SOFEI Insights™

Viewing Black women through an equitable lens reveals their true strength and ambition. It's essential to challenge stereotypes that can misinterpret their incredible qualities. By fostering understanding, we can positively influence policies, hiring practices, and opportunities, ultimately uplifting everyone in our communities. Let's champion their brilliance together! The cost is heavy: Black women are the most educated group of women in America, yet earn just 64 cents to every dollar earned by white men. Black women who exhibit strong confidence are often overlooked for leadership roles because their confidence is mistaken for arrogance. Black women often experience significant challenges in accessing healthcare, housing, and economic stability, because their needs are considered their personal faults instead of systemic obstacles. The Way Forward The SOFEI Group is excited to share that actual change comes from reshaping misleading narratives with genuine stories. Let...

Becoming the best version of yourself doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey of small, intentional steps. Whether starting over after a setback or striving to reach your next goal, remember that progress, not perfection, is the key. Here are three steps to guide your journey: Reflect and Reset: Take time to assess where you are and where you want to be. Growth begins with clarity, so write down your goals and identify what’s holding you back. Invest in Yourself: Education and training open doors. Whether you’re learning a new skill, refining your craft, or diving into professional development, every step forward builds your confidence and capacity. Explore SOFEIOnline for courses designed to help you unlock your potential. Surround Yourself with Positivity: Your environment matters. Build a network of positive, empowering individuals who uplift and inspire you. Connect with communities that share your mission and values.

A student wanted to call his mother to tell her he was not having a good day. A teacher asked him why wasn't he having a good day, and he replied, "because nobody likes me." The teacher asked his permission to ask the class if they liked him, and he said, "no." This student has been operating from the belief that all the students at the school do not like him and that he does not fit in. The sad thing is he cannot provide solid proof to validate his feelings or assumptions. There are a large number of people living according to the fallacy of their feelings! Feelings are tricky! They seldom can be solidified without facts. However, people would rather live in captivity by holding onto their feelings instead of seeking divine truth that can release them from the lies intertwined in their feelings. We were created in the image of God to serve Him and to live a victorious, abundant life! But if we do not realize why God created us, we will shortchange ou...

When God made you, He spoke to Himself. Everything God created outside of Himself, He spoke into existence (e.g., Let there be), and it was! When God made humanity, He spoke to Himself and said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness (Genesis 1:26). The image of God is Triune (i.e., three beings in one)! He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The image of man is Triune too (i.e., Soul, Body, and Spirit). Being made in God’s image reflects His holiness, His righteous, and His love. When God spoke to Himself to form humanity, He wanted to demonstrate His love through fellowship when He said, “It’s not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Another part of being made in God’s image is the freedom to choose. Adam and Eve were righteous until they ate the forbidden fruit (i.e., rebel against God). Their rebellion marred the image of God within themselves and their decedents. And the scars of their decision (i.e., mentally, socially, morally, and ph...

According to Fortune Magazine , the average Black woman will have finally earned the same amount the average non-Hispanic white man earned a year earlier—eight months later. That’s a problem, not just for Black women who lose out on $900,000 in lifetime earnings, but for everyone. Black women who normally are the heads of their households (i.e., primary breadwinners) earn 63 cents of every dollar a white man makes. Shannon Williams, director of Equal Pay Today - a project of Equal Rights Advocates stated, "The issue of equal pay is not just a woman’s issue because it trickles down into our families, communities, and the overall economy." The Black Women’s Wage Gap is a problem for everyone, but everyone isn’t working to address it! One way to close the wage gap is to close the skill gap. The SOFEI Group is working to decrease pay inequity among women of color through free professional, technical, and certification training for women who want to upgrade their skills to el...

Living within your means is well-intended advice to prevent people from acquiring debt. But could this advice prevent individuals from believing and achieving a bigger and better life? Mean among many definitions is average. Living outside your means spiritually, emotionally, and socially can lead to an extraordinary life. Here’s how: Write your big dreams and read them daily Create a vision board with images that coincide with your dreams Review, envision, and mediate daily of you achieving your dreams Surround yourself with people who have what you desire Strive for purpose and not security Live by faith and not fear

When you’re a manager, there are some basic, essential skills everyone should have. Whether it’s setting clear work priorities, building great teamwork, listening well to others, or performing a performance review. Each of the skills impact how effective you’ll be as a manager. The Management Essentials e-course will help you build these skills and others. By giving you on the job development exercises to evaluate performance, set clear expectations, and create the right level of challenging work, you’ll build the skills required to be a great and motivating manager for each of your employees. This bite-sized course includes: Giving Clear Work Priorities What Employees Need Reinforce Great Teamwork Valuing Employees Listening to Others’ Ideas and Opinions Problem Solving Expectations The Right Workload for Employees The Great Things Employees Do An Ethics and Integrity Discussion Perform a Performance Review Creating Challenging Work Receive Feedback From Your Creating a Great Work...

