Read on to find out what some of our grantees will be doing for our region in 2012 and tell us in the comments below what you envision for women and girls this year.  Washington Area Women’s Foundation will be sharing our own list of resolutions later this month in a special e-mail message from Foundation President Nicky Goren.  Make sure you learn what we’re planning for 2012 by signing up to get monthly e-mails today!

IWPR’s 2012 Resolutions

• During this election year, get people talking about the issues that affect women, such as jobs and the economy, the gender wage gap and workplace discrimination, STEM education, Social Security and retirement, work/family balance, and maternal and child health.
• Celebrate our 25^th anniversary by marking the progress that women have made while highlighting areas where policy changes could make a huge difference in advancing women, families, and communities.
• Illustrate the current status of women displaced by Hurricane Katrina through an upcoming report that also identifies their specific needs.
• Improve success rates for student parents by sharing best practices and forging strong partnerships with administrators, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers within the worlds of higher education, youth development, and early care and education.
• Give young women opportunities to gain career experience while expanding their knowledge of research and policy issues through our internship and fellowship programs.

Goodwill of Greater Washington’s 2012 Resolutions

• In 2012, Goodwill of Greater Washington resolves to train, equip and place nearly 200 people into local jobs that support the local economy. We anticipate that these 200 jobs will come through the continued expansion of Goodwill’s retail stores, as well as the placement efforts from our intensive job training programs;
• Goodwill of Greater Washington also resolves to continue providing 600+ jobs to local residents through our retail stores, janitorial contracts, and administrative and support divisions, many of which are filled by people who face significant disabilities or other barriers to employment.

NOVACO’s 2012 Resolutions

At a client Life Skills meeting at NOVACO in January, several clients set goals and made resolutions.  They included:

• believing in themselves so that they could achieve their goals;
• being better parents; and
• setting small goals and telling themselves that they could accomplish those goals.

One mother, Kay, reflected on how much she’s achieved so far.  She earned her high school diploma through night classes, learned to drive and got her driver’s license, and worked with lawyers to get a work permit.  She also improved her parenting skills while she worked full-time at a restaurant and was offered a management position after just one year.  She volunteered her free time as a pen pal and greeter for the USO.

DCVLP’s 2012 Resolution

The DC Volunteer Lawyers Project resolution is that every victim of domestic violence in DC seeking a civil protection order who wants representation by an attorney will have one this year.

SMYAL’s Women’s Leadership Institute’s 2012 Resolutions

• Provide a much-needed free space for young women to gather and form community.
• Using that space, build our community of women and strengthen our bonds through discussion and shared service.
• Promote further discussion about maintaining healthy relationships, recognizing unhealthy relationships, and combating domestic violence.
• Develop connections to extend our diverse community deeper into the DC metro area and beyond.
• Seek out community partners and collaborate on at least four service projects.
• Connect more young women to mentorship opportunities with local volunteers.
• Long-term resolution: Create a community of confident, empowered women through opportunities for leadership development and civic engagement.

FAIR Girls’ 2012 Resolutions

We, FAIR Girls, resolve to work as hard as we can to make sure that by the end of 2012…

• 200 teen girl survivors of exploitation have received compassionate care, including counseling, emergency housing, assistance in finding legal and medical support, resume building and job placement, educational attainment support, and a sense of family and community at FAIR Girls.
• 1000 teen girls and boys in high schools and youth shelters have participated in our Tell Your Friends workshop and have learned how to keep themselves safe from sexual exploitation and trafficking.
• 1000 law enforcement officers, teachers, and social workers are better able to identify and assist victims of trafficking having attending a FAIR Girls training.
• A law, inspired by Daisy, will have passed in Washington, D.C. ensuring that all missing teenage girls are considered “critical missing” and have access to FAIR Girls and our partners’ services when they are found.
• 2000 hours of art therapy and economic empowerment workshops will have helped inspire and restore more than 125 girls.

Thank you to the Grantee Partners who shared their resolutions with us!  You can share your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to register for our e-newsletter to learn more about The Women’s Foundation’s plans for 2012.

Tags: 2012, resolutions, women, girls, unemployment, jobs, economy, trafficking, domestic, violence, education

Coalition Releases New Report Highlighting Low Wages, Discrimination, Health Risks, and Opportunity for Improvement in DC’s Growing Restaurant Industry

The DC restaurant scene has received increasing praise in national food circles due to innovative restaurants opening weekly (even through the recession) and a growing cadre of local celebrity chefs.  Unfortunately, most restaurant employers have not shared this love with their workers. Gender discrimination remains pervasive and tends to affect minority workers at a higher rate.

