As I listened to the speech, I thought about the work that we do at The Women’s Foundation and the intersection between the federal policies discussed and the reality that women and girls in our region face, and I was once again struck by the huge disconnect that we continue to see.

The theme of the speech—economic fairness—sounds quite simple and logical.  The President spoke about how his grandparents contributed to a post-World War II “story of success that every American had a chance to share – the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.”  He called this “the defining issue of our time,” saying, “No challenge is more urgent.  No debate is more important.  We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by.  Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”  Who can argue with that?  Hard to disagree with the logic, so why can’t we get there?

Ask anyone who is out in the community, working in the trenches, and they will tell you that it’s not easy. The issues facing our nation and our local community are incredibly complex and they didn’t just pop up overnight, which means that the solutions are not simple, one-dimensional responses, and the problems won’t be solved with a blink of the eye.

Take the President’s commitment to train people with skills that will lead directly to jobs and his call to cut through “the maze of confusing training programs.”  Sounds like a no-brainer — of course we should train people with skills that lead to jobs; but just this past week we were once again reminded why something that may seem intuitive isn’t.  WAMU aired a report investigating D.C.’s job training programs and detailed the disconnect between some of the programs that are receiving funding, the skill sets required for the jobs people were being trained for, and ultimately, the availability of these jobs.  The example cited was the 4,000 people trained to earn a Commercial Drivers License and the 90 people who were ultimately hired by metro, the region’s largest CDL employer. How can there be such a disconnect?

Additionally, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation, released a resource map offering a snapshot of the city’s investment in workforce development over the course of one fiscal year.  The map details more than 30 programs and services across a dozen city agencies. It’s hard to imagine how someone could possibly navigate the system in the best of times, say nothing about the worst of times.

As we think about the worst of times and the state of our economy, the President rightly devoted a great deal of his speech to jobs.  And while he called for equal pay for women, the majority of the jobs-related portions of the speech focused on nontraditional jobs where women continue to be underrepresented and face numerous barriers to obtaining and retaining these jobs.  Isn’t it time that we give equal weight and value to ensuring women are paid equal wages for equal work?  Doesn’t that fundamentally fall into the economic fairness category?  Are we ok with telling our girls to work hard and get a good education only to be paid 77 cents on the dollar?

Calling on every state to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18 is a commendable goal set forth by the President.  There is no doubt about the importance of graduating high school and pursuing post-secondary education and training.  Our research demonstrates the drastic earnings differential based on educational attainment. Women in this region who do not have a high school diploma earn just over $18,000 per year compared to women with a graduate or professional degree who earn over $70,000.

But it’s not quite as cut and dry as simply saying that we’ll require everyone to graduate. Are we prepared to tackle the myriad of issues that cause youth, particularly girls, to drop out of school?  Generational poverty, family unemployment, violence, and teen pregnancy are just a few of the laundry list of issues that are at the crux of drop-out rates.

So how do we get there? Last night, the President reminded us that “no one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we worked as a team. This nation is great because we get each other’s backs.”  Well, there is no better time than now for our community to pull together to ensure that the Washington region is a model community where economically vulnerable women and girls have the resources to thrive.  Now is the time to work together toward innovative, multi-dimensional solutions that put women and girls on a path to prosperity.  Let’s break the disconnect.  Where would you start?

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is vice president of Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Photo credit: WhiteHouse.gov

Tags: obama, sotu, state of the union, economy, equal pay, women, girls, resources, poverty, education, work, jobs

This year, my husband, my daughters and I created a set of family new year’s resolutions.  Each of us spent some time thinking about it and then, popcorn style, we shared our ideas.  Interestingly, they all had a similar theme — time.  Whether it was spending more time with the family dog (our adorable but somewhat rambunctious chocolate labradoodle Misha) or spending more time as a family exploring and experiencing the Washington region, almost all of our family resolutions involved time.

For the most part I think that I “manage” my time fairly well, and I somehow seem to balance the myriad of demands for my time (although it’s often not pretty and my daughters would probably argue to the contrary).  But I do so only because I am supported by the most amazing community of friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.  I am surrounded by a support system that allows me to pack 48-hours worth of everything into a 24-hour day, and for those times when I can’t, I have the resources to call upon others to help.

