– In the Washington Examiner, Jonetta Rose Barras takes a look at why some D.C. residents don’t have an adequate education and the impact it’s having on their employment.  The Women’s Foundation’s new report, Portrait Project 2010, found that women in our region with degrees earn three times more than women without a high school diploma ($70,000 vs. $18,000).

– Some members of the D.C. Council are proposing legislation that would give subsidies to markets that carry fruits and vegetables.  The recipients of the subsidies would be in “food deserts,” areas of the city where it’s easier to buy junk food.  Currently, there are only three grocery stores available to the 140,000 residents who live in Wards 7 and 8.

– Is a “jump start” measure needed to ensure that more women serve in Congress?  About.com’s Women’s Issues blog takes a look at addressing the under-representation of women in U.S. politics.

Photo Credit: Spirit-Fire via Creative Commons

Tags: women, washington, dc, food, desert, diet, city, council, politics, education, income

When was the last political “year of the woman”? 1992.  We are past overdue.

Women continue to be significantly underrepresented in elected positions at all levels of government.  According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers, women hold 16.8 percent of all seats in the current Congress (both the House and the Senate), and the percent of women holding statewide elective office actually decreased to 22.9 percent in 2010 from a high of 27.6 percent in 1999.

Compare both of these to the percent of American adults who are women: 51.3 percent, as of July 1, 2008, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

These numbers have to change.

Increasing the number of women officeholders could and should have many benefits, among them higher priority placed on women’s right, health care and children and families, according to research, again, by the Center for American Women and Politics .

Thinking about this also reminded me of a profile I am reading of Esther Duflo in the May 17^th issue of The New Yorker. Duflo, a rising star professor of development economics at MIT, created an innovative approach to randomized studies of social and public health policy strategies. After studying quotas for women village leaders in India, she concluded: Any community that starts considering women candidates for the first time doubles the size of its leadership pool and should expect policy benefits and economic gains.

Here’s wishing it happens here!

Tags: women, politics, election, primaries, tuesday

– Dorothy I. Height, a founding member of the civil rights movement who fought for racial and gender equality, has died at the age of 98.  As a civil rights activist, Ms. Height began participating in protests in the 1930s.  She also worked to overcome gender bias at a time that predated the women’s rights movement.  She was invited to the White House in 1963 to watch President John F. Kennedy sign the Equal Pay Act.  To read more about Dorothy Height and her work, please click here.

– Today is Equal Pay Day, a day that reminds us that the more than 60 million women who work in this country are suffering economically because equal pay is not a reality.  Click here to read about the continuing pay gap and why shortchanging women shortchanges all of us.

– The League of Women Voters has announced that it will not support a bill pending in Congress that would give the District a vote in Congress but would also weaken the city’s gun laws.  According to a statement: “asking citizens to sacrifice their safety in order to have representation in Congress is unacceptable.”  Click here for more.

– Officials in Alexandria are concerned that the city has become whiter, wealthier and more expensive during the past decade.  Local officials say they’re worried that the city will lose its racial and economic diversity.  Click here for details.

You can get more information and news from The Women’s Foundation here:

Tags: washington, dc, alexandria, women, girls, equality, equal pay day, gender, rights, dorothy, height, league of women voters, diversity

– The space shuttle Discovery took off from Cape Canaveral this morning to re-stock the International Space Station.  Thanks to the launch of Discovery there are now four women in space — the greatest number at one time.  Three women are on board Discovery and there’s a fourth at the International Space Station.  Click here for more details.

– Advocates for low-income D.C. residents are taking a hard look at Mayor Adrian Fenty’s proposed budget, which the city council is reviewing this week.  Some advocates are concerned that social services like temporary cash assistance for the disabled will be hit too hard.  To take a look at the proposed budget yourself, click here.

Image courtesy NASA TV.

Tags: washington, dc, maryland, virginia, women, girls, city, council, adrian fenty, budget, space, shuttle, discovery, women's, history

– Dozens of girls from the D.C. area spent a day immersing themselves in technology as part of Microsoft’s DigiGirlz Day.  The tech company held events worldwide in the hopes of increasing the number of young women involved in tech careers.  Locally, Rep. Donna Edward (D-MD) was the keynote speaker.  Click here for more details about the event.

