See below for a round-up of what was news this week in the world of philanthropy, social change and women and girls in the Washington metropolitan region and beyond:

In the spirit of our previous conversations on the wage-gap, AlterNet asks in a book review, "Why do we pay our plumbers more than our caregivers?"  Excellent question. 

And on a similar note, Andrea Learned asks, "Philanthropy: Administered by Men, Driven by Women?", where she considers that, "Steeped in established protocols and tradition, philanthropy may well be the final frontier for proving the women’s market worth (literally and figuratively)," which she notes, is ironic given that "charity really begins with women."

Tactical Philanthropy reminds us that we don’t necessarily have to choose in the debate between "Nonprofits vs. For Profits."

Which brings us to Trent Stamp’s review of the debate between whether high school students should be required to work without profit–and volunteer–in his post, "Would mandatory service breed resentment, or more volunteers?"

Lucy Bernholz confesses to being a geek and asks, "Why is philanthropic analysis so different?, proposing a means of thinking and doing for philanthropy that could "revolutionize the work of typical foundation program officers."  Nisha and Carolee, are you ready?

On a nonprofit relational note, Trent Stamp calls The Urban Institute’s new study on what’s going on between charities and their boards "wildly interesting" and recommends a cool article from Money magazine on how donors and volunteers can make the most of their time and money.  Sounds like a great addition to Philanthropy 101 to me!   

And speaking of money, the Native Financial Education Coalition hosted a briefing in Washington, D.C. regarding the low financial literacy of Native American youth and offered key recommendations to address the problem. 

On the heels of previous discussion around the influence (or over-influence?) of wealth and philanthropy on decision-making, as well as a reminder about the tension in Pittsburgh that followed a decision by the Heinz Foundation, a story emerges from New York about how "Patrons’ Sway Leads to Friction in Charter School."  Frederick Hess, an expert on philanthropy and education, predicts that this could be an on-going trend.  "There would be more disputes like the one in Brooklyn as high-profile donors invest their reputations in schools and face ‘the enormous kind of name-brand question.’”

Feministing adds a new perspective to the immigration bill, noting that it would potentially put women immigrants in the precarious situation of having to decide between domestic violence and deportation. 

Google sets out to help non-profits with maps, by offering a program that would allow causes to demonstrate visually for donors and supports that, for instance, there is fire and war ravaging specific villages or to see the devastation of a natural disaster.  We all know how much I love Google, but my questions is this: how do you show the effects of poverty–and its disproportionate impact on women–on a map?  Seems it’s already easier to get funding for disaster and relief efforts than for sustained development and anti-poverty ones–as noted by how the "Absense of a Major Disaster in ‘06 Affected Giving."  The article reports, "Since 2002, the percentage of overall giving to human services charities has been declining. The exception was 2005, when gifts increased, perhaps as a result of the overall increase driven by disaster giving."  So, Google, get on that poverty visual, okay?  (See also "Americans set record for charity in 2006" for more on that breakdown.)

And that’s it for your weekly round-up.  Have a great pre-Independence Day weekend and don’t forget to start things off by celebrating your freedom of speech with a few comments and notes on the blog!   

In keeping with my promise last week, I’m back with more on the DC Women’s Agenda’s white paper, Voices and Choices for D.C. Women and Girls: Recommendations for City Leaders 2007–and action you can take to encourage city leaders to increase the economic security of our region’s women.

This week’s topic is economic security for women and girls, or, the lack thereof, and how it feeds into a number of other issues facing our city.  Economic security is at the forefront of every issue in the white paper, largely because we can talk about the housing crisis, healthcare, and domestic violence and other safety issues (and don’t worry, we will), but without a good job, these topics are all moot.

An individual must have a job in order to survive, to have basic needs met.  Having a good job is the starting point to all other things in one’s life.

As the white paper details:

Economic security is a critical component of healthy, stable lives. Individuals and families fall apart in the absence of good jobs—ones that pay self-sufficient wages, include benefits such as health insurance and paid sick days, and provide flexibility to balance work and family. The foundation to obtaining and maintaining a job is a quality education and strong skills in areas where there is a need and where good jobs exist.

For women and girls in the District of Columbia, unfortunately, both the foundation for economic security and that security itself are in short supply. The school system fails to adequately educate our young women, and the job training programs that exist inadequately position women to obtain good jobs in strong markets. Even when a woman is able to receive the education and training she needs, the jobs themselves frequently lack the kind of flexibility that is so crucial for balancing work and family.

The large majority of single parent households in the District of Columbia are headed by women, so women are the ones who suffer by the city’s lack of affordable, available child care and the nonexistence of laws requiring employers to provide paid sick days of family and medical leave.

