Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary's University
The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and the Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary’s University have established a formal collaboration designed to contribute to the advancement of California women and girls and promote gender equity.
How We Do It
- Convenings
- Research and Reports
- Hearing from the Community
- Putting Data into Action / Connecting Research and Government
- Our Key Issues
- Peer to Peer Training
- Bring us to you / Latest and greatest / Advisory
- Hub for Gender Advancement
City and County Level Collaborations
The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls issued several “Women’s Recovery Response” grants to city and county level commissions on the status of women throughout the state between 2021 and 2024. Some of those commissions also partnered with Mount Saint Mary’s to conduct research specific to their regions. The California Commission is proud to support these efforts. Please see below for the Women’s Recovery Response grant-funded local reports produced by Mount Saint Mary’s for city and county commissions on the status of women.
Connecting Research and Government
The Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary’s has formed an official collaboration with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls as an academic partner. The Commission has been a long-time contributor to the Mount’s annual Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™. Through this official partnership, the Center and the Commission will continue their work together to produce research, reports and convenings focused on advancing gender equity for women and girls in California.
Background
Mount Saint Mary’s is the only women’s university in California and one of the most diverse in the nation. The Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary’s University is a hub for gender equity research, advocacy, and leadership development. The vision of the Center closely mirrors that of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, the only state agency dedicated to the advancement of California women and girls and the promotion of gender equity in public policy and government.
New Partnership
Together, we commit to applying a gender lens focused on economic equity, to the creation of original and co-authored research and informational items designed to further conversations regarding intersectional gender equity, the promotion and advancement of women and girls’ legal rights and opportunities through public policy and advocacy efforts, the opportunity to share subject-matter expertise with our joint audiences and stakeholders and to serve in an advisory capacity where useful, and the promotion of the advancement of women across the California ecosystems in which each partner works.
Changing the World Together
By coming together to find solutions to persistent gender inequities we look forward to collaborative efforts that contribute meaningfully to the national conversation on gender equity, and offer policy-based solutions to structural inequality. The participants also intend to strengthen their collaboration on activities that promote gender equality and to carry out cooperative activities (events, speaking, publications) that recognize women and girls as key actors in the growth and development of a free and equitable democratic society with particular focus on the California economy, changing culture and society, and state governance.
Let’s Put Women in the Constitution (finally)
We all know that the United States Constitution granted us a framework for freedom and justice. But when our founding document was originally drafted in 1787, it did not explicitly address the rights of and protections for women, LGBTQIA+ people, gender expansive people, enslaved people, and other underrepresented groups. As we have learned with the Dobbs decision, the Equal Rights Amendment is more important than it ever was. It has been passed by both chambers of Congress, ratified by the required number of states, and now it just needs to be published into the Constitution. States like Nevada and Pennsylvania are using their state Equal Rights Amendments to protect abortion rights. A federal ERA could do the same, as well as provide protections against employment discrimination, gender-based violence, and other forms of sex based discrimination. We are committed to not letting one more year go by without the ERA recognized as the 28th Amendment.
SAVE the date to join the ERA Coalition, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and Mount St. Mary’s University Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles for a two-day “The Cost of Not Having the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)” Convening where gender equality leaders will gather and mobilize in the epicenter of media and entertainment and the heart of one of the most ERA-progressive states for a deep dive into the data, vision, strategy and next steps for making gender equality an inviolable Constitutional right in America.
Building a More Gender Equitable California
Together, the Commission and the Center seek to reframe public conversation about women’s impact and value in systems that were never designed to include them and to bring to light a more accurate representation of women’s intersectional experiences, and the challenges they face in our state.
We recognize women as essential to the economic structure of the 5th largest economy in the world and it’s continued growth and we also recognize women and girls and gender-expansive individuals as key actors in the growth and development of a free and equitable democratic society.
Convenings
Our convenings are opportunities for our partner organizations to come together around a single issue that impacts women and girls from multiple intersectional gender perspectives. These meetings serve as short term, single focus think-tanks to move forward these critical issues with the support and participation of those most impacted.
Research and Reports
Data is key to reframing our conversations and policy around gender equity. This collaboration will bring forth cutting edge research and reports that reflect the systems that govern our daily lives through a gender lens, acknowledging that nothing is truly gender neutral.
The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™
The only comprehensive report of its kind, The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ has been a valuable resource for advocates, business leaders, elected officials, and engaged citizens since 2011. The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls has been a regular contributor to this report since 2012 and is honored to once again authored key components of the 2024 Report focused on economic equity and seeing economic structures through a gender lens.
Wealth is more than the stockpiling of financial assets — it’s having the resources to live a healthy, fulfilling life and the financial stability
to support yourself or a family. For too many women and girls in California, a wealthy life is an unattainable dream, and economic stability remains frustratingly out of reach. Women are charged more for essentials, paid less in the workplace, expected to provide more unpaid caregiving labor, and have less access to investment capital. Long story short: It costs more for a woman — or girl — to be financially, physically and emotionally well here in California.
Each year, Mount Saint Mary’s University releases the findings from The Report at a public event, gathering over 500 thought-leaders to foster conversation and inspire action to address inequalities and gender gaps in our state. The Commission was honored to present our work at the 2024 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California, focused on barriers to financial well-being and highlighting opportunities for lasting change to create a more equitable and vibrant future for all.
Check Out Previous Reports Here
The Commission has engaged deeply with the Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ since the first edition’s release in 2012, and has supported the dissemination of the Report’s findings to critical data with key partners. In addition, the Commission has authored multiple contributions for the Report over the years.
As part of this expanded new partnership and comprehensive collaboration, the Commission will expand upon its previous participation at the release event of the 2024 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ on March 22 at the Skirball Cultural Center. Produced annually by the Center for the Advancement of Women, the Report continues to be the most authoritative collection of current research and data on issues affecting the 20 million women and girls in California, and it is a national benchmark that has informed public policy and funding priorities statewide.
About the Partners
Center for the Advancement of Women:
Since 2012, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles has produced The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ as well as special research projects for cities, counties, companies and community organizations. Launched in 2017, the Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary’s University builds upon this work as a hub for gender equity research, advocacy and leadership development. The Center’s vision is to find solutions to persistent gender inequities and work with partners to eradicate them in our lifetime. Each year, it reaches more than 50,000 leaders across Southern California and beyond who are dedicated to advancing women and girls.
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.