Why are women called a B**** when they exude confidence? Confidence has nothing to do with lewdness, selfishness, or being a female dog. It has everything to do with relying on an inner power and strength to achieve and succeed in life. Once a woman reaches a level of self-confidence, she doesn’t need to be torn down. No one knows her journey to reach her height and our level of confidence will never increase when we tear women down. We've launched a tee-shirt campaign to end negative languages and images associated with confident women and women in general. And you can show your support here.

Women of color spend a great deal of time tending to the needs of immediate and extended family members to prevent them from dealing with the consequences of their choices. Women will: Mortgage their homes to prevent a loved one from going to jail. Expend their retirement to prevent foreclosure or pay for college. Become a custodian to their abandoned or neglected grandchildren. Decrease their savings to pay their children’s expenses to keep their lives afloat. Stepping in to tend to the needs of family members every time they experience a set-back, doesn’t help them become accountable or responsible for their choices. It teaches them to stay on the path of self-destruction because they know they have access to a reliable source that will catch them before they fall. Every one can’t be saved from the consequences of their choices. Part of the growth and healing process is to learn from the error of our ways. So if they’re old enough to get into a ‘pickle’ let them grow up to get...

Have you ever attended a special occasion and observed how individuals describe themselves? “I’m a doctor, lawyer, an accountant, or an entrepreneur." If accomplishments, titles, degrees, or material things were taken away, how would they be identified? The social arena is inundated with individuals pretending to be something they're not. And what's startling is people who are normally content with their identity, become discontent after interacting with a new social group or environment. The Apostle Paul was a persecutor of the followers of Christ, and was miraculously converted to a follower himself. Paul realized it was God's grace that made him who he had become - an Ambassador for Christ. As an Ambassador, Paul traveled to different countries to organize churches and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was not ashamed of being a servant of God and did not waiver in his new identity with Him. If you have a relationship with God without titles or a series of...

Feelings can be a challenge to prove in the workplace. They’re challenging because some feelings aren’t based on current realities, but on experiences that can cloud the truth. If you’ve experienced an offence at work, think before you respond or react. And if you want an apology or resolve from the offender, here are a few things to consider: Was the offence intentional? If so, can you prove it? What was your emotional state when the offence occurred? Are you viewing the current offence through the lens of your past? What impact does the offence have on you and the company as a whole if it’s not addressed and resolved? Telling someone how we feel in the workplace may be impossible to validate without tangible proof. One sure way to get heard is to measure offensive behaviors against the company’s mission and core values which should be outlined in the company’s employee handbook. Also, make sure you have the ability to show your value to the company as a problem-solver, not a ...

In 1996, The SOFEI Group started in the apartment living room of its current Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO) under the umbrella of Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. The organization’s foundation was spiritually and biblically-based because the CEO discovered the challenges many women faced stemmed from how they viewed themselves and their lack of faith and belief in a Being higher than themselves; not because of limited access to resources. We set our heights to empower women to transform their lives by transforming their minds through biblically-based fellowships and our quarterly newsletter - Inspirational Expressions. As we evolved, we realized we lost focus on our spiritual core. What was true at our origin stands true today; women cannot achieve or be their greatest without knowing their true power. Unfortunately, this power has been decreased to sexuality and looks, and this power isn’t sustainable like our innate power during seasonal challenges. Oprah Winfrey states, “Everyo...

Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked. – Psalm 24:19 Fretting is energy that can leave you stagnant. Quite frankly, it’s wasted energy. Whether your co-worker gets your dream job without much effort, a friend with a promiscuous past gets married during your season of singleness, a surprise break-up, or a family member moves into their luxury abode while you struggle to pay rent, envy will leave you powerless. The hurt or disappointment does not entitle you to live a life looking through the lens of anger, rage, or worry. It does give you an opportunity to learn how to accept and deal with the growing prevalence of evil, ill-treatment, and personal deficiencies. Critic Samuel Johnson advised, "He who has so little knowledge of human nature to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief which he purposes to remove." Thinking, talking, and hoarding en...