There is no hiding the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor in D.C. is extremely vast. The business community in D.C. is booming, but it is not D.C. residents who are benefiting.  In D.C., employers are required to fill 51 percent of all new jobs with D.C. residents in an effort to ensure that those who live in the city are getting its jobs.

This sounds like a good idea…if it were enforced.  According to a report done by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, the Department of Employment Services has never fined a business for failure to comply.

In D.C., 30 percent of women-headed families are living in poverty and 11 percent of women are unemployed. This is just shy of double the national rate of unemployment.

There are many barriers that women and girls face when it comes to attaining sustainable employment, the largest of these being education and job training.

The education system in the District is lacking.  By 8th grade, 69 percent of students in D.C. public schools have below average math skills, as compared to 32 percent nationwide. With statistics like that, it is not surprising that many of D.C.’s children are not prepared when it comes time to find a job. 

And that therefore job training would be extremely beneficial.

For those who are fortunate to get a job in D.C., the barriers do not stop there.

Half of the city’s private sector jobs do not provide paid sick days or paid family and medical leave.  If an individual is lucky enough to find a decent paying job in D.C., they better not get sick because they do not have the luxury of being able to take a day off with pay.  Most low wage workers are forced to make the decision of staying home to care for themselves or go to work sick.

Many do not have a choice. They have to go to work.

Some even run the risk of getting fired for taking a day off to care for themselves.

Allowing workers to take a day or two to take care of themselves will ensure a shorter recovery time and mean that when the worker is at work, they are working at their full potential and not nursing an illness.

Currently there is legislation going through the DC City Council that would provide full time workers up to 10 paid sick days and part time workers five days.  With these available days, a worker can stay home to take care of themselves as well as a child or other family member if they are sick. The employee can take the days without fear of repercussion.

The DC Employment Justice Center, along with many other nonprofits, service providers and advocates hope that this legislation will provide some relief to already over worked, underpaid D.C. workers.

Talking about topics such as these can be overwhelming and frustrating. It’s hard to know what to do to combat such complex issues. One thing that you can do to help provide the workers of D.C. with some time off to take care of themselves is to contact your councilmember and tell them that you support the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007. You can also show your support by coming out to the public hearing on July 9 at 3 p.m. at the John A. Wilson Building at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW.

Or, if you would like more information about the paid sick and safe days initiative, please feel free to contact me at any time.

For more information on the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007, see Jack Mahoney’s previous post on how you can help build economic security in an office near you!

Jessica’s previous post on the white paper can be found here.  And there will be more to follow! 

Jessica Goshow is DC Employment Justice Center’s (DCEJC) legal and policy associate.  Being that EJC and Wider Opportunities for Women are the co-chairs of the DCWA, she was involved in the coordination, writing, and reviewing of the white paper.

The DC Women’s Agenda, DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women are all Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation. 

Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) (a Grantee Partner) just released a very cool new tool for our region: the D.C. Metro Area Self-sufficiency Calculator.

With funding from the Freddie Mac Foundation, WOW created the calculator to serve as "an online career and financial counseling tool that will help thousands of the region’s most vulnerable families move out of poverty and gain financial independence," WOW’s press release explains.

It works like this:  "The Self Sufficiency calculator is more than a tool; it offers concrete strategies in moving on a path to prosperity for the whole family while providing benchmarks and outcome information that will inform policy and practice from housing to workforce strategies…by helping struggling parents compute their earned wages and develop a financial savings plan to meet their families’ basic needs."

It will be made available, and used by, "several hundred local government agencies, nonprofits, libraries, and other organizations to help educate families about the cost of living in the District and throughout the region, how their current income compares to their specific self-sufficiency wage, and how to use the calculator to map out a plan for short and long term financial independence."

Women, and particularly single mothers, are the most economically vulnerable population in our region, and therefore have a tremendous amount to gain from this tool, and the research behind it. 

The use of this tool to link low-income women in our region to better paying, more stable jobs and to save towards their family’s economic security will no doubt greatly impact a vast number of children, families and our community as a whole in a positive way.

Now, that really adds up!

To learn more:
WOW press release
DC Metro Area Self-sufficiency Calculator
WOW Web site

When the Washington City Paper ran a cover story this week called, "Nice ass!: Not even grandmas are safe from D.C.’s street harrassers," I picked it up, and then read about it again on the blogosphere.