– NPR contributor Cokie Roberts addressed issues involving women and politics on the airwaves this week, discussing why women politicians don’t get involved in sex scandals, and why Fox News’s Chris Wallace and Don Imus made a sexist joke about Sarah Palin.  Click here to listen.

Photo credit: San Jose Library via Creative Commons

Tags: washington, dc, maryland, women, girls, technology, STEM, careers, DigiGirlz, microsoft, cokie roberts, chris wallace, sarah palin, sexist, joke, lap, comment

– A column in today’s Washington Post illustrates the current need for Defeat Poverty DC.  The Women’s Foundation is part of Defeat Poverty DC, a coalition of organizations that will focus the 2010 election season on the damaging effects of poverty in D.C.  Click here for more.

– According to a Washington Post editorial, having a woman Speaker of the House was the reason health-care reform was passed.  Click here to find out why.

– A bureaucratic contract review process is holding up federal funds in Prince George’s County, forcing some medical clinics and nonprofits to delay or cancel services for people with AIDS.  Click here for more info.

– A Change.org blogger points out the weaknesses of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) when it comes to supporting victims of domestic violence and calls for better resources to enable women to leave violent situations.  Click here to read more.

Tags: washington, dc, maryland, virginia, prince george's county, defeat poverty, aids, funding, women, girls, poverty, assistance, health-care, reform, nancy pelosi

– Washington Area Women’s Foundation has named a new president.  Nicola (Nicky) Goren will lead The Women’s Foundation forward in its efforts to help lift low-income women and girls out of poverty.  Click here for more details.

– In an attempt to highlight the issue of poverty during the November elections, The Women’s Foundation and other organizations have formed Defeat Poverty DC, a coalition that will bring attention to facts like one in five District resident live below the poverty line, and the number of local residents on food stamps increased by 15 percent last year.  Click here to read a Washington Post story on these efforts.  Click here to listen to a WAMU story.

– A dinner with the president has turned into a monthly meeting for some of the White House’s women advisers.  The group first met with President Obama in November, when he wanted to know if he should be worried about the continued perception that his administration was a boys club.  Since then, the women have continued to meet once-a-month without the president.  Click here to find out who’s involved in these meetings, and how they feel about the administration.

Got something to say?  Leave a comment below, or join the conversation at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

Tags: women, girls, washington, dc, defeat poverty dc, nicola goren, nicky goren, white, house, poverty, food, stamps, poverty line

– Today marked the launch of Defeat Poverty DC, a new coalition of residents and organizations (including The Women’s Foundation) working to bring greater focus during the 2010 election season and beyond to the damaging effects of poverty on the entire city.  Click here to learn more about Defeat Poverty DC.  Click here to read a preview of the launch in the Washington Post.

– More doctors nationwide are starting to partner up with attorneys to provide patients with legal help if they need it. Doctors and social workers say that medical care alone is not enough to address the health issues of the poor, which are often related to diet, living conditions and stress.  Click here for more details.

– The Center for Housing Policy has released a new study that takes a look at the costs of renting and owning homes in cities around the country. According to the study, “in some high-priced communities, people who provide the bulk of vital services… cannot afford to live in the communities they serve.”  The study also found that residents in moderately-priced communities still pay an excessive portion of their income for housing.  The study found that Bethesda was the 19th most expensive city to buy a home in last year.  Washington, D.C. was the sixth most expensive rental market.  Click here for more information.

Tags: women, girls, washington, dc, maryland, virginia, bethesda, defeat poverty, dc, healthcare, low, income, doctor, housing, rental, homeowners

Calvary Women’s Services was notified Monday, September 28, by The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP) that contract funding for Calvary would be cut by nearly $75,000 beginning October 1st.  These funds support safe housing and other services for 150 homeless women each year.  TCP is an independent, non-profit corporation that coordinates DC’s Continuum of Care homeless services.

Calvary is one of many social service providers notified of cuts to their existing contracts. Emergency, transitional and supported permanent housing programs were all targeted as the city attempted to close an ever-widening budget gap.  The impact of these cuts on the overall homeless services system is going to be severe, with some housing programs reducing their services and others likely closing programs. 