A new report from the DC Restaurant Industry Coalition (which includes Women’s Foundation Grantee Partners Restaurant Opportunities Center of DC and the DC Employment Justice Center, as well as DC Jobs with Justice, ) takes a look at the wages and working conditions of DC restaurant workers.   It was released on Valentine’s Day at a breakfast summit at Eatonville Restaurant.  The report, based on a study of nearly 600 restaurant workers and employers, was completed by the Coalition last year.  It illustrates the pervasive low wages and discrimination in the mostly non-unionized restaurant industry.  The report also highlights the success of responsible employers, and suggests policy improvements to increase the health of the industry for everyone involved.

At the February 14th summit, D.C. hostess Katherine Jiménez described the gender segregation in hiring practices.  “They like young girls to be in the front…. The position traditionally for females is greeter, people who take care of the reservations….  I know some men who have applied for this position, because they like working with people and doing something other than working in the back of the house or being servers. [Management] would accept the application but not hire the person. There [are] no male greeters.” On the other hand servers, one of the highest paid positions in the restaurant, “[of about] 30 servers, three are female; it is very male-dominated.”

After accepting the hostess position, Jiménez was informed that during the 6-8 hour shift, she “must wear high heels [of] a specific style and height….  [In the job description, this detail] wasn’t there.”  She addressed with management the discomfort of this uniform requirement and the fact that it is a sexist practice.  The manager told her: “I don’t think it’s sexist, because if you were a man you wouldn’t have this job.”

Gender discrimination was also a part of the promotion opportunities and professional development policies of the restaurant.  Jiménez requested more training in order to learn more about wine and menu knowledge and in the hopes of being promoted to a server. “I asked [the manager]if I could apply to be a server.  Learn more about the food, learn more about wines.  He sat down with me and he told me he didn’t see me doing something like that.”

It is time to translate the country’s respect for restaurants into fair labor conditions for restaurant workers. Improving jobs will lead to better food, happier consumers, and more stable businesses.  As you enjoy a meal with family and friends, remember your fellow workers in the kitchen and dining room who make this act possible.

Please click here to learn more and read the report from the DC Restaurant Industry Coalition.

Nikki Lewis is a coordinator at Restaurant Opportunities Centers United-DC.

Tags: behind, the, kitchen, door, summit, restaurant, dc, restaurant opportunities centers united, waitress, discrimination, hostess, low, wage, study,

– Leaders in the local faith community are asking the D.C. Council to put tens of millions of dollars towards green jobs.  They’ve chosen green jobs because the field is currently expanding and the federal government is willing to fund weatherization projects.  They told WAMU radio that if D.C. Council members don’t help create jobs they’ll be held accountable at the polls.

– Nearly two-thirds of students in Virginia and Maryland can’t read proficiently by the time they start the fourth grade.  83 percent of D.C. students are reading below proficient levels by the time they begin the fourth grade, a time when reading material becomes more complex.  According to a new report on nationwide reading levels there are links between early literacy and high school graduation rates and future economic success.  Click here for more.

– First lady Michelle Obama and Mexico’s first lady will tour a Silver Spring elementary school tomorrow. New Hampshire Estates Elementary School has been honored for having a focus on healthy living.  Many students at the school come from Central and South America.

– According to a new survey from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, donations to the nation’s biggest charities grew rapidly in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same time in 2009.  It could be a sign that many nonprofits are making a recovery from the fundraising troubles they suffered last year.

Photo credit: GreenForAll.org via Creative Commons.

Tags: washington, dc, maryland, virginia, women, girls, unemployment, green, jobs, d.c., council, reading, levels, third, grade, michelle obama, new hampshire estates elementary, charity, nonprofit, donations

The Facts

According to this Time.com article, “the job market is tough for everyone.  But this recession has become a jobs disaster for 16-to-19-year-olds.”  The article takes a look at teen unemployment and the impact it will have on our economy now, and in the future.  Here’s a look at some of the facts:

*  Washington, DC has the worst teen unemployment in the country – 53 percent.

*  17 out of every 100 high school students have jobs.  9 out of 100 African-American high school students have jobs.  Four out of 100 African-American students from low-income families have jobs.

*  Because of the tanking economy, older employees are working longer and settling for jobs that used to be held primarily by teens.

*  A store manager at a Best Buy in DC said he’s more likely to hire one of the older, experienced, former office workers who apply for jobs at his store than a teenager.

While it would be best for our economy for everyone who wants a job to have one, the impact of teen unemployment goes beyond immediate dollars and cents.  According to the article, students that have jobs are less likely to become teen parents, and experts say growing teen unemployment “could lead to an American workforce that lacks the skills to compete with the rest of the world.”  Teens with jobs also tend to earn more later in life.

Solving the Problem

Job training programs are now being used to tackle teen unemployment.  Jubilee Jobs – a Washington Area Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner that was mentioned in the Time article – is seeing record high numbers of teenagers coming to them for job placement help.  However, of the 42 students they trained last year, 11 were able to find jobs.

