In today’s rundown: how to ensure that the employees at your favorite restaurants are being treated fairly.  Plus, a new study shows that women drive most charitable giving.

— Eating ethically is on the menu, thanks to Restaurant Opportunities Center United and its 2012 Diners’ Guide, which includes information on wages, benefits and promotion practices of some of the most popular restaurants in America. The Diners’ Guide was created because so many restaurant employees — especially women, immigrants and people of color — do not earn living wages, benefits and opportunities to move into better positions.  Restaurant Opportunities Center DC is a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner.

— Women are either the sole decision maker or equal partners in making decisions about charitable giving in 90 percent of high networth households, according to a new study released by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy and Bank of America.  The Nonprofit Quarterly breaks down the highlights of the study and explores how this will impact how charities approach donors.

In today’s rundown: A special after school guest for the students at Horton’s Kids.  A look at why unemployment is so high in some parts of DC even though there are many jobs available.  Plus, analysis of the latest unemployment numbers and what they mean for women.

— Tomorrow afternoon the students at Horton’s Kids will have some special help with their homework — U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be visiting the nonprofit during its weekly tutoring session.  The visit is part of the 2011 Combined Federal Campaign.  Horton’s Kids is a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner.

— Washington, DC has plenty of jobs and, in some wards, plenty of unemployment. The disconnect, reports DCentric, is that many residents are lacking the skills and credentials they need to get jobs.  DCentric is looking into what can be done to help unskilled residents find jobs.

— More than 300,000 women dropped out of the labor force last month, according to The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), which analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. IWPR — a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner — also found that women who maintain families without a spouse have much higher unemployment rates than other groups.

In today’s rundown: The number of young parents who need housing in DC is on the rise.  Plus, Gloria Steinem talks about the women’s movement and what she learned after turning 60.

— An increasing number of parents under the age of 24 in DC are in need of housing, reports The Washington Post. The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates released a study today that surveyed about 500 people between the ages of 12 and 24 who did not have stable housing arrangements.  About half of those surveyed had children.  According to the executive director of Covenant House, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, most of the study participants had to leave more stable homes for economic reasons.

— As part of the TEDxWomen’s conference last week, Gloria Steinem sat down to talk about women’s progress and aging well.  You can watch her short interview by clicking here.

In today’s rundown: Last chance to apply for a giving circle grant.  Ensuring that women are part of the strategy to battle AIDS.  New unemployment numbers. And “disgusting” remarks from a presidential candidate about children who live in poverty.

— Funding proposals for the Rainmakers Giving Circle are due on Monday at 5pm!  The giving circle’s mission is to improve the lives of girls and young women in the Washington region.  Please click here for more details.

— Yesterday was World AIDS Day and Women’s Enews wants to ensure that women are included in plans to fight HIV and AIDS.  Serra Sippel writes that a recent speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “sidelined women and reproductive health.”

— GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich recently said some things about children, poverty, crime and work ethic that The Washington Post‘s Jonathan Capehart generously describes as “disgusting.”

— New numbers out today show that the nationwide unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent last month.  DCentric points out, however, that the unemployment rate remained stable for blacks and Hispanics.

In today’s rundown: A new video contest is giving girls across the country a chance to participate in problem solving.  Plus, a new report takes a look at the impact of poverty on young families.

— To show that girls play vital roles in our country as thought leaders and problem solvers, the Women’s Media Center is holding a Girls’ State of the Union video contest.  Girls between the ages of 14 and 22 are invited to create and submit a video.  In January, the winner will be flown to Washington, DC to present her report to the National Press Club.  The deadline to submit is December 5th!  Click here to find out how to submit.

— The younger the children and parents are in a household, the more likely the family is to be poor, according to a new report. “Two Generations in Poverty: U.S. Status and Trends Among Parents and Children” “outlines the disproportionate effects of poverty on young children, young parents, and children and parents in single-mother families.”

In today’s rundown: Nearly half of Americans don’t have economic security, according to a new report.  Guidelines on eating ethically are coming out in DC this week.  And almost half of men surveyed say they’d like to be stay-at-home husbands if their wives out earned them.

— Nearly half of Americans are living without economic security, according to a new report from Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner.  According to the report, “43 percent of all households and 62 percent of African American households and 66 of Hispanic households have incomes that fail to reach economic security.”

— On Thursday, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United will release the National Diners’ Guide 2012.  The guide will help diners locate restaurants that treat their employees ethically.  Restaurant Opportunities Centers DC is a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner.

— The majority of men are OK with women earning more money, according to a new study. Men’s Health and Spike TV found that 73 percent of men don’t have a problem dating a woman who out earns them; 45 percent of men say they wouldn’t mind staying at home if their spouses were the main breadwinners.

In today’s rundown: Honoring the most influential businesswomen in the region.  A new study finds the best pathways to the middle class.  And why women veterans rock.

— Later today 25 women, including Women’s Foundation President Nicky Goren, will be honored by the Washington Business Journal.  Each year the Business Journal holds the Women Who Mean Business Awards to recognize “influential, powerful and trailblazing women.”  Congratulations to Nicky and all of the other honorees!

— Georgetown University has released a new report that examines the best education and labor pathways into the middle class.  Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School Through College Jobs, 2008 – 2018, found that “decent jobs” still exist for those who have high school diplomas, but no higher education; however, there are not enough of those jobs to go around.  The report also confirms that women need a postsecondary education to earn the same wages as men with high school diplomas.

— The Washington Informer details an event held last week to honor women veterans.  The Informer says that women are the fastest growing group of veterans in the country.

In today’s rundown: Female science pioneers from Maryland are being honored in a new exhibit at the Women’s Heritage Center.  And how the growing income gap is changing the face of neighborhoods nationwide.

— More than 100 Maryland women are being recognized in an exhibit opening at the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center in Baltimore, reports the Gazette. The exhibit will feature pioneers in science, including one Prince George’s County woman who works at NASA and joined an expedition to Antarctica in the 1970s.

— Middle class neighborhoods are shrinking as the income gap grows, reports The New York Times. Nationwide, rising income inequality is keeping families “in neighborhoods that are mostly low-income or mostly affluent.”

In today’s rundown: Local gang members force underage girls into prostitution.  The gender pay gap and its impact on l0w-wage workers.  And has there been an uptick in violence among young female students?

— Federal investigators say that local members of the MS-13 gang are “branching” out into forcing underage girls into prostitution.  A Washington Post article details the story of a 12-year-old girl who ran away from home and says that she was forced by an MS-13 member to have sex for money.  In recent months, three gang members and associates in Northern Virginia have been convicted of federal prostitution charges involving juveniles.

— A Washington Area Women’s Foundation staff member weighs in on a new report on the gender pay gap and low-wage workers.

— There’s a rise in violent incidents involving females students, according to The Washington Post. Experts cited in the article — which includes details about a number of local incidents — say that “changing views of femininity” have contributed to an uptick in violent acts by women, against women.  But Washington City Paper isn’t so convinced that this is a trend.  In an online response to the Post article, the City Paper says that there are several issues at play and “shoehorning” them into one “trend” sensationalizes some very serious topics.