California Blueprint for Women's Pandemic Economic Recovery

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG) is deeply concerned by the systematic erosion of women’s well-being, human rights, and economic status that have been profoundly accelerated by COVID-19 and the associated economic crisis which has led to a worsening of some existing systemic inequities.

This California Blueprint for Women’s Pandemic Economic
Recovery, the first of its kind, centers the economic needs of
women and girls as critical to the state’s economic recovery from
the COVID-19 pandemic, which remains ongoing. During the first two years of the pandemic, women in the United States lost more than 5.4 million net jobs. Data shows that the economic crisis exacerbated the cumulative and collective crises women in California were already experiencing. The erosion of women’s well-being, human rights, and economic status will likely continue unless halted by deliberate policy interventions and strategic support from government and key stakeholders.

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG), in partnership with the California Research Bureau, conducted an initial literature review on the state of women in California for the Women’s Recovery Response effort launched in 2021. Studies consistently report that women, especially women of color, experienced greater loss in jobs, income, and childcare services. At the same time, concerns regarding their mental health grew at an alarming rate. In partnership with The California Policy Lab (CPL) we conducted our own research that shed light on points of pain and bright spots of hope for a more equitable economic recovery for women.