CEO Maria Flynn: Why JFF's North Star Matters—to Everyone

Last year, as Jobs for the Future (JFF) celebrated our 40th anniversary, President and CEO Maria Flynn posed a critical question: What can we accomplish over the next decade that will make a real difference in the lives of a large number of people? We answered that question by redoubling our commitment to expanding economic opportunity for all and setting a bold North Star goal:

By 2033, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs.  

One year later, what have we achieved? What makes this goal more than words on a screen? And how do we plan to reach such an ambitious target in the next nine years? JFF’s Marketing & Communications team asked Flynn to share her vision for rallying education, workforce, and employment changemakers to join the effort to help millions more people advance economically.

Why should JFF’s North Star goal matter to people outside of JFF?

Flynn: Like so many young people who start their careers in public service, I began mine 30 years ago wanting to change the world—all from my little cubicle at the U.S. Department of Labor. And in the past three decades, a lot has changed in our nation’s education and workforce systems that we should all feel proud of. But at the same time, I worry we haven’t come far enough and we haven’t moved fast enough, collectively. In fact, I worry that we’re losing ground in our efforts to ensure that every learner and worker has a chance to improve their life.  

So, at JFF, we made a strategic decision to zero in on what’s most important to workers and learners—and based on what they are telling us and our own expertise in this field, we believe that’s having a quality job. A quality job provides not just the minimum that every person needs to support themselves and their loved ones—a living wage and strong benefits, like health insurance and paid family leave. More than that, a quality job also provides what every person deserves—stability, flexibility, a supportive environment with training and mentoring, a chance to contribute expertise and ideas, and opportunities to advance.  

But the numbers are distressing. Today, only 38 million people who face systemic barriers to advancement are working in quality jobs in the United States. We want to double that. 

It’s an audacious goal, and we know we can’t achieve it alone.  

That’s why we invite everyone who cares about the people of the United States and how they get by in daily life to join us in this effort. Whether you’re an employer, policymaker, educator, workforce development professional, entrepreneur, philanthropist, or innovative disrupter, you have a part to play. We may have different views on specific issues, like the role of organized labor, the best uses of technology, or whether to prioritize climate solutions, racial equity, or economic development. But we share the belief that helping millions more U.S. workers secure quality jobs is crucial to a thriving future for our people, our economy, and our country. And we believe we can do it—together. 

When you mention people ‘facing systemic barriers to advancement,’ what exactly do you mean? 

Flynn: We focus on the populations who face significant systemic obstacles to securing quality jobs. Our research shows the four biggest groups are: 

• People without a four-year college degree, regardless of their skills, who struggle to show their value to employers; 

• Most people of color, even those with a four-year degree, who face racial bias in school and in the workplace; 

• Most women, even those with a four-year degree, who earn less than men and are promoted at lower rates; and 

• People with a record of arrest, conviction, or incarceration, who are long stigmatized in the job market. 

How will we know we’re making meaningful progress toward the North Star goal?

Flynn: We’ve started by organizing our work around key drivers, the straightforward steps we know are necessary to reach our North Star: create quality jobs, prepare people for quality jobs, help people obtain quality jobs, and last but not least, mobilize the field around this vision and spur changemakers to action.  

And we’re going to measure our own progress in these areas—both the work of our individual programs, from the learners we help attain high-quality credentials to the employers we’re coaching to prioritize the well-being of their employees, and our organizational work.  

We’re also focusing on measuring economy-wide progress, by designing and launching a national job quality survey this fall. Despite numerous historical efforts, it will be the first nationally representative data tool to track job quality over time. The annual survey of about 16,000 people will be administered by Gallup and supported by the Family and Workers Fund. We’re also partnering with the Upjohn Institute of Employment Research to help draft and validate the survey questions.  

Our goal is to ensure that this data, which we’ll publish as an annual job quality report beginning in 2025, will assess the state of job quality in the United States, identify critical challenges and opportunities, and provide actionable insights to drive transformative change. We plan to analyze job quality by objective measures such as wages, hours, scheduling, benefits, and other concrete points, and by worker sentiment, such as feeling safe in the workplace. We’ll break down results by region and sector, and recommend actions for various stakeholders, including government officials and policymakers, employers, organizations for whom job quality is critical to their work, and workers themselves. Our hope is that the information will inform decision-making and elevate a national conversation about job quality.  

How can people get involved?

Flynn: We’re excited to announce the 75 Million Network—a movement to mobilize the entire nation to endorse, advance, and track progress toward our North Star. We welcome organizations from across the education and workforce ecosystem who believe a vibrant, competitive U.S. economy depends upon preparing people for and helping them thrive in quality jobs.   

We want network members to publicly align with the North Star by committing to one or more of the four drivers. And in doing so, we intend to create a unified message across the ecosystem that puts quality jobs at the forefront of the national dialogue.  

There’s no financial requirement to join. However, organizations that do contribute to the North Star fundraising campaign will have access to special benefits and activities. 

Our founding members will serve as advisors—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Opportunity@Work, REDF, Mohawk Valley Community College, Jobcase, and ETS. 

I hope you’ll join us!