Where, I must admit, I was a bit shocked by the criticism the authors took for it, particularly in reference to Kimberly Klinger’s companion pieces, "I’ve Got Your ‘Hey Baby!’ Right Here" and "Diary of a Catcall Hater."  Because even after reading Feministing’s critical take on the pieces, I was still left with the same feeling, that regardless of the potentially racist undertones or naivety and varying degrees of sensitivity of the reporter, I was glad it was documented.

And honestly. 

Because to me, what is important (and harmful) about street harrassment has everything to do with its affect on those who are harrassed–the women and girls simply trying to make their way around the city. 

So I appreciated Klinger’s honesty in documenting those affects–the frustration, the growing disrespect, the mistrust, and, yes, potentially, racist sentiments (however illogical she admits they are)–and the ensuing conflict and confusion she feels as a result.

Because they are an honest outshoot and piece of the experience.

And yet another great reason to end it. 

Because the point is that if behavior is unwanted, it should be stopped.  There is no need to discuss it within a framework of race or culture or diversity. 

When women feel unsafe, the behavior is not okay.  Full stop.

I guess I was far less concerned reading the article about the racial undercurrent and discussion, perhaps because I was so busy being horrified by the behavior the women experienced on the streets, and by the sense of entitlement shared by the men who did it, over the women’s reactions, space and sense of self.  A few samplings: 

It’s tough in D.C.  Especially with white girls.  They are stuck up, man.  Bi#@$.

It depends on what she looks like.  If she’s a slut, you have to treat her like a slut.  If she’s not, I say, ‘How you doing young lady?’

"F-you bi#*%, you ugly anyway.’ (Street harrasser to a woman who confronted him.)

The reporter states, "I’m thinking maybe Klinger’s approach is a bit too academic. Contreras seems like a good guy on the lookout for a good woman.  Maybe the shouts are just men trying to pick up women, no different than starting a conversation at a bar, just more…matter-of-fact."

Yeah, no.  And here’s why.  Because at the core of Klinger’s feelings–and the feelings of many of the women interviewed in the article–is not racism, or even mild irritation, but fear: 

I"ve become scared and angry.  And I f-ing hate it…I can’t hate them for any reason connected to their race…I can, however, hate them for the way they disrespect me.

I guess I would [appreciate the compliment] if I weren’t feeling annoyed, threatened, and scared.  The tone of most harrassment is very hostile.  Sometimes it escalates to full-on yelling. 

It hurts, it really does.  It takes away from your self-esteem.  It’s hard to hold my head up when I deal with this on a regular basis. 

The armchair sociologist in me knows it’s all about power–that the men who harrass are just trying to look tough in front of their friends or assert their dominance…but what i hear is all about sex and shame.  Shame on my part, anyway, as I hunch over to hide myself when I hear some jerk tell me what he’d like to do to me.  It’s great fun.

(For more on women’s experiences with street harrassment in D.C., visit Don’t Be Silent: Speak Out Against Street Harrassment in D.C.)

Because a woman in a bar is surrounded by other people, is in a safe zone, and can be said even to perhaps be, by location, making herself available to social interaction with strangers.  To someone wanting to strike up a conversation, and from whom, she can, if she wants, safely extricate herself verbally, and if necessary, with assistance from those around her. 

Walking down the street, alone, is a different experience, and one that makes come ons, pick-ups and catcalls from men you don’t know very different from being approached in a social setting.  It is scary, and puts women in a vulnerable position. 

Something that should not be part of any woman’s life experience, no matter where she is from, where she is walking, or what she is wearing–or what the harrasser intends.  Because a compliment is no longer a compliment if it doesn’t feel good to hear it. 

So I’m glad, as we approach selecting local nonprofits for this year’s Leadership Awards around health and safety, that this issue has been raised and documented locally–in all of its confusion, conflict and ugliness.

Because our Portrait Project revealed among its findings on local women and girls that:

• Despite the overall decline in violence, local women and girls expressed an alarming sense of personal insecurity.  Vulnerability to violence and lack of personal safety were two of the strongest themes that emerged when women were asked about the issues that affect their lives.
• More than 22,500 reprots of violence against women were made in 2000 alone in Washington, D.C.
• That same year, women made up 50 percent of all reported, violent crime victims in the District of Columbia.
• The rate of reported rapes in Washington, D.C. from 1997-1999 was markedly higher than other jurisdictions and exceeded the national figure. 

As Denise Snyder, executive director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center–which offers training in dealing with street harrassment [and is a Grantee Partner]–said in a Salon piece, "Too sexy for my shirt", "Women who’ve lived lots of places tell me it’s worse here than anywhere else." 

The article goes on to say, "Quantifying an essentially untraceable phenomenon is extremely difficult, but it’s certainly true that street harassment is a historically controversial topic here.  In 1990, a summer series of three Washington Post articles on street harassment — one journalistic, one essayistic, and one op-ed — caused a firestorm."