Take the past couple of days for example.  I’ve been under the weather battling a January cold — at home, my girls and my husband stepped up helping with dinner, making school lunches, and generally not arguing when asked to help out.  At work, I availed myself of paid sick time and stayed home for a couple of days to recover, while several co-workers emailed to inquire if there were any tasks that they could take off my plate.

But what if that wasn’t my reality? What if I was one of the more than 200,000 women and girls living in poverty in the Washington metropolitan region?  What if I was one of the more than 118,000 households headed by a single woman, and I didn’t have a support network to call upon?  What would happen if I lost my job because I was too sick to go to work?  What would happen if my time truly weren’t my own?

Recent research from Ascend attempted to answer some of these questions by lifting up the voices of some of the most vulnerable families across the country, asking them critical questions about their views of economic security, children, and the future.  In citing the challenges of raising children, both married and single parents agreed that these challenges are much more difficult for single parents, citing everything from financial concerns to the difficulty of not having a partner as a sounding board, to time management.  When asked about these challenges, one single mom said, “My time. Pretty much the use of my time.  You know there is so much you can do in a day and you are by yourself.”

So while I gaze at my to-do list and wonder where I’ll find the time to get through it, I am humbled by the knowledge that I will get through this list because I am not alone. I am surrounded by friends, family and colleagues who will all help me check off my tasks until there is nothing left… well, almost nothing.

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is the vice president of Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

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

I am proud to say that the District of Columbia has consistently sought to protect and enhance opportunities for women of all ages and backgrounds.  In my role as a legislator, I have always tried to recognize the work of organizations and individuals that push for women’s empowerment and continue to work with my colleagues to enact common-sense policies that help women.

Last week, I had the distinct honor of presenting a resolution to Washington Area Women’s Foundation, recognizing 13 years of prodigious work helping women help themselves.  Since its inception, the Foundation has provided financial assistance to local organizations that emphasized gender equality, pushed for greater health and financial literacy amongst women of lower socioeconomic status, and highlighted some of the policy choices that predominantly affect women.  Their advocacy helps ensure that public officials stay focused on the issues that impact a majority of our city’s residents.

One such issue is health care.  We all know that in the United States, affordable health coverage can be difficult to obtain, even for a working person.  In the District, health care was an especially challenging area for women, because the law previously allowed for insurance companies to treat gender as a pre-existing condition.  Women of all ages were paying higher premiums than their male counterparts, and, to make matters worse, women who were victims of domestic violence were forced to pay even more, effectively victimizing them twice.  I am proud to say that in 2010 I authored bills that banned insurance companies from engaging in either practice, and both bills are now law.

Another issue that is central for the push to empowerment is educational opportunity.  Without education, it is almost impossible to engage in effective activism.  In the same week that I presented the resolution to Washington Area Women’s Foundation, I also had the joy of recognizing a young Ward 4 resident named Yasmine Arrington.  Yasmine is a decorated girl scout, a published poet, a graduating senior at the prestigious Banneker Academic High School, and the founder of a scholarship fund called ScholarCHIPS that provides money for high education to students whose parents are incarcerated.  Yasmine should be an inspiration to us all, and is certainly a role model for young girls all across our city.  Her story is yet another reminder of the importance of education to the success of future generations, and of how we must strive to ensure that monetary considerations do not deter our best and brightest, regardless of gender, from pursuing higher education.

Government has a significant role to play in creating positive outcomes for women.  However, the stories of Washington Area Women’s Foundation and Yasmine Arrington make clear that all of us, both public officials and private citizens, must come together for change, because no movement for social justice can ever succeed without collective will.  I look forward to a day when equal rights for all have been fully recognized, and we can marvel at the progress we have made.  In the meantime, I stand ready to do my part, and hope that you will lend a helping hand.  This cause is too important for anyone, gender notwithstanding, to sit on the sidelines.

Muriel Bowser is the Ward 4 representative of the Council of the District of Columbia.

Photo: Councilmember Muriel Bowser presents the resolution in D.C. Council chambers.  She’s joined by the other two women on the Council, Ward 7’s Yvette Alexander and Ward 3’s Mary Cheh.  They’re also joined by members of The Women’s Foundation staff (from the left): Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, Nicky Goren and Donna Wiedeman. Photo credit: Michael Colella Photography.

