Author: Womens Foundation California
Transforming the Halls of Power, WPI-State Class of 2018
It’s been a pretty exciting year for the 30 community leaders who make up our Women’s Policy Institute (WPI) – […]
In the #MeToo Era, Here’s What Philanthropy Can Learn From Women’s Foundations
by Kiersten Marek This article appeared in Inside Philanthropy, March 14, 2018 The #MeToo movement is challenging power structures that […]
Strengthening Philanthropy’s Role in the Resistance
(This op-ed appeared in the Philanthropy News Digest on February 8, 2018) By Senator Holly Mitchel (D-30th District) and Surina […]
A Major Victory in California!
SACRAMENTO, Calif. January 29,2018 – Today the California State Senate made history by approving the College Student Right to Access Act! […]
Two-Thirds of California Voters Say Students Should Have Access to the Abortion Pill on Campus
Two-Thirds of California Voters Say Students Should Have Access to the Abortion Pill on Campus Supported by seven in ten […]
California’s public universities should provide abortion pill on campus
By Dey Nava | Special to the Daily Cal Editor’s Note: While UC Berkeley supports and refers abortion services to students on […]
#MeToo must also mean stopping domestic violence
(This op-ed originally appeared in the Sacramento Bee on January 24, 2018.) By Surina Khan and Peter Long Special to […]
Introducing the 2018 class of Women’s Policy Institute-State
The Women’s Foundation of California is proud to introduce you to the 2017-2018 class of Women’s Policy Institute-State fellows. More effective […]
We Mourn the Loss of S.F. Mayor Ed Lee
We are profoundly saddened by the untimely passing of San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. Mayor Lee was a lifelong champion […]
Governor Brown Signs 3 #WomensPolicyInstitute Bills
Three bills aimed at strengthening the economic security and wellbeing of women and trans people across the state and championed […]
Big Updates on the 14th Class of Women’s Policy Institute-State
The graduation of the Women’s Policy Institute-State Class of 2017 is upon us. Each of the five teams have worked […]
Foundation Receives Women’s Funding Network 2017 Leadership in Equity and Diversity (LEAD) Award
Eight Women’s Foundations Honored for Young Women’s Initiatives The awardees are women’s foundations and their CEO’s that launched Young Women’s […]
Extended: Apply Now to Work on Medical Abortion Bill
Calling all reproductive justice policy advocates! This is a special application to recruit advocates for a Women’s Policy Institute-State team which […]
Apply now! #WomensPolicyInstitute-State
We’re accepting applications for the 2018 class of the Women’s Policy Institute-State now! Are you an advocate or activist in […]
Time for Philanthropy to Take Bold Action: Invest in Policy Change
CEO Surina Khan appeared in the Philanthropy News Digest on March 30, 2017: Over the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed […]
Economic justice for formerly incarcerated women in San Bernadino County
Imagine: You are a 22 year old woman with a child, and you just got convicted of your very first […]
#BeBoldForChange for Trans Prisoners
This post was written by Coral Feigin, a member of the 2016-17 Women’s Policy Insitute-State criminal justice team. How will […]
Introducing: The Environmental Justice Team of Women’s Policy Institute-State
The Women’s Foundation of California is proud to introduce you to the 2016–2017 class of Women’s Policy Institute–State (WPI) fellows. […]
Public Policy For Funders: the Philanthropy and Public Policy Institute
Public policy is now more important than ever. We need community leaders who know how to use the legislative branch […]
Introducing: the Interpersonal Violence Team of Women’s Policy Institute-State
The Women’s Foundation of California is proud to introduce you to the 2016–2017 class of Women’s Policy Institute–State (WPI) fellows. […]
Join the new class of the Women’s Policy Institute-County
Daisy Ramirez, pictured in the yellow hat, is a health educator and fellow from the Women’s Policy Institute-County Class of […]
#ProsperityTogether Invests $29M in Women’s Economic Security
One year ago, at the White House, Prosperity Together announced a $100 million commitment to women’s economic security over the […]
Introducing the Child Care Team of Women’s Policy Institute-State
“Child care is not just a poverty or investment issue – it is about fundamental human rights.” – Clarissa Doutherd […]
Leading the way forward with courage, compassion and conviction
This post was written by Foundation CEO Surina Khan. For many of us this seems like a different nation than […]
Introducing: The Trans Liberation Team of Women’s Policy Institute-State
I didn’t realize that policy work and legislative advocacy for communities could bring about real change to so many. – […]
The 2016-17 Class of the Women’s Policy Institute-State
I didn’t realize that policy work and legislative advocacy for communities could bring about real change to so many. – […]
Preserving the Right to In-Person Visitation
As more correctional and detention facilities begin to implement video visitation, they are also eliminating the option to in-person visitation. […]
Women in Santa Clara County lag in wages, education
Surina Khan, July 20, 2016, The Mercury News—Here is a snapshot of the state of women in Santa Clara County […]
Domestic Workers and the Fight for Their Rights
Domestic workers have historically been denied overtime pay and workplace protections. For more than 10 years, they’ve advocated, organized, mobilized and marched and in 2013 they helped pass the California’s Domestic Worker Bill of Rights that is scheduled to expire in January 2017. The Women’s Foundation of California is proud to train five of the domestic worker rights advocates and leaders though its Women’s Policy Institute. This year, these powerful women are working on the bill that will make this important law permanent—SB 1015 (Levya).