Meanwhile, organizations like the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship work with students on self-sufficiency.  NFTE – Greater Washington helps 11-to-20-year-olds identify needs in their communities and turn those needs into opportunities for entrepreneurship.  “In a time of economic turmoil and unemployment it is crucial that we prepare kids to make it in the market economy with an entrepreneurial mindset and key financial literacy skills,” says Julie Silard Kantor, Executive Director of NFTE – Greater Washington and National Vice President, Government Affairs.

It’s been reported that President Obama will focus on jobs in his State of the Union address tonight.  Given the current state of the country, it’s unlikely that jobs for teenagers will be featured in his speech, but it can remain on our priority lists.  Eventually, the economy will recover.  When it does, all of us should be ready.

Photo credit: teenmoneymakingideas.com

Tags: recession, unemployment, teenagers, teens, workers, jobs, jubilee jobs, washington dc, nfte

Many of these individuals lack the skills, education, or training necessary to attain jobs that will allow them to become self-sufficient. 

In response to these growing problems, the D.C. Women’s Agenda joined together with the D.C. Employment Justice Center–both of which are Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation–to sponsor an event featuring representatives from seven free job training programs.

More than 60 people attended.

Arhelia Finnie, the Trainee Services and Recruitment Coordinator from the DC Central Kitchen, described the Culinary Job Training program offered at her organization.  Students who attend this program participate in a 12-week training program and learn the culinary skills to work in hotels, restaurants, and other food facilities.  Trainees participate in hands-on kitchen training, visits from guest chefs, and classroom learning. Following the training, participants have internships in restaurants in order to experience the day-to-day tasks and challenges of working in the culinary field. If you would like more information about this program, email Ms. Finnie at afinnie@dccentralkitchen.org.  

Howard Brown, the Interim Director for Workforce Development at the University of D.C. spoke about their training program, where students receive the education and tools to become employed in four different careers: healthcare, administrative, hospitality, and medical. The UDC program offers different training programs for each career path described above. If you would like more information, email Mr. Brown at hmb1000@flash.net.  

Samira Cook, the Assistant Director of the Training and Education Division of the District of Columbia Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD), represented the D.C. Government. Unlike the programs training in specific fields, Ms. Cook’s program assists D.C. residents to become entrepreneurs. The program provides training in creating a business plan, money management and business development. If you would like more information about this program, please e-mail Ms. Samira at samira.cook@dc.gov.  

Debony Heart, the Director of Programs for Byte Back, discussed the rapid growth of technology in the workplace and the need for technical and computer skills for jobs on the market today. Byte Back, provides low-income individuals with classes in typing, and computer literacy.  If you would like more information about this program, please e-mail Ms. Heart at dheart@byteback.org.  

Jacquelyn A. Moore is the Case Manager for The Washington Area Women in the Trades program, (a program sponsored by Wider Opportunities for Women, The YWCA and The AFL-CIO). The program helps women attain the necessary skills to enter non-traditional, often male- dominated jobs, to achieve financial security and self sufficiency. Following completion of the program, participants are placed in welding, steel working, and construction jobs. For more information, please contact Ms. jmoore@ywcana.org.  

Ellie Phillips, the Founder and Executive Producer of Beyond Talent, described the training program they offer. The program seeks to empower non-traditional high school graduates (individuals with a GED or other high school equivalent) to overcome barriers to higher education and employment to enable success. In addition to a mentoring program, Beyond Talent provides financial and other support to those seeking additional college education or vocational training. If you would like more information about this program, Ms. Phillips at phillips@beyondtalent.org.  

Emily Price, the Program Director of So Others May Eat’s (SOME) Center for Employment Training (a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation) explained that participants in the program focus on developing skills in one of three occupations: business and customer relations associate, service technician, or medical administrative assistant. The curriculum is developed based on the needs of employer in the fields enumerated above. Their job placement rate has been as high as 95 percent. If you would like more information about this program, please email Ms. Price at eprice@some.org.  

Attendees then had the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session with the program representatives and many stayed to speak to them individually.  Participants collected brochures and information supplied by the representatives.

Unemployment is high, and the hope is that these programs will help residents take the first steps towards earning a self sufficient wage and achieving a greater quality of life.

Sarah Epstein is an intern at the DC Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation that is a coalition of advocacy organizations, service providers, and individuals working to promote the advancement of equality, safety and well-being for women and girls in the District. It is chaired by Wider Opportunities for Women.

Tags: job training, DC Women's Agenda, DC Employment Justice Center, workforce development, UDC, DC Central Kitchen, Byte Back, Washington Area Women in the Trades, Beyond Talent

With so much public attention being paid to job loss among men, which, don’t get me wrong, is and should be of deep concern, the challenges for women have too often been overlooked.