The relationship between women and philanthropy has evolved significantly over the past 250 years.  Starting in the 1800s, women began aligning their philanthropy with their volunteering – a model that persists today. Early on, many women chose to donate their time to aiding soldiers and their families during times of war and disasters. Providing assistance to widows and children – especially the poor – began to grow in popularity in the 19^th Century and wealthy women were devoted volunteers and donors to these efforts. Typically, however, women’s giving was usually tied to their husbands’ or family’s wealth and was more about “charity” and meeting the needs of the “less fortunate” than addressing the sources of those inequities.

The 1960s brought a significant amount of change and activism around civil rights and anti-war ideologies, changing the face of engagement, volunteering and activism in profound ways. In the 1970s, a number of organizations developed for and by women emerged; organizations that also started to challenge the status quo. At the same time, women were moving into the workforce and sought higher education as a means to better their economic and intellectual standing. Their power to gather together and promote women’s issues and interests increased and their desire to fund their own movements was a powerful motivator.  As the late, great Audre Lorde said:  “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”  Being in control of their own resources was a critical piece of this model for change.

Women’s Philanthropy Today

Today, women own one-third of America’s private businesses and control more than 51 percent of the wealth in the United States. Among the nation’s top wealth holders, 43 percent are women, according to the Treasury Department.

No longer having to rely on spousal or familial resources, women with increased access to personal resources stepped into philanthropy with gusto. A recent study of women’s philanthropy found that women give 3.5 percent of their wealth compared to 1.8 percent for men and that single women are more likely to give to charity than single men. Women also tend to be the decision-makers in their family philanthropy (both individually and for family foundations).  Given this, it is probably not surprising that both married men and married women are more likely to donate than single men.

The Six Cs

But not only are women giving more… they bring a new giving paradigm to their philanthropy. Sondra Shaw-Hardy and Martha Taylor – gurus of women’s giving – developed the six “C”s as a way to summarize women’s motivations for giving. These characteristics of women’s giving have been fundamental to the way that women give as individual donors, and in the development and operation of women’s funds.

#1: Create: Women want to create new solutions to problems. They like to be entrepreneurial with their philanthropy.

#2: Change: Women want to use their money to change the community. They want their giving to make a difference. They’re less interested in providing unrestricted support to preserve the status quo of an organization or institution.

#3: Connect: Women prefer to see the human face their gift affects. They want to build a partnership with people connected with the project they fund.

#4: Commit: Women commit to organizations and institutions whose vision they share.  They often give to an organization for which they have volunteered.

#5: Collaborate: Women prefer to collaborate with others as part of a larger effort.  They seek to avoid duplication, competition and waste.

#6: Celebrate: Women want to celebrate their accomplishments, have fun together, and enjoy the deeper meaning and satisfaction of their philanthropy.

Sondra Shaw-Hardy says that this paradigm of women’s giving has had significant results that she sums up in three additional C’s:

Control: Women are taking control of their lives, their finances and their philanthropy.

Confidence: They have gained the confidence to become philanthropic leaders.

Courage: Women have the courage to challenge the old way of doing things and take risks with their giving to bring about change.

Ours is a rich history of giving, and one that has overcome many obstacles along the way, yet, what makes history useful, and not just an exercise in nostalgia, is how we use what we have learned to shape our future.

Today, we are in greater need of philanthropy than ever and most of us feel competing priorities about what needs our attention.  The truth is, we need many more of our resources –  our time, talent and especially our treasure –  to meet the needs abroad, and right here in our own backyard.  And like so many arenas, in philanthropy we are not fully leveraging the power and solutions that women bring to the table.  History has taught us not to underestimate the talent and resources that women can bring to the table.

Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals

It is estimated that $41* trillion in wealth will be transferred to Baby Boomers over the next forty-five years.  Women will stand to inherit 70 percent of this wealth. That translates to $28.7 TRILLION.  Think about what we could do if we could harness even a fraction of that wealth and put it in the hands of critical change-agents in our communities!

My colleague Donna wrote a blog post where she shared the recent return on investment from out Stepping Stones Initiative (our $270,000 investment yielded returns of $5.9 million!) and challenged us to see what we could do with the Macy’s million dollar makeover.  Taking that challenge one step further, I think about our foremothers who dared to have B.H.A.Gs – big, hairy, audacious goals – and I want us to set our sights even higher! $41 trillion…people!  Just imagine!

