SACRAMENTO, CA —

Today, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is reflecting on 200 years of women’s suffrage and the reality that it was only a few decades ago, within the lifetimes of most Americans, that Black women won the right to vote. Today, we are reflecting on the fact that American women are already facing relentless attacks on their right to bodily autonomy in legislatures and courthouses across the country and that our future is now less certain, and our rights less sure, than they were a decade ago.

We will continue to work with the Office of the Governor, the Office of the First Partner, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, our Commissioners, and the many advocates and staff who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that the rights and needs of women and girls are championed and that no matter the barriers, we will continue to make progress toward a future when women are treated as whole and equal citizens under the law.

California is, and will remain, a safe haven for those seeking to exercise their constitutional right to access reproductive care, and we will continue to work with our policy champions to ensure that medication abortion services remain available. We will continue to uplift state policies that protect and better the lives of California women and girls.

Women deserve to be paid fairly. Women have the right to make decisions about our own bodies. We deserve access to higher education and to live without fear of sexual harassment. Working parents should not be punished when their child is sick. Who we choose to love and marry is our right. Who we are is not, and should not be, open for debate. The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls has fought for gender equality for the last 59 years – and we have no intention of stopping now.

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About the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

For nearly 60 years, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls has identified and worked to eliminate inequities in state laws, practices, and conditions that affect California’s women and girls. Established as a state agency with 17 appointed commissioners in 1965, the Commission regularly assesses gender equity in health, safety, employment, education, and equal representation in the military, and the media.