And history repeats itself.

I just wish that we could focus on the real root of the problem–the harrassment, and the power imbalances and disrespect for women that it indicates, and on stopping it–than on discussions of how it’s talked about or who is doing it or what it means or whether or not it’s just innocent or if it’s really that damaging.

Because it is.

As Klinger said in her article, "Why should we accept that?  Why can’t I hate that?"

Exactly.  

All issues of race aside, that seems pretty black and white to me.

Though I am a regular reader of this blog, this is my first take as a writer for it.  As co-chair of The Women’s Foundation’s Open Door Capacity Fund and member of their Program Committee, I wanted to share the news about The Women’s Foundation’s participation in a unique private/public grantmaking model.   

The Women’s Foundation is a founding investing partner of Hispanics in Philanthropy’s (HIP) local Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities, a collaborative of local, national and transnational funders that seeks to build the capacity of small and medium size Latino nonprofits in the Washington metropolitan area.

Power of giving together and partnership, key words for The Women’s Foundation, are well ensconced in this Collaborative, which provides a robust model for leveraging grantmaking for our region.  Through it, the founding investors include a mix of local foundations (The Meyer Foundation and The Women’s Foundation), the private sector (Fannie Mae and GEICO), the public sector (DC Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs) and and an international multi-lateral institution (Inter-American Development Bank’s Solidarity Fund). 

Each of these partners invests in the Collaborative and the aggregate investment is then matched by the national office of Hispanics in Philanthropy for local grantmaking.  A great example of how the sum can be greater!

As a demonstration of the impact of this collaborative, the partners awarded its first round of grants–totalling $425,000!–last week, on June 21 at the Inter-American Development Bank. 

At a reception to honor this inaugural group of grantees, HIP’s President Diana Campoamor offered remarks that reframed stereotypes, saying that Latino communities "are givers of the economic prosperity in these United States."  The Meyer Foundation’s Albert Ruesga, who is also Chair of Hispanics in Philanthropy’s Board, described the nation’s demographic shifts, suggesting that by 2050, one in every four iPods may be playing Celia Cruz tunes. 

Thirteen local nonprofits will benefit from this initial nearly half million dollar investment in our community, including The Women’s Foundation’s Grantee Partners Ayuda, CARECEN: Central American Resource Center, Community Bridges, the Latino Federation of Greater Washington, and Tenants and Workers United.

When I asked Community Bridges’ Ana Lopez to tell me more about the two-year capacity-building grant from HIP, she said that it would go toward the development of a three-year strategic plan to guide programmatic expansion, enhancement of communication systems, and development of new fundraising approaches, and she noted that HIP will also provide technical assistance and bring grantees together twice a year for training and support.  In fact, she said that an afternoon training for all grantees prior to the June 21 reception, "resulted in more than just a training, but a true network of support amongst organizations working with the common goal of strengthening the Latino families and youth we work with in the D.C. metro area.”

This echoes what Grantee Partners of the Women’s Foundation often express after they leave a quarterly technical assistance workshop or monthly discussion meeting, so it makes sense that The Women’s Foundation would be an investing partner in this work.     

And what does it mean for The Women’s Foundation to be engaged in this way?  Here are a few possibilities:

• It puts the foundation in a position of strength with a broad set of funders to leverage grantmaking and the grantmaking process. 
• Partnerships like these allow peer organizations to know more about The Women’s Foundation’s expertise and mission with women and girls in our region. 
• And then there is the multplier effect: together with other local funders, we were able to leverage national funding to our region.  As a result, our resources were bundled to make deeper investments in greater Washington.

This is clearly evidence of the power of giving together.

In addition, finding better ways to model grantmaking, whether through giving circles or public/private/international collaborations like this one, is a good check on our effectiveness and our leveraging skills. 

Finally, all of these grants focus on capacity building and leadership development, directly tied to the mission of The Women’s Foundation. 

I am looking forward to hearing about the collective and individual impact of these investments, both from Grantee Partners as well as from the other local funding partners. 

Eduardo Romero is the Director of Membership for the Nonprofit Roundtable.  He also serves as co-chair of The Women’s Foundation’s Open Door Capacity Fund and is a member of the Program Committee.

Photos courtesy of Michael Colella.

Anyone else feel like they’re meeting themselves coming and going this summer?  Good, then that means you’re as behind on the news, and blogging about it, as I am.  This News and Views then is just for you, as, in the interest of transparency, I’ll admit, it goes back more than a week.  But the issues were worth covering, I thought, even at the risk of my own reputation for steadfast timeliness.  Enjoy!

