The Office of the First Partner and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG) invite you to join us for a panel discussion on Latina Equal Pay Day. This is an online event from 3 pm to 4 pm on October 29, 2020.

The panel will be moderated by California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and will feature Hilda Solis (Los Angeles County Supervisor), Moníca Ramírez (Founder & President, Justice for Migrant Women and Co-founder, She Se Puede), and Jessica Rodriguez (President of Entertainment & Chief Marketing Officer, Univision).

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls congratulates Governor Newsom for the incredible leadership and Commissioner, Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber on today’s signing of landmark legislation allowing California to lead the nation in civil rights. AB 3121 (Weber) establishes a first-in-the-nation task force to study and make recommendations on reparations for slavery and AB 3070 (Weber) aims to eliminate discrimination in jury selection. Each bill was authored by Commissioner Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber whose tireless leadership in the work for equity and opportunity through the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and for the State of California move our society forward. We are so proud to witness this moment with you!

“California has come to terms with many of its issues, but it has yet to come to terms with its role in slavery,” said Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), “We’re talking about really addressing the issues of justice and fairness in this country that we have to address.” The Governor’s signature on AB 3121 and AB 3070 once again demonstrates that our state is dedicated to leading the nation on confronting and addressing systemic injustice.”

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls voted unanimously to support ACA 5, which creates equal opportunities for all Californians. Upon passage through the legislature ACA 5 became Proposition 16, which heads to the voters on the November 2020 ballot.

Thank you to our Commissioners Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber &  Senator Holly J. Mitchell who are leading the charge on this effort.

As women and people of color are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and its economic challenges, Senate Bill 973 authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to address the race and gender-based pay gap was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Senate Bill 973 requires that California employers with 100 or more employees submit a pay data report annually to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, outlining compensation and hours worked of its employees by gender, race, ethnicity and job category.

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls congratulates Commissioner Senator Jackson and thanks her for her consistent leadership in moving California forward toward equal pay and workplace equity. Senator Jackson is a national leader in the fight for pay equity. She is the author of Senate Bill 358, the California Fair Pay Act, which was the strongest equal pay law for women in the country when it passed the Legislature in 2015. 

“Despite all the progress our state has made on equal pay, the pay gap remains a serious problem that costs an estimated $79 billion in lost wages a year in California. The pay gap is especially concerning for women of color with African American women earning 61 cents and Latinas just 42 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men,” said Senator Jackson. “With the Governor’s approval of SB 973, California is taking another important step toward true pay equity.”

The fight for women’s suffrage, both in California and the United States, was a long and challenging endeavor spanning nearly a century. California women were powerful voices in the fight for national women’s suffrage. To learn more about the history of women’s suffrage in California, click the button below to see the powerful California State Archives digital exhibit.

Join the Commission and the Office of the First Partner in taking the Pay Equity Pledge.

When you sign the pledge, your company commits to conduct an annual company-wide gender pay analysis; review hiring and promotion processes to reduce bias and barriers; and identify and promote other best practices that will close the pay gap.

To shine a light on the barriers holding Black women back at work, LeanIn.Org has released a new report, The State of Black Women in Corporate America. It outlines specific steps companies should take to make sure Black women are treated fairly and given equal opportunities to learn, grow and lead. If employers want to do better by women, they must do better by Black women. 

Join CCSWG in amplifying this important research by Lean In, as we raise awareness of the pay gap and many systemic barriers that Black women face in the workplace.

CCSWG Commissioner Senator Holly J. Mitchell led an inspiring conversation with author and critic Roxane Gay at the Mount Saint Mary’s 2020 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ event. Roxane Gay is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and the New York Times bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. The event focused on historical perspectives, the promise of intersectional feminism, and their views for a path toward equity.

LaKenya M. Jordan was appointed Executive Director of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls in May of 2020. She strives to create and implement sustainable policy by leveraging appropriate and strategic public-private partnerships, excellent stewardship of resources, cultural competency, along with collaborative and forward-thinking leadership, in order to create exponential impacts in improving the lives of women and girls. Click the button below to learn more!