Our history is indeed our strength.  It has taught us so much and prepared us for this moment.  How we step into it is up to all of us.  Let’s do our foremothers proud!

*In the interest of transparency, this was the number quoted before the recession, I am not sure what the impact of the economic downturn has been on this estimate.

Nicole Cozier is the Philanthropic Education Officer at Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Tags: women, philanthropy, charity, nonprofit, giving

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. For the week ending 11/12/2010: A comprehensive look at the lives of homeless women across America.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

•    The Associated Press reports that officials at northern Kentucky’s only homeless shelter for women say that they are concerned about the facility’s future due to strains from a large increase in demand coupled with a decrease in revenues.

•   Ventura County Star covers highlights from the League of Women Voters’ Forum on Homelessness: Issues and Myths, which included actors portraying homeless women and their families.

•    The Chicago Tribune profiles Family Rescue, a shelter located on the city’s Southeast Side that has provided shelter and support primarily to women with children who are victims of domestic violence since 1981; Family Rescue targets survivors of violence and helps them find a more secure future as well as housing.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

Tags: homeless, women, families, shelter

– Early voting is underway in Maryland.  Voting centers throughout the state are open through October 28.  For details about times and locations visit the state board of elections website.

– “As one of its closing arguments before the midterm elections, the Obama administration is highlighting the impact its economic policies have had on women,” reports The New York Times. The article goes on to highlight some of the findings in the 32-page policy paper.

– Food stamp usage in the U.S. has jumped 70 percent since 2007, according to The Huffington Post. More than one in eight Americans uses food stamps.

Tags: women, election, vote, food, stamps

– More than half of babies in poverty are being raised by mothers who show symptoms of mild to severe depression, according to a new study from the Urban Institute, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner.  The study found that just 30 percent of depressed low-income mothers of infants spoke to a professional about a mental health problem during the year before the survey was conducted.  Click here for more.

–”After two years of progress, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee’s effort to narrow the vast achievement gap separating white and African American students in D.C. public schools has stalled,” reports The Washington Post after analyzing 2010 test score data.

– Coolidge Senior High School’s football team is preparing for their first game under new coach Natalie Randolph.  Randolph is believed to be just the second woman in history to lead a high school varsity football team.  Coolidge opens the season tonight at home against Carroll.  Click here for details.

Tags: women, mothers, depression, poverty, education, schools, natalie randolph, coolidge, high

Suffrage bills were brought before Congress beginning in 1915, but never passed the House and Senate until June 4, 1919.  The amendment then needed 36 states to ratify it.  Tennessee became the 36th in the summer of 1920, and women around the country were able to vote in that November’s presidential election for the first time.  Despite the accomplishments of the suffrage movement, it would be another 45 years before the 24th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 secured the full enfranchisement of all Americans regardless of sex, race or economic status.

Here are a few of the events going on in our area that commemorate Women’s Equality Day:

The Sewell-Belmont House & Museum has launched an online archive honoring inspirational women.

Ain’t I a Woman: A Complicated Story of Women’s Suffrage in Black and White
Tonight at 7:00 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater, National Archives
Click here for more details.

The League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia will hold an all day rally in front of the White House to draw attention to the lack of full voting representation and autonomy for D.C. residents.  Women and men are invited to join participants anytime at Lafayette Park.  Demonstrators are encouraged to wear white.  D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton will address the group this morning.

Photo credit: New York Times via Creative Commons

Tags: women's, equality, day, 19th, amendment, 90th, anniversary

– Washington, DC needs to change the affordable housing law to promote homeownership, writes Shiv Newaldass in The Washington Post. Newaldass — the director of advocacy at Manna, Inc. (a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner) — adds that promoting homeownership is “the most fundamental way of addressing the asset disparity in the District.”

– New standardized test results released last week by the Virginia Department of Education show widespread disparity in public education in Arlington. Hispanic and black students and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were among the student groups that failed to meet federal standards for English or math.  According to the Arlington Connection, the “disparity creates a two-tier system of public education in Arlington….”

– A free booklet that highlights the achievements of women who shaped Rockville’s history and heritage has been released in Montgomery County.  The booklet’s publication coincides with the 90th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day on August 26.  Click here for details on the booklet and where it’s available.

Tags: women's, equality, day, home, ownership, dc, arlington, public, education, testing, rockville