kellams: As we look toward next year, what do you think can reverse this trend?
Gorman: I think we will see reversals. I think we've seen a pendulum go from one side to the other. We can't stay in this place, not if we effectively want to move our state forward. Again, ensuring that women have the same opportunities as men is one of the most reliable ways to strengthen our workforce and our long-term economic health. And again, I think employers and I think public universities and I think public institutions are like, okay, this is insane. We have to be able to say, okay, we see a gap right here. Northwest Arkansas is a great example. If we see a gap in our workforce, we need to be able to recruit the gap. We need to be able to recruit the gap. We have to. And again, you can't just recruit. You have to start investment years ahead of time. And that's the work of the Women's Foundation of Arkansas. We are not your traditional direct-service organization. Our portfolio of work is investing early on in women and girls to change the future economic outlook of not just them, but our state.
Kellams: You sound optimistic that the current, I guess, chilled effect of this will change.
Gorman: I have to be optimistic because of the job that I have, and I know that Arkansans care about Arkansans. And I know because of the work that I've been doing for several years — we've got great employers, and we've seen strides. We've seen strides in industries that are doing everything that they can to ensure that Arkansans are working, are getting the skills that they need, are getting to work, are able to put food on the table for their families. And so I just have to believe that we're going to see the silliness of the obstacles that we're putting up right now to ensure that we're all working in concert for the same outcome.
Kellams: Any conversations with lawmakers about this? Just kind of calling out and tracking it?
Gorman: You know, we really pointed out, hey, our concern about when you change this language, what are the unintended consequences, what are the chilling effects, and holding folks accountable. We said, oh, it's not going to impact girls in STEM programs — it absolutely has impacted girls in STEM programming. And so really pointing that out: here is what's happening. And so again, our Legislature I know comes back and they fix things. And so again I'm optimistic that we'll be able to demonstrate here's an unintended consequence, and let's fix this and let's work together and let's move forward. Let's move our state forward.
I love going to luncheons and programs and listening about the future, our potential of our state. And I believe that. But we have to unlock that potential by unlocking resources for Arkansans.
Kellams: Thank you so much for your time.
Gorman: Thank you. Appreciate it.
Kellams: Anna Beth Gorman is executive director of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. We spoke by Zoom this week.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