Right into doing something we’ve never done before – host a Zumbathon® Charity Event! Since we’ve been out of the lime-light, we thought hosting a Zumbathon® would be a fun way to reconnect with friends and supporters, and make new ones. We’ve supported Zumbathon® events to benefit heart disease and ovarian cancer. And one-year later we’re hosting our own to benefit women experiencing poverty in the Washington region. The Zumba® Corporate Office approved our Zumbathon® Charity Event within two-hours of submission - a process that normally takes two-business days, and within four-weeks, only 10% of our desired participants have registered. Lesson learned, we’re doing something we’ve never done before and its success can’t be measured solely on who showed up; but, on our commitment to work and move the weight of poverty off the shoulders of women who live with it daily right in our backyard. Not achieving the desired results from this plunge will not stop us from doing it agai...

What would the world look like without women? Take a few minutes to ponder this thought. What did you come up with? Women who are abused, neglected, or subjected to sexism, are invisible. And, women weren’t created to be second-class citizens to men, but equally to build a fruitful and noble world for all humanity to enjoy. Subjection of women can stem from pride and ignorance. It’s ignorance when people don’t know the reason for women’s existence; pride when people are self-serving and would do anything to fulfill their wants and needs. If women want to strengthen their presence and voice in society, they should: Discover their purpose and not allow people or external circumstances deter them from their destined path. Live according to their uniqueness and convictions; not societal norms. Know their rights as a citizen and in the workplace and hold people accountable who inflict harm to them. Increase and stabilize their self- and net-worth to create personal and financial st...

Following is a list of The SOFEI Group's top ten YouTube videos for motivation, inspiration, and hope: Am I Wrong - Nico & Vince Try - Colbie Caillat Beautiful Flower - India Arie Hear My Call - Jill Scott Golden - Jill Scott Bravo - Ledisi Superwoman - Alicia Keys Just Fine - Mary J. Blige Didn't Know My Own Stength - Whitney Houston Turning Around for Me - Vashawn Mitchell

An elderly woman lost her life in a house fire because she hoarded stuff that didn't add value. Her neighbors recognized how hazardous her house had become and offered assistance to help her clean, to no prevail. Just as the elderly woman collected worthless items, there are many people who gather and hold onto people and things that deplete or bring detriment to their spiritual or emotional well-being. Worthless items like negative thinking, self-denial, stressful living, defeat, deceit, jealousy, fear, anger, covetousness, envy, anxiety, lack of self-control, hatred, low self-worth and self-esteem. When we pray and ask God for deliverance from our trials and tribulations, healing from a broken or wounded heart, or for a financial blessing, He can't deliver when our internal being is cluttered. For example, when a pilot attempts to land a plane, the pilot verifies if the pathway is clear. If it isn't, the pilot goes into a holding pattern. God is like the pilot! ...

Genesis 34 talks about a young virgin woman, named Dinah who “went out to see the daughters of the land” (Genesis 34:1). She was spotted by Shechem - a victim of lust at first sight , who took Dinah and violated her virginity (Genesis 34:2). A Jewel, such as Dinah, was defiled and violated because of Shechem’s strong sexual desire to have her (Genesis 34:3). In Hebrew, the definition of violated or defiled, means to be taken by force (i.e., raped). Shechem’s actions resulted in harm instead of satisfaction because Dinah’s brothers, Levi and Simeon lied, stole, and murdered for revenge. Dinah was a Jewel taken by force, but there are many women (Jewels) who voluntarily place themselves in the hands of Inexperienced Jewelers due to: Soft Spoken Words According to Genesis 34:3, Shechem spake kindly unto the damsel . Women can become prey to soft spoken words if they were raised in negative environments, were victims of verbal, emotional, or physical abuse and never heard or experience...

Be responsible for your actions. No one can make you behave the way you do. Be responsible for your thoughts. No one can make you think what you think. Take ownership of your feelings. No one can make you feel good or bad. Be responsible for your life. No one can make you have a fulfilled or dreadful life. Be responsible for your well being. No one can define who you are or your purpose for living. Be responsible for how you are treated. You are treated the way you allow yourself to be treated. Be responsible for how you treat others. No one can make you respect or disrespect him or her. Be responsible for your relationship with God and others. God and no one can make you love them. The choice is ultimately yours.

I weep for Sisters looking For a man that’s so hard to find My sisters try, they trip, they tremble Because the search goes on all the time. I weep for Sisters looking For security in masculine form They’re tossed and thrown by emotions Like a small ship in a big storm. I weep for Sisters looking For a “brother” whom they can respect Not a pretty boy or millionaire Just someone With whom They can connect. I weep for Sisters looking Because of the pain and heartbreak They endure The loneliness that turns to emptiness Will there ever be a cure? I say Yes, Dear Sisters, There is a cure A real cure from my point of view For perhaps wisdom is dictating That you pray and wait, Serve and work Until Mr. Right Finds You! By Evangelist Emanuel Scott, Jr.