Now, on to business: See below for a round-up of what was news this week (ahem, past few weeks) in the world of philanthropy, social change and women and girls in the Washington metropolitan region and beyond:

Grantee Partners in the News!

The Washington Times’ Adrianna Washington reported on the graduation of the first class of female tradeswomen from the Washington Area Women in the Trades program in her column, "New tradeswomen off to reconstruct lives."  WAMU also covered the program in a radio story, "From Poverty to Hardhats."  Our blog likewise covered the event, with posts on how this program–and others like it–is welding a new world for women and how they indicate that women are hammering their way to social change, not just another job.

(And it seems the trend isn’t just local.  The Washington Post documents in "The New Artisans," how  tradeswomen in France are emerging to replace men fleeing from the field.)

In "The School of Second Chances," the Washington Post documents the individual success stories emerging from Southeastern University’s programs, and particularly for those who return to school later in life–sometimes after struggling with early pregnancy, addiction or poverty to pursue nontraditional careers.  Southeastern’s President, Charlene Drew Jarvis,  explains, "There is a large pool of what I like to call ‘people of promise,’ who have not had a tradition of college-going in their family, who maybe have very challenging financial situations, basically whose light is under a bushel.  But their promise is shown as soon as they connect to the idea that they can go to college."

A few weeks ago, Southeastern University professor Telaekah Brooks appeared on Smooth Jazz 105.9 FM with The Women’s Foundation’s interim president, Marjorie Sims, to discuss our partnership to create workforce development opportunities for low-income women in our region and the power of women’s philanthropy.  The interview, on Spectrum, will re-air on Sunday for you early birds! 

On Giving

How rich are you?  And how giving?  As I’ve said before, you can find out anything on the Internet, even about your own altruism, a most interesting exercise, says Daniel Handler in his post, "Mo Money, Mo Problems: Lemony Snicket Still Not Ultra Rich."

But then Bill Gates reminds us during his commencement address at Harvard, that that may be the wrong question, because, in the end the real theme is to simply, to stop thinking, and to just give, act, solve.  Nicely summarized by On Philanthropy in their post, "Gates at Harvard: From those to whom much is given, much is expected."

On the Nonprofit World

Youth seems to be the talk of the town lately in philanthropy-ville.  Give and Take highlights an ongoing discussion on whether or not nonprofits should give up on younger donors–of late, no, says Tom Belford, a fundraising expert.

And, on the young front, contrary to some popular wisdom, including some of my own, it appears that "More grads are opting to serve the poor." 

On that note, The Nonprofit Consultant offers a reminder of a quote that gets at the spirit of nonprofit, or social change, work.  He reminds us of Woodrow Wilson’s words, "You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." 

Then again, according to some, nonprofits can just suck.  Someone else’s words, not mine, and they’ve kicked off quite a debate on nonprofit and philanthropic effectiveness, which is summarized nicely in Give and Take’s "How to measure nonprofit effectiveness" which will drive you over to Tactical Philanthropy, where much of the conversation and commentary took place. 

And really, "Whose Nonprofit Is It Anyway?"  That’s what Nonprofit Connector is asking about the collaborative, and cooperative nature of nonprofits, and how, if you’re not necessarily up for managing the relations between a board of directors and the public trust, you may want to consider a for-profit model for your enterprise.   

On Philanthropy

Worldchanging.com offers an intriguing commentary, "The Future of Philanthropy: Innovation, Networks, Thought Leaders and the Fringe" that I won’t even attempt to summarize.  Let me just say, great questions, interesting discussion, worth checking out. 

On Poverty

Give and Take summarizes a response to a New York plan to help poor families by paying them to complete socially beneficial tasks by asking, "Will New York’s Cash Rewards Hurt the Poor?"  Commenters on the blog offer a different perspective–and a few more news sources covering the issue–from The New York City Hunger Blog. 

Whew.  That’s it for this week(s).  Enjoy and we’ll see you next week for more in what’s new in women’s philanthropy, social change and our region. 

Have a great weekend!

The DC Women’s Agenda (DCWA) is a local advocacy and policy coalition that began in the spring of 2003 and works to promote the advancement, equality, and well-being of women and girls in D.C.–and it is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation. 

DCWA is a coalition of a diverse group of advocates, service providers, and individuals who work together to address issues of social and economic justice that women and girls face on a daily basis living in our community. The DCWA is co-chaired by the DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women (also Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation!)

During monthly meetings of the DC Women’s Agenda about current events in the District affecting women and girls, the coalition determined that in 2007, as D.C. brought in a new Mayor and City Council, that it was an important time to build awareness of these issues among our new city leaders. 

