KANSAS CITY, MO — For Tameka Stigers, cosmetology school was expensive and time consuming.
“I’m sitting here in this building that I was able to buy. I never thought that I would be able to get a loan, to buy a building that's nearly half a million dollars,” said Stigers, who owns Locs of Glory Salon Spa in St. Louis.
Stigers initially joined forces with the Kansas City, Missouri, group United WE to bring about policy change and make it easier for hair braiders like herself by helping pass the state's hair braiding registration.
“That was just a catalyst of working with United WE,” Stigers said.
Now, United WE is continuing its efforts to fight issues impacting women by rolling out its Statewide Economic Development Task Force.
“This work is to really convene, to really get out and to hear from Missouri women so we can accurately tell the story of what's happening in our state," Wendy Doyle, United WE president and CEO, said. "We can reduce barriers and come up with innovation solutions to really move forward our Missouri economy."
The task force will host town halls and compile research and data from the stories shared by everyday women, taking their findings directly to policy makers.
“We’ve been talking about some of those issues for a long time, and we think it’s time for us to take a fresh look at some new solutions for some of those long standing challenges,” Katie Steele Danner, executive director of the Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation, said.
Doyle said the pandemic impacted women at an increased rate, and now is the perfect time to get back on track.
“The COVID-19 recovery is truly a women's issue that – because women dropped out of the labor force at such an incredible rate – to get women back to work is really imperative and important for not only families economically but for the states economy to grow,” Doyle said.
For Stigers, her success is proof that using one's voice matters, and it's imperative that women speak up.
“The work that the United WE Task Force is doing is needed now more than ever,” Stigers said.