How many others – besides we at The Women’s Foundation and those who attended our May 2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing– would know that the national unemployment rate for women who are heads of households was 11 percent in May – higher than the 9.8 percent rate among men?.

Our national response to rising men’s unemployment, particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors, has been to increase funding for job training and education and engage in job creation.  In fact, this was a key focus of the stimulus package passed earlier this year – and the President has also been talking about this even more in the last few days.

Don’t get me wrong – I think it is always good public policy to fund job training and job creation.  But I can’t help but compare this response to “welfare reform” of the 1990s, where low-income women heads of households were forced into “work first” and “rapid labor market attachment” models that basically forced them to take a job, any job, and offered only barriers to education and training. (This “work first” approach was also a hallmark of the Workforce Investment Act, which reformed the public workforce training system.)

A recent paper demonstrates quite strongly just how counterproductive this approach is.  Research concluded that welfare reform decreased the probability of both high school and college attendance among young adult women by 20 to 25 percent.  In other words, welfare policies have kept women from the very education and training that would help lift them and their families out of poverty and, ironically, offer more protection against unemployment. (Unemployment among individual without a high school diploma is 14.8 percent, compared to 4.4 percent for college graduates.)

I hope that as the Administration and Congress turn their attention to programs serving primarily women and that they will continue to be solidly committed to job training and creation.

Gwen Rubinstein is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Tags: unemployment among women, Gwen Rubinstein, recession, job training

Now, you can learn even more about the program through a WJLA story, "Local Program Expands Career Choices for Women."  The article discusses the success stories of some recent graduates now with exciting careers in construction and other nontraditional fields.

Check it out and learn more about how nontraditional job training for women not only changes the lives of women and their families, but also our community as a whole!

View the WJLA article.
View the video about Laceiy and Sharan’s WAWIT success stories.
Learn more about WAWIT.
Learn more about Stepping Stones.
Learn more about Wider Opportunities for Women and the YWCA of the National Capital Area, two Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation who partner to implement WAWIT.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Tags: Washington Area Women in the Trades, WAWIT, job training, nontraditional work for women, construction, YWCA of the National Capital Region, WJLA,

As promised, here is the link to the CNN clip of Linda’s Butler sharing her amazing story of how a jobs training program at Northern Virginia Family Services, which is supported by The Women’s Foundation, changed her life.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Tags: Linda Butler, CNN, women's economic security

Linda, a beneficiary of our Stepping Stones program, shared her story of how Training Futures, a jobs training program, provided her with resources, knowledge and tools to transition from a low-paid waitressing job to a full-time professional position with benefits.

Women’s Funding Network board member Jacki Zehner was also featured in the piece and discussed it here on her blog, Purse Pundit. 

We are so glad The Women’s Funding Network chose to highlight Stepping Stones when they pitched this story, and are extremely proud of Linda Butler’s courage and poise in taking on the daunting task of going on live, national television to share her story.  At our Leadership Luncheon this year, Linda noted that despite years of abuse and feeling that she was worth very little, Training Futurs helped build her self-esteem, her financial security and helped her "find her voice."

After seeing her on CNN this morning, we’d have to say that that’s the understatement of the year!

We’re hoping to have a link of the piece to share within the next few days, so stay tuned!

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Tags: Linda Butler, Stepping Stones, CNN, American Morning, Women's Funding Network, Jacki Zehner, women's economic security

Much has been written about the overall U.S. unemployment rate, which rose to 8.1 percent in February 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But did you know that unemployment among women-headed families was even higher at 10.3 percent?

To help community-based organizations in our region respond to the very human challenges behind these numbers, The Women’s Foundation today released a Request for Proposals under the Stepping Stones Initiative.

We hope the work supported by the RFP – through the Financial Education and Wealth Creation Fund and Jobs Fund – will help low-income, women-headed families in our region weather the recession and emerge ready to take best advantage of an eventual recovery.

To respond to the recession, The Women’s Foundation has made several changes to expand the reach of Stepping Stones. Specifically, we:

• Expanded the target population to women-headed families earning between $0-$40,000;
• Widened the scope of work to include projects focused on work supports that help promote job retention (such as transportation) and public benefits that serve as a safety net (such as Food Stamps and Unemployment Insurance);
• Emphasized our intention to deepen our investment in advocacy; and,
• Encouraged strategic collaborations among community-based organizations to work as long and as holistically as possible with the low-income, women-headed families they are serving.

Here at The Women’s Foundation, we are acutely aware that hard times require us to be wise in our investments. 

And that’s our commitment – to our donors, to our Grantee Partners, to Stepping Stones participants and to our community.

Click here to download the RFP.

Gwen Rubinstein is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Tags: Stepping Stones, RFP, Jobs Fund, Financial Education and Wealth Creation Fund, jobs training