Emerging from these discussions is a white paper, "Voices and Choices for D.C. Women and Girls: Recommendations to City Leaders 2007," which outlines for our city’s leaders and citizens the key issues and challenges facing D.C.’s women and girls. 

The paper gives concrete suggestions for what changes are needed and addresses topics such as economic security, housing, health and health education, criminal justice, safety, leadership and accountability and girls.

Each section provides information and statistics about the problem, and gives specific recommendations about what resources and programs need to be created and what must be improved upon that already exists in order for women and girls to thrive in the District of Columbia.

The paper puts all of the information at the fingertips of the politicians.

The white paper was distributed to the Mayor and all members of the D.C. City Council, as well as each member of the DC Commission on Women.  We also sent it to the two Congressmen who are in charge of the Congressional Committee that has oversight of the District (Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Tom Davis) and to DC’s Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, so that, if they want to, they can hold the Mayor and city leaders accountable on these issues.

The white paper was also distributed to a number of organizations that serve women in the District. It can also be accessed on TheWomensFoundation.org. 

Over the coming weeks on this blog, we’ll be going through each section of the white paper to discuss and highlight key elements and to illuminate what life would be like for women and girls in the District if the recommendations were to be acted upon. 

We hope to create awareness, as well as lively discussion and debate on the important facts outlined in the paper, and what action on the recommendations could mean for the women and girls of this city, as well as the city as a whole.  

Jessica Goshow is DC Employment Justice Center’s (DCEJC) legal and policy associate.  Being that EJC and Wider Opportunities for Women are the co-chairs of the DCWA, she was involved in the coordination, writing, and reviewing of the white paper.

The DC Women’s Agenda, DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women are all Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation. 

It seems timely that while I sat in a media training this weekend sponsored by the National Women’s Editorial Forum, a little discussion bubbled up over the blogosphere and elsewhere about the lack of respect granted to women’s voices in the media. 

First, there are the recent studies showing that there is a lack of women and minority-owned media (As of 2006, women of all races owned five percent of the 1,400 commercial broadcast television stations in America, while people of color, who make up 33 percent of the national population [and will be more than 50 percent by 2050), owned 3.6 percent.  For radio, a study released this month shows that women and minorities own six and 7.7 percent of all broadcast radio stations in the country respectively.).

Then, there is the discussion on Katie Couric, and whether she is getting a fair shake as the first female anchor of network television, or whether she’s unfairly being laid blame to the downfall of evening news while her male counterparts consistently push off "real news" to proritize stories like the current one on Paris Hilton’s jail time. 

As a follow-on, Jennifer Pozner is asking whether Mocking Women Journalists is a Prime-time Sport, in her blog about Fox news’ new reality show, Anchorwoman, which will "feature a busty blonde bikini model and former WWE wrestler as an on-air anchor of KYTX Channel 19, a local CBS affiliate in Tyler, Texas." 

And, of course, there has been all the serious talk of late about sexual harrassment prevailing on the blogosphere towards women, and all the flack Siu Lang Panoke (a graduate student at American University), took when she wrote that Economic Status Should Not Hinder Higher Education.  Sadly, some of the reaction didn’t center so much on the arguments she made, but were attacks against her for being a single mother. 

Anyway, you can see where, in the interest of contributing to the part of our mission that is to raise the voices of women and girls, I felt this training–Power Tools for Contemporary Media: Building Women’s Presence in the Commentary Continuum–might be of value.

With fewer than 20 percent of op-eds nationwide written by women, among a number of other stark realities–many of which are referenced above–the National Women’s Editorial Forum "empowers women to engage in, transform and democratize the media landscape and is dedicated to increasing the supply of comentary by women and their participation in the media."

Write on. 

The training brought together talented leaders such as the President of NOW in New Jersey, members of Code Pink and leaders of local organizations such as Ohio’s Hard Hatted Women, among many others.  We were trained up to improve our skills in writing op-eds, creating radio pieces, being interviewed on television and participating to the fullest extent possible in the blogosphere to raise our own voices, and those of the organizations and causes we work for.

(Yes, we are tired.) 

In exchange for motivation and inspiration from the likes of Eleanor Clift, Josephine Reed, Ann Friedman and Laura Rogers,  we were asked simply to write, speak and blog–as individuals and as part of organizations working on behalf of women–on issues of note and importance to women.

An important note for everyone–women, nonprofits, philanthropists, and citizens concerned with and working on behalf of women, girls and better communities–to take the personal reactions we have to the news and what we see in the world around us and to put it into words and out there, for the public, to consider, digest, debate and eventually, act on.

