California Women Lead Scholarship
This scholarship provides up to $2,500, along with training, coaching, and networking opportunities to support the professional growth and goals of women and gender-expansive participants in the Capitol Fellows program.
Congratulations to the 2024 Class of Capitol Women Fellows!
In partnership with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, 41 women enrolled in the 2024 Capitol Fellows program will receive a $2,500 scholarship
What: Capitol Women Fellows Scholarship Awards Ceremony: A CA Women Lead and CCSWG partnership scholarship program
Who: Forty-one Women in the Capitol Fellows program. Elected officials, Department leadership, and Capitol Community. Speakers include Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, CA Women Lead President Dr. Diandra Bremond, CCSWG Executive Director Darcy Totten, and others.
When: Tuesday, June 11, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Where: Elks Tower, 2nd Floor (921 11th St, Sacramento, CA 95814)
Why: California Women Lead (CaWL), in partnership with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG), established the Capitol Women Fellows Scholarship. On June 11, the 2024 Scholarships will be awarded 41 women to provide $2,500 to women fellows in the Capitol community. In addition to the scholarship, women will also receive support in their career pathways, provide them training, and coaching, and learn how organizations and local leaders can better support young professionals.
Media Opportunities: One-on-One interviews with fellows, elected officials and department leaders, and leadership from CA Women Lead and CCSWG.
CA WOMEN LEAD CONTACT: Lindsey Nitta lindsey@cawomenlead.org (Contact to RSVP)
CCSWG CONTACT: Justin McCoy Justin.McCoy@women.ca.gov
History of the Scholarship Program
In 2022, California Women Lead (CaWL), in partnership with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG), announced the first round of California Women Lead Scholarships designed to support the leadership journey and professional growth of women in the Capitol Fellows program in Sacramento. Commissioner Lisa Greer joined CaWL’s scholars committee in year one to review applicants and provide guidance to selected recipients.
“Securing a fellowship in the State Capitol is highly competitive,” said then CaWL Board President Mona Pasquil Rogers. “However, the largest obstacle for many fellows is not the application process—it’s the related costs, such as housing and living expenses. The California Women Lead Scholarship will help support capable and talented young women as they pursue careers in policy and government.”
To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants were required to identify as a woman and be an active participant in a Capitol fellowship program. Scholarship recipients reflected the diverse identities and life experiences of all women who live and work in California. Scholarship recipients were also invited to a summit which took place at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento on September 23, 2022. The original twenty-nine awardees were honored and awardees received over $70,000 in scholarships.
In the second year of the program, 40 scholarship recipients received $100,000 at the Scholars Breakfast held on June 20, 2023!
Building the Next Generation of Women Leaders
Former CCSWG Commissioner Hannah-Beth Jackson famously once said said that “Women’s paychecks should reflect their true value and contributions…” While this is true, it is also just the starting place. Women’s positions and access to political power and influence must also reflect our capability and contributions.
The very concept of building a pipeline into public service is one that is designed to constrain and narrow our collective vision of how many women can and should, be in leadership roles at any one time. There is currently no shortage of young women who are qualified for public service roles. There are, however, plenty of barriers to their entry into the pool from which those who get to serve are chosen.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg famously said in answer to the question “When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court? – When there are 9” The same can be said for women working in state government, as staffers, legislators, and experts across the spectrum of service.
We must stop looking at women’s participation as a thing that happens one at a time.
We must stop asking women to wait their turn and wait in line.
We don’t need a pipeline of women to fish them out of the applicant pool one at a time…we need a net to bring them up by the hundreds.
This scholarship is but one tiny step of many that are needed, but the more we can collaborate to remove barriers to entry for young women seeking to enter the field, the better. We can’t expect that generations of keeping women out will end by scouring existing networks for one or two women at a time to let in the door. We need to change the structure of public service to become wholly equitable. Together with California Women Lead, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls seeks to create pathways, not pipelines, that are wide enough for many diverse women to travel at the same time, and to build open access to competitive processes that will allow women who are qualified but maybe not socially connected, a way in, a path forward, and a network of committed mentors invested in their success as the future leaders of our state.