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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.   

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!

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.