Although these cuts may provide some immediate relief to the city’s budget problems, the real impact of the cuts will be felt by those in need of safe housing and support services.  Women who have already lost their jobs in this economic crisis will have fewer services and housing options available to them. These cuts will make women who are already at-risk much more likely to end up living on the streets or in unsafe situations.

The women who come to programs like Calvary are survivors of violence, women struggling with mental illness, and women working to overcome addictions.  At Calvary we make sure they have access to all of the services they need to address these challenges – in addition to providing a safe place to live.

We know that programs like ours work.  Every five days a woman moves out of Calvary and into her own home.

We have always relied on the support of both public funding and private donations to make our programs possible.  In the past, supporters have helped us close gaps like this one, and I am hopeful that the community will step up once again.  But I am also concerned that this gap may be too wide for our generous donors to close.

The coming months will be challenging ones for organizations like Calvary, as we try to find ways to continue to provide women in this community with critical, life changing services.  More so, they will be challenging months for women who need services like ours, as they face closed doors and reduced services at programs across the city.

 You can make a difference.  Support Calvary – or another agency facing these cuts – today. 

 Volunteer, donate or learn more at www.calvaryservices.org.

Kris Thompson is the Executive Director of Calvary Women’s Services, recognized as a 2009 Leadership Awardee by The Women’s Foundation.  Learn more about them on their Web site or on Facebook.

Tags: calvary women's services, homeless, women, budget, cuts

At The Women’s Foundation, we wondered: What does this historic legislation do to help women and girls in our region preserve and even increase their economic security?

Nationally, according to the White House, the bill will create or save about 3.5 million jobs in the next year.  The President’s economic advisors estimated (before he was inaugurated) that that about half of those jobs would go to women.

More locally, also according to the White House, the bill will create or save at least 12,000 jobs in the District of Columbia, 16,000 jobs in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties (Maryland), and 8,300 in Arlington and Fairfax Counties and the City of Alexandria (Northern Virginia). 

If half of these jobs are held or filled by women, that means about 18,000 jobs saved or created for women in our region.

A quick look at some of the investments in economic security-related programs in the bill also gives us much to be hopeful about, including:

Investments in skills training. The new law adds nearly $3 billion to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which supports job training and other services, which, in our region, go primarily to women. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that $9.7 million of the funds will flow to the District of Columbia, $29 million to Maryland, and $32 million to Virginia.

Of the $3 billion, $500 million is for the WIA adult program, and the law requires states to give recipients of public assistance and other low-income individuals priority access to training. Many of those helped by this provision especially are likely to be women, particularly single women with children.

Increases for child care assistance.  The new law adds $2 billion to the Child Care and Development Block Grant.  The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) estimates that the District of Columbia will receive nearly $2.7 million of these funds, Maryland will receive $24 million, and Virginia will receive $37.9 million.

Improvements in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program.  Changes in the UI program are likely to increase significantly the number of women workers (as well as part-time and low-wage workers) eligible for benefits.  The law also includes a $25 per week increase in UI benefits, which the National Employment Law Project (NELP) estimates will help more than 35,000 people in the District, 241,000 in Maryland and 247,000 in Virginia.

Expansion of programs to help trade-affected workers.  The stimulus expands eligibility for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program to service sector and public sector workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade and doubles the program’s funding for training. This could significantly increase the number of women who receive income support, training and other benefits through the program.

Funding for training and other services for women in highway construction.  The law includes $20 million for training and related services to help women and minorities pursue careers in highway construction (through the US Department of Transportation).

Increase in funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly Food Stamps).  The law adds $20 billion to increase benefits through 2013. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that this will help about 99,000 in the District, 412,000 in Maryland, and 594,000 in Virginia.

Taken together, these investments in the stimulus package are a sign of hope. Not only will they channel much-needed dollars into our region, but also they are an acknowledgement that our nation’s leaders recognize what we have known all along: Investments in women and girls are the best, fastest, surest way to ensure the economic stability of a family, a community and a nation.

Gwen Rubinstein is a program officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Tags: economic stimulus, women, girls, Gwen Rubinstein