Just as Siobhan noted earlier, there is power in making philanthropy public–particularly for women–and a significant piece of this isn’t just to put our money where our mouths are, but to use every mouth piece available to raise our voices.

A scary challenge, but also an important one.

So women, write on. 

To learn more, or to submit an op-ed as a female voice, or on women’s issues, through the National Women’s Editorial Forum–or one of the state editorial boards in your state (they’ll help you place it)–learn more here.   

Last Friday, I attended Goodwill of Greater Washington’s Female Construction Employment Training Program’s graduation ceremony, because Goodwill is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation. 

Since 2005, Goodwill has received funds from the Stepping Stones Jobs Fund that allow them to continue helping women in the Stepping Stones target population–women-headed families with annual incomes of $15,000 to $35,000, a working population still struggling to make ends meet because of the high cost of living in the region–strive towards success via attaining jobs that pay a living wage.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see the women graduate.  Their proud faces mirrored those of their families and the Goodwill employees and supporters who helped them through the program. There’s nothing as satisfying as seeing the tangible results coming from The Women’s Foundation’s grantmaking process.

The first few words that came to my mind during the ceremony: hope, pride, struggling, overcoming, nontraditional, and daring.

Many graduates gave brief stories when rising for their certificates, and reflected on how they came to the program with low confidence and doubt about how the program would work for them, but upon completion, were more confident, happy and armed with the hard and soft skills necessary for work (such as time management), and some even heartily exclaimed that they had landed jobs!

A big theme was confidence. 

Entering the construction program was more than just a way to land another job and paycheck for these women.  It started with a desire to be something.

One of the Goodwill employees gave a great rendition of Linda Rabbitt’s story.  Linda Rabbitt is the founder and CEO of Rand, the third largest female owned construction company in the world.  When Linda reentered the workforce as a secretary, her boss noticed her strong entrepreneurial spirit and urged her to start her own business.  And just look at Rand now. 

The women sitting in that room on Friday now have the potential to be a motivation like Rabbit.

I especially enjoyed one story by a Latina graduate, because it was also reflective of the gender stereotypes and sexism women challenge.  Her story set the light-hearted and down-to-earth vibe of the room with a comical (but serious) story about her adventure with Goodwill.  She had learned about the program when she spotted the word "free" while looking at advertisements in an unemployment office.  Upon calling, she was encouraged to come in.  With the the language barrier, she had a hard time finding Goodwill, but she made it there. 

But, when she found out it was for construction, she had some doubts. 

Even though over 1.1 million women in the U.S. work in construction at a steadily rising rate, it’s still more the exception than the rule to spot women toiling away in hardhats. 

Nevertheless, she joined the program despite her and her family’s skepticism. In her family (as in many others), the natural thought was that females belonged in the kitchen.  But, she persevered and showed her family that she did know a thing or two about construction, and is on her way to finding a construction job!

These women illustrated how women in construction isn’t just another job. 

It represents a challenge we are making to the status quo.  It is representative of our resilience, smarts and true abilities.

It’s also a marker of the economic improvement in women’s lives.

I wish these women the best of luck, and I think they will do great things even outside of construction. They are now armed with the powerful knowledge that they are capable of pursuing a lifestyle that will provide economic security and stability.

And just think that all of the smiling faces of the graduates are products of a wave of philanthropy, a cycle of people who just want to help other people.

I can see the great places those women are now capable of getting to.

To learn more about similar training programs for women, visit our blog to and read more stories about the impact of Goodwill of Greater Washington’s female construction and environmental services programs, and YWCA National Capital Area’s Washington Area Women in the Trades program.

Then, join us by getting involved in the growing wave of philanthropy that’s leading women throughout our region to break barriers and build bright futures.  Become a part of the power of giving together.

A friend and I have a running list of people you need in your life, particularly as you edge towards "grown-up" living. 

Topping the list are a good mechanic and a good plumber, among a number of other skills we seem to be desperately lacking in. 

At last week’s graduation ceremony of the first class of the YWCA National Capital Area’s Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) program, it struck me how our natural tendency to assume that these roles would be filled by men are long, long outdated.

Because the 10 women who graduated–with aspirations including careers in plumbing, carpentry, painting, landscaping and sheet metal work–not only intend to shatter stereotypes of the types of work women can do, and are doing, but to change the very structures in which they do it.

They intend not only to weld metal, but to weld the very world that produces it.

After only 12 weeks, which, like with previous classes graduating women ready to take on nontraditional careers, hardly seems like enough to contain it all–or to produce this level of confidence, strength and, even a twinge of well-placed rebellion–the ceremony was marked with graduate’s indications that their intentions went well beyond their own economic security, to that of changing the world of work for all women.

