Los Angeles

About:

Los Angeles is one of the world’s most diverse and globally connected cities, where residents of more than 140 nationalities speak over 220 languages. This diversity drives the city’s progressive governance in areas like immigrant rights, environmental justice, LGBTQIA2+ rights, and racial equity. Through initiatives like the Green New Deal for L.A., the 2020 formation of a stand-alone Civil and Human Rights and Equity Department, and ahead-of-the-curve minimum wage increases, Los Angeles advances policies that center human dignity, inclusion and sustainability.

Mayor Bass is the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles and the first woman and second African American to be elected as the city’s chief executive.

The commission on the status of women

The Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was established in 1968 with a mission to advocate for gender equality and improve the lives of women and girls in Los Angeles. The CSW provides data and insights into the challenges and opportunities for women across various sectors in the city. It also plays a significant role in advising the Mayor and City Council on policies that promote gender equity, and it supports initiatives aimed at public safety, economic empowerment, and political participation for women. Once a stand-alone department, the Commission now operates under the umbrella of the Civil and Human Rights and Equity Department of the City of Los Angeles. The CSW annually hosts the Women of Impact Awards, currently in its 36th year, to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women in Los Angeles. In 2024, the Commission dedicated significant effort to developing its strategic plan. Moving forward, the CSW is prioritizing the development of a City menopause policy and actively seeking partnerships to enhance women’s economic mobility within the city, as well as to support immigrant families.

Featured work:

CHANGE and the city of Los Angeles led a research effort to learn directly from private early child care providers to better understand the challenges they face and the support they need to thrive. This is part of the Caring Cities research report conducted in three CHANGE cities.

Gender Mainstreaming and the Gender Equity Coalition

Under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, Los Angeles implemented several key gender equity initiatives, driven by Executive Directive 11. This directive required all city departments to develop and submit Gender Equity Action Plans, with a commitment to implementation. These plans focused on upholding inclusive work environments, promoting equal participation of women in leadership, tracking employment recruitment in underrepresented fields, ensuring equal contracting opportunities for women-owned businesses, and collecting data on the status of women and girls within each department. Additionally, each department designated a Gender Equity Liaison to represent a newly created Gender Equity Coalition, tasked with coordinating the city’s responsibilities under its CEDAW ordinance. Notable accomplishments of the Coalition included achieving gender parity on city boards and commissions, with women making up 54% of participants and being represented on every commission for the first time. The administration also saw nearly half of department heads appointed by Mayor Garcetti as women, and gender parity in Deputy Mayor and senior leadership appointments within the Mayor’s Office.

READ gender equity accomplishments

Girls Play LA (GPLA)

The Girls Play Los Angeles (GPLA) program, a collaborative effort with the Department of Recreation and Parks, is dedicated to increasing female participation in sports and healthy lifestyles within the city’s underserved communities. A key objective of GPLA is to foster personal growth, self-esteem, and social connections among girls through sports. The program has demonstrated significant success in its mission, with a reported increase of over 30% in female participation in Rec & Parks programming since its inception. This expansion has led to over 10,000 girls engaging in various sports and recreational activities annually, including soccer, basketball, and track and field.

Domestic Assault Response Teams (DART)

Domestic Assault Response Teams (DART) are a crucial component of Los Angeles’s strategy to address domestic violence, operating through a collaborative model between specialized domestic violence (DV) service providers and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The primary goal of DART is to deliver a coordinated, immediate, and comprehensive response to victims of domestic violence and their children. This collaboration ensures that victims receive critical crisis intervention during a highly vulnerable time, immediate safety planning to mitigate ongoing threats, and a pathway to a range of wraparound support services. These services include, but are not limited to, emergency shelter, legal aid, counseling, and long-term case management, all aimed at helping victims escape violence and work towards a safe, healthy, and violence-free life.

My Voice L.A.

MyVoiceLA is an online tool developed by the City of Los Angeles designed to improve and streamline the process for reporting instances of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation within the city’s workforce and extended community. This platform provides a centralized and accessible hub where current and former City employees, contract workers, interns, volunteers, commissioners, elected and appointed officials, and even applicants for City employment can find comprehensive information about their rights and responsibilities concerning these sensitive issues. By offering a clear and consistent reporting mechanism, MyVoiceLA aims to foster a more transparent and accountable environment, encouraging individuals to come forward with concerns and ensuring that the City can appropriately investigate and address allegations of misconduct.

Menstrual Products Program

The Menstrual Products Program (Menstrual Equity for All Act and Provision for Non Cost Feminine Hygiene or MPP) in Los Angeles is a forward-thinking pilot initiative aimed at addressing menstrual equity by providing free menstrual products in accessible public spaces. Currently, this program is active in six public libraries across the city. This local effort in Los Angeles aligns with broader legislative advancements in California, such as the mandate for all public schools and universities to provide free menstrual products in their restrooms. The city is actively exploring a significant expansion of the MPP through a pilot project that would extend the provision of free menstrual products to restrooms in all City-owned facilities.

CSW-led initiatives:

Report on the Status of Women and Girls in the City of Los Angeles

The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in the City of Los Angeles was funded by the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women and prepared by Mount Saint Mary’s University. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the conditions and experiences of women and girls across various sectors in Los Angeles. It serves as a foundational document for understanding gender equality in the city, offering insights into areas such as public safety, economic well-being, and political participation.

Nursing Rooms and Changing Stations

Following a City Council motion, the CSW was tasked with expanding nursing rooms and changing stations in City buildings. The CSW collaborated with various City departments to install changing stations, aiming to increase accessibility across all City buildings.

Look Again Campaign

CSW has been involved in the city’s fight against human trafficking. With LAPD CSW helped implement the “Look Again” campaign, a public ad campaign that alerted people to the realities of human trafficking in Los Angeles. Directed by the City Council, CSW also worked with the Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development on their Summer Night Lights program, which provided safe spaces and activities for at-risk youth. CSW helped to establish a pilot program to provide training on human trafficking and how to properly spot and report instances to authorities during Summer Night Lights.