In today’s rundown: The gender wage gap persists along all levels of the pay scale.  DC residents who are tired of unemployment stage a sit-in.  Helping families in need prepare for Thanksgiving.  And a free financial education event this weekend.

— No matter what direction the economy moves in, there is one constant, says The New York Times: the gender wage gap is “slow to close.”  The article sites a new report from the Government Accountability Office that shows from the top of the pay scale to the bottom, women consistently earn less than men.

— A group of DC residents is staging a sit-in at Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) office right now to protest unemployment, reports WTOP. The 20 protesters say they’ll remain there until Sen. McConnell meets with them about the Rebuild America Jobs Act.   Republicans are expected to filibuster the legislation.

— Thanksgiving is still weeks away, but local organizations are already starting to hand out turkeys to families in need, according to DCentric. Bread for the City hopes to serve 9,000 families this year.

— Capital Area Asset Builders, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, is sponsoring a free financial education event this weekend.  The Moneywise Empowerment Tour will feature panel discussions, financial planning and credit coaching.  For more information on Saturday’s event, click here.

In today’s rundown: A free financial education event that you can sign up for.  Plus, a look ahead at the 2012 elections and what they might mean for women nationwide.

— Capital Area Asset Builders, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, is sponsoring a free financial education event this weekend.  The Moneywise Empowerment Tour will feature panel discussions, financial planning and credit coaching.  For more information on Saturday’s event, click here.

— 2012 could be a critical year for women in Congress and what happens to them will impact women nationwide, says The Huffington Post‘s Amanda Terkel. Terkel also outlines why it’s important to have increased representation of women in Congress.

— Concerns about the economy are keeping companies from hiring locally, and that sent unemployment in the Washington region up in September, reports The Washington Post. The paper takes a deeper look at new Labor Department numbers and the impact on the region.

I once got upset with a high school intern who made a disparaging remark about herself while we were taking a group photo.  But before I could get too high up on my horse, I realized that she was parroting me and other adults in the group.  I don’t know that any of us even meant what we were saying; it may be a cop out to suggest this, but I think that we were being classic examples of what happens when we’re taught to put ourselves down while at the same time aspiring to impossible standards of physical beauty.

So why would a group of smart women fall victim to this?  Part of the answer may lie in Miss Representation, a documentary that takes a look at the ways in which females are perceived and the impact that it has on our society, particularly when it comes to under-representation in positions of power and influence.  The catalyst for the film was the pregnancy of filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom.  In Miss Representation, Newsom explains that learning she was pregnant with a girl made her question what kind of world her daughter would grow up in.  And as a former actress, Newsom was well aware of the dearth of complex roles for women on screen.

Obviously, you don’t have to be a mother to be disturbed by the ways in which women are portrayed in movies, magazines, online and in the news. You don’t even have to be a woman to know that women and girls on screens are often not at all like women and girls in real life.  In Miss Representation, a diverse group of media creators and consumers weigh in on the focus in the media on appearance, perfection and sex appeal, and how it is damaging to everyone, especially girls.

Here are three of my takeaways from the film, which I recently saw on OWN:

Consumption and your function –To understand and resolve many of the problems outlined in Miss Representation, all of us need to take some responsibility for how we consume media.  Put simply, if you think something is sexist, biased, unfair or damaging, stay away from it.  No more Bad Girls Club.  No more magazines that use Photoshop to plump up cleavage and whittle down waists to ridiculous proportions. Then talk about it.  Tell your co-worker why you no longer go on that website that snarks about the waistlines of women in Hollywood.  Talk to your niece about whether or not she thinks the behavior of the women and men on Jersey Shore is appropriate.  And tell advertisers why you won’t be buying their products as long as they’re supporting sexist programming or creating insulting ads.

We are what we see – Miss Representation tallies the enormous amount of time children spend online, in front of the television and in theaters.  But what is in front of girls even more than all forms of media combined?  We are. The film quotes Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund: “you can’t be what you can’t see.”  It’s very true, and so is the inverse.  When we put ourselves down, others are watching.  When we complain about our thighs, our hair, about how terrible we look in every photo, we’re not just talking to ourselves.  We’re making it OK for others to judge our appearance and, even worse, for girls to treat themselves poorly.

Give credit where credit’s due – In Miss Representation, the credit needs to go to the kids.  The voice that shrieked at Sarah Palin during a TV interview – “breast implants! Did you have ‘em or not?!” – didn’t belong to a child; that was an adult with her own television show.  The young women – and men – who were interviewed in Miss Representation were smart, savvy, and not only understood that the media’s portrayal of women was often wrong, they talked about why it was so detrimental.  The reporters, producers and writers who are creating the ads, programming and content Miss Representation attacks are all adults.  You have to wonder if they don’t know better, or simply don’t care.  In the film, Newsom talks about wanting to make the world better for her unborn daughter, but often it’s adults who need to be saved from themselves.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to see Miss Representation yet, there’s a free screening at American University on Thursday, November 3^rd at 6pm.  I’ll be participating in a panel discussion afterward, and I hope that you can join us and share your thoughts.  For tickets, please go to: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2287164972/efbnen

In today’s rundown: Lawmakers take the food stamp challenge and discover it’s not easy to eat on $4.50/day.  Going undercover to learn more about rampant prostitution in D.C.  Plus, why some are arguing that four-year college isn’t for everyone.

— DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is joining a group of legislators taking part in a food stamp challenge, CNN reports. The participants are “walking in the steps of a food stamp recipient” by spending $4.50 per day on food.  Advocates are calling for a 20 percent increase in food stamp benefits.

— Reporter Lisa Ling went undercover in downtown DC to learn more about sex workers and how they’re treated on this past weekend’s episode of Our America. FAIR Girls, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, was featured in the episode.

— Grantee Partner Year Up pointed us to this article about the benefits of some alternatives to traditional four-year college degrees.  “The hardest thing for Americans to get over is the perception that a liberal arts degree is for the fancy people, and vocational education is for the leftovers,” said one nonprofit president. “A four-year degree may not be what some young people are ready for, and it is not always the best ticket to the job market.”

In today’s rundown: Pushing for better public transportation as a civil right.  Plus, a new funding opportunity from The Women’s Foundation!

— Should reliable public transportation be viewed as a civil rights issue? asks TBD.com. Angela Glover Blackwell says yes, and suggests that “equity advocates must demand wiser investment of transportation dollars.”

— The Women’s Foundation’s Rainmakers Giving Circle is requesting proposals from local nonprofits that improving the lives of girls and young women in the region.  Please click here for details.

In today’s rundown: Public housing with an eco-friendly renovation.  Are too many children’s Halloween costumes sexist?  Plus, new data on pregnancy and single women.

— The Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation of Greater Washington is accepting letters of inquiry for the 2012 grants cycle.  The deadline is December 15th.  Go to www.towf.org for more details.

— NBC Washington profiles a single mother who is living in a renovated, eco-friendly home with assistance from the District and federal stimulus money.  “… [S]ometimes you just need a boost to get to that next level,” she tells the television station.

— Is Halloween the most sexist children’s holiday? asks The Washington Post‘s Janice D’Arcy.  D’Arcy details her failed efforts to put her daughters in non-sexist costumes.

— The Washington Examiner takes a look at data that shows that the number of pregnancies for unmarried women is on the rise in Fairfax County and on the decline in Montgomery County.

In today’s rundown: Pro bono legal advice in Prince George’s County.  A tale of two countries.  Honoring one of our region’s philanthropists.

— Need legal advice?  To celebrate National Pro Bono Week, Prince George’s Pro Bono Committee is hosting free “Ask a Lawyer” sessions across the county.  Today, they’ll be at Windsor Crossing Apartments in Suitland; on Wednesday they’ll be at District Heights Recreation Center; on Thursday they’ll be working out of the YMCA in Fort Washington; on Friday you can find them at United Campaign Against Poverty in Capitol Heights.

— D.C. represents a microcosm of two very distinct Americas, reports DCentric. A widening gulf between classes is visible across the nation, but the District has some of the starkest disparities.

— Congratulations to Women’s Foundation donor Jeffrey Slavin, who has been named Philanthropist of the Year by The Community Foundation for Montgomery County!  Jeffrey is profiled in this month’s Bethesda Magazine.  In the article, he talks about his passion for philanthropy and why he supports so many organizations.  [Hat tip to Washington Grantmakers Daily for the story!]

Today’s Washington Post features a somewhat misleading headline:  “Washington region has nation’s lowest poverty rate.” If you’re confused by that, there’s good reason.  Just one month ago, the media was reporting that Washington, DC has the third-highest poverty rate in the country at 19.9 percent – just behind Mississippi and Louisiana.

Today’s Post article includes data from the District along with 11 counties, including Loudon, Frederick, Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties, which all saw significant increases in median household income.  Meanwhile, Montgomery, Fairfax and Prince George’s Counties saw significant decreases in median income.

The real story here isn’t in the big picture, but rather how multifaceted economic security is in our community.  The real story is why and how counties located right next to one another in the same metropolitan region could have such drastic differences.  The real story is about the widening gaps that have left us a region of contradictions – one where some of the wealthiest people in the country live close to some of the most economically vulnerable; where, despite living in a region with a “robust economy,” 20 percent of District residents are poor.

I think that it’s to imply that the region is weathering the economy fairly well when so many people need access to assistance and resources that would help them and their families achieve economic security.  There are more than 202,000 women and girls living in poverty in the region.  Prince George’s County, alone, saw a 43,000 person increase in the number of females living in poverty last year.  With numbers like these, we can’t be lulled into a false sense of security.

Some people in our region are doing very well, in spite of the recession.  But that doesn’t mean our work, as a community, is done.  Washington Area Women’s Foundation is committed to putting all women and girls on a path to prosperity so that they can achieve a brighter future for themselves, their families and our entire region.  We hope that you join our movement.

After a Leadership Luncheon-related hiatus, The Daily Rundown is back!  In today’s rundown: Free financial planning help this weekend.  Plus, sisters share their secrets of success.

— Metro Washington Financial Planning Day is this Saturday.  Get free financial planning help from experts at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus, 3101 16th Street, NW.  For more details go to: www.FinancialPlanningDays.org/DC

— On the Today Show, two sisters who are the CEOs of Campbell’s Soup Co. and Frontier Communications discussed their success and gave advice to other women hoping to move beyond the glass ceiling.