"We have come a long way from just wanting to get a job, to wanting to make a difference in the industry," said one of the graduates before stating proudly that they planned to establish a union among women in the trades throughout our region. 

One can only imagine that this sense of confidence and comaraderie only comes from the same holistic approach to support that was evident throughout the First Female Construction Employment Class of Goodwill of Greater Washington and what I can only imagine was present in their Environmental Services Training Course. 

As evidence of this, the women discussed taking each lesson bit by bit–and refusing to move on until everyone got it.  They talked about keeping each other motivated–sometimes with a phone call harrassment plan–when getting up at the crack of dawn (sometimes as early as 3:30 a.m. to bike in from Virginia) and being on job sites in the dead of winter was almost too much to bear.  They talked of struggling through–and then gaining strength from–the mandatory kick-boxing and weight training courses that would be necessary to ensure that they could manage the heavy lifting of their new professions.

Including the mental heavy lifting that would be required.

Because, as one of the commencement speakers, Sarah Reynolds–a bus mechanic with Metro for more than 20 years–noted–even in 2007, "There are too few of us."  With part of her current responsibilities being to recruit young women into careers at WMATA, she said, "I’m not leaving Metro until I have more women behind me."

This is crucial, she explains, to handle some of the difficulties of being one of a few women in a very male-dominated world.  And the key, she says, is the support of other women.  "The negative things I dealt with, you will not have to deal with by yourselves anymore.  You will have other women with you," she promised, as she outlined a mentoring plan underway for the graduates with experienced professional women in the trades,

Joan Kuriansky, executive director of Wider Opportunities for Women, a partner of WAWIT, explained that this is precisely the point.  Construction is a billion dollar industry in this region, she said, and there is no reason that women–and their families–shouldn’t benefit from it. 

"This program," she said, "represents a breakthrough for many women not here today, because it is changing perceptions of what is women’s work.  One by one, the stereotypes about women, and what we can do, will be debunked!" 

And as these programs continue to demonstrate, changing these perceptions is always the beginning–from changing the women’s perceptions of what they can do personally, to changing their children’s perceptions of what women can do through their example, to changing society’s perceptions of women’s work. 

The graduates confirmed that, while a professional journey, it can’t be approached without taking into account the personal obstacles.  "If I can do it," said one graduate, "all these women can do it.  And we come from all different walks of life.  Not a Paris Hilton life.  A hard-knock life."

From hard knocks to laying hard wood, a path that started with learning skills has turned into a unified desire to transform the scope and scale of women’s work.   

"That’s the kind of stepping stone you represent," Kuriansky told the graduates. 

Words that couldn’t have been better selected, since this program is a perfect realization of one of the goals of our Stepping Stones initative–an early partner to WAWIT–to increase the economic security of low-income women in our region by providing access to high-growth, well-paying, nontraditional careers. 

With training programs like this throughout our region–many of them supported by The Women’s Foundation–it’s difficult not to get the sense that this is far more than shop talk, but rapidly evolving system change, which is what The Women’s Foundation, and our partners, are all about. 

About investing in women as a means of building stronger communities. 

With bright futures–and job opportunities already waiting for many–it’s easy to imagine this transformation unfolding.  In fact, with the graduates sometimes spontaneously bursting into Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now, it’s harder to imagine that it won’t. 

From victories from the personal to the professional, from skills to scaffolds of an unlimited height.

As Kuriansky said, "The elevator, I don’t think it’s ever coming down."

If it does, it will only be on occasion, but only for these women to head back down to pick up those they’ll carry up to the top, just as they have been, and will be, supported by those women, like Reynolds, who came before. 

As one of the graduates said, "We are the blueprint and the foundation of it all.  It began with us, and we have the responsibility to keep this legacy going, even after today."

Echoed by another graduate, who said, "It started with us, and it won’t finish with us." 

Indeed it won’t.  The next class starts on Monday.  

For more information on The Women’s Foundation’s Stepping Stones, which supports programs like this throughout the Washington metropolitan region, click here. 

To learn more about WAWIT, and how to get involved, visit YWCANCA.org.  WAWIT is a collaboration among the YWCA National Capital Area, Wider Opportunities for Women (also a Stepping Stones Grantee Partner) and the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Council of the AFL-CIO.

To learn more about similar training programs for women breaking barriers, visit our blog to learn more about Goodwill of Greater Washington’s female construction and environmental services programs.

Then, join us in building a better Washington region by investing in and expanding strategies and programs like these.  Join in the power of giving together.