Women’s Well-Being Index – Media Coverage
KQED Radio, The California Report (3/28/16) New Database Tracks Women's Wellness Across California ABC7, KABC, Los Angeles (3/29/16) TV Segment: […]
We Want Equal Pay
Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) has been working to close the gender pay gap, leading the efforts to pass what is now the nation’s toughest anti-discrimination law and continuing those efforts with a new bill that will disrupt salary discrimination as we know it.
Our $1 Million Dollars Created Real Social Change in Our Community
In May, the Foundation’s WomenGO! Giving Circle celebrated a significant milestone in local philanthropy. Since 2005, members of the circle have collectively awarded $1 million in grants to Santa Clara and San Mateo county nonprofits that serve women and girls. A member of the giving circle, Sarah Longstreth, reports on the event.
California Repeals the Maximum Family Grant Rule
On June 15, 2016, California legislature and Governor Jerry Brown repealed one of the state’s most discriminatory laws and practices through the 2016-17 state budget deal.
“The Maximum Family Grant rule stemmed from racist, classist, sexist stereotypes of women of color and affected generations of poor children,” said Laura Jimenez.
Advancing women’s equity in Monterey County
Surina Khan, June 11, 2016, The Monterey Herald A woman living in Monterey County most likely earns $18 an hour, […]
We Want an End to Mass Incarceration
When Gina Clayton founded Essie Justice Group with the mission to harness the collective power of women with incarcerated loved ones in 2014, she had one critical challenge. While the number of women with a family member in prison suggests prevalence—one in four women and nearly half of Black women have a loved one behind bars—isolation and the stigma made affected women hard to find. But a conversation with a man inside a prison sparked the idea for Essie’s most innovative and promising movement building strategy yet.
Capitol AM Alert
The Sacramento Bee, May 3, 2016 SHEROES: Powerful California women will be honored during a Women's Foundation of California event […]
KCBS In Depth: California Women’s Well Being
KCBS In Depth, May 2, 2016 KCBS' Jane McMillan is joined by Surina Khan, CEO of the Women's Foundation of […]
The Numbers Crunch: What’s so wrong about playing the ‘woman’s card’?
The Sacramento Bee, April 29, 2016 A new thing in the rollicking presidential race is Donald Trump’s ridiculous slam that […]
We Want a Strong Safety Net
The son of an immigrant single mother, California state senator Kevin de León has an intimate understanding of women’s hardships, especially those faced by low-income women and women of color. “I have the political space and credibility to act upon polices that are critical for the overall wellbeing of families, particularly single mothers,” he said. As the highest-ranking Democrat in Sacramento, de León is now using his power to elevate the state’s economy by advocating for women.
A New Generation of Girl Philanthropists Inspires
Surina Khan, March 11, 2016, Philantopic As seniors at the elite Marlborough School for girls in Los Angeles, Olivia Goodman […]
Mayor Lee & Mayor Schaff Announce Bay Area Women’s Summit
Landmark June 21st Event Will Bring Together Dynamic Leaders & the Community to Advance Equity, Empowerment & Opportunity for Bay […]
We Want Affordable, Accessible Child Care
Child care is not a luxury, but a necessity for working mothers. It is key to both women’s and children’s success, said Mary Ignatius, who organizes women to advocate for increased public investments in subsidized child care as an organizer at Parent Voices. For low-income and many middle-income women, subsidized child care is out of reach. At this very moment, some 200,000 children are on a three-year waitlist. In the meantime, their parents struggle to make ends meet, unable to find and keep full-time work.
We Want Women’s Work to Have Equal Value
Sabrina Johnson is a therapist with a vision: She wants San Francisco’s home care workers to be treated with dignity because their contributions to our society are tremendous. “[Home care workers] need to be valued like we value the tech industry,” said Johnson. “Tech cannot get elderly people out of bed and feed them.”
We Want Political Parity
“There was a need for local voices,” said Margarita Luna, a program manager with The California Endowment. She funded the creation of the Women’s Policy Institute-County to empower women to advocate for social and economic change in the Eastern Coachella Valley, an unincorporated part of Riverside County where many residents are poor agricultural workers from Latino immigrant families.
New Database Tracks Women’s Wellness Across California
KQED, The California Report, March 29, 2016 The nonprofit California Budget and Policy Center has launched a new database detailing […]
New “California Women’s Well-Being Index” Provides First-Ever Comprehensive, Composite Portrait of How Women Are Faring Across the State
Sacramento, March 29, 2016—Californians who want to make sure that women are full and equal participants in the state’s economic […]
We Want Reproductive Freedom
Griselda Reyes Basurto is helping to create a radical health initiative—teaching Mixteco and other immigrants from indigenous backgrounds in Ventura County about their bodies and reproductive rights—called Cuidando mi Cuerpo, meaning “caring for my body.”
We Want Overtime Pay and Labor Protections
The very nature of their work keeps domestic workers hidden from view. It might have stayed that way but for the commitment of organizers like Katie Joaquin. In 2013 domestic workers used public policy and their powerful voices to win a workplace right they had been denied for decades: overtime pay. In 2016, they are advocating again to make that hard-fought right permanent.
We Want Affordable Housing
California is the seventh largest economy in the world, yet it accounts for 20 percent of the nation’s homeless population—nearly 115,000 people. Women and children are the fastest growing homeless population today. Kim Carter, executive director of Time for Change Foundation, overcame homelessness, prison and addiction to start a visionary organization that supports women as they rebuild and reclaim their lives.
We Want Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
In fairy tales, justice prevails miraculously and everyone lives happily ever after. But in the real world, women must take leadership and demand the change they wish to see. Jessie Ryan joined our Women’s Policy Institute in 2009 and used her experience and voice to transform the California’s community college system through public policy change.
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