Second Year Budget Allocation Offers $5 Million Dollar Investment in Women’s Ongoing Pandemic Economic Recovery Statewide

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is honored to announce that the second year of applications for the Women’s Recovery Response Grant to support women who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are now available. The Commission thanks the Governor and the California Women’s Legislative Caucus for their continued commitment to California’s women and girls through this program.

The CCSWG’s Blueprint for Women’s Pandemic Economic Recovery, released in 2022, showed that women went into the pandemic worse off due to existing systemic inequities in the workforce. Frontline and service sectors, what we called “essential workers,” were the most impacted. In many of these sectors women are occupationally segregated, making up in some cases more than 70% of a particular industry’s workforce. It was not just certain professions or service workers that we lauded as essential – it is women who dominate those sectors as employees. Women are essential to the economy.

“I am honored that the Legislature has offered the Commission the opportunity to scaffold the success of last year’s grant opportunity which supported 136 women-serving organizations to build a first-in-the-nation recovery effort that put women and families at the center,” said Commission Chair Lauren Babb. “This year’s funding will continue to provide the foundational support needed to begin to reverse the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19 on the women of California, particularly those who were already struggling before the pandemic and who face increased difficulty after years of struggle.”

This state investment will bring up to $5 million of state funds to local communities through nonprofits, direct service providers, local women’s commissions, intermediary organizations, and governmental entities in response to the economic needs of women impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the state entity tasked with assessing gender equity in multiple issue areas including health, safety, employment, education, and others, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is uniquely positioned to help ensure that women’s needs are centered in the ongoing recovery efforts.

Last year’s nonprofit grantees were able to leverage grant funds to build successful programs:
•The “Sacramento Kindness Campaign” provided 15 families with 95 nights of emergency shelter,food, transportation, car repairs, case management and housing assistance.
•Grantee “Public Counsel” provided legal assistance to 137 women with issues such asharassment by landlords, habitability concerns, lack of repairs and code violations and evictions.
• The “San Diego Workforce Partnership/Techhire” provided job readiness services to 37 women, including matching 10 women with paid work experience in the tech industry.

Last year, city and county level grantee women’s commissions used grant funding to:
• Establish new commissions in the cities of Fresno, Long Beach, Sanger, and South El Monte.
• Establish two guaranteed income pilot programs for Native American/Indigenous survivors of domestic violence, and single, pregnant and/or parenting justice-involved homeless women with children ages 0-12 years old. (San Francisco Department on the Status of Women).
• Expand community engagement efforts, events, and town halls (Los Angeles County Commission for Women, Marin Women’s Commission, Santa Barbara Commission for Women).

The Commission welcomes current grantees to apply for renewal grants to continue with or expand upon their current efforts and will award funds ranging from $25,000 up to $250,000 maximum. Preference will be given to organizations improving access and affordability of child and/or elder care services, increasing utilization and uptake of safety-net programs that offer services to support basic needs such as shelter, food, clothing, etc., achieving reskilling/upskilling through accreditation, certification, or vocational or educational programs, and enhancing financial ability to grow economic security, assets, and wealth building.

“I am pleased that once again the Commission has the opportunity to administer grants to community-based organizations offering essential support and services to women and children,” said CCSWG Deputy Director of Operations, Tifani Bartow. “The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is committed to leading the work to understand the impact of COVID-19 on women and families and ensuring that they are represented.”

Application materials are due by 4:00 p.m. on February 17, 2023. All application materials and instructions are available on our website at www.women.ca.gov.

About California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
For more than 50 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. The Commission provides leadership through research, policy and program development, education, outreach and collaboration, advocacy, and strategic partnerships.

Press Contact:
Darcy Totten, CCSWG Director of Communications
darcy.totten@women.ca.gov
916.261.6705 (cell)