Gender equity is everyone’s responsibility — and our city is coming together to lead the fight for equality in our government, workplaces, and classrooms, building a model for fairness for the nation and the world.

Last week, I was proud to host #WomenMoveLA, the Third Annual State of Women & Girls Address, Expo, and Young Women’s Assembly alongside my partner in this fight, and L.A.’s First Lady, Amy Elaine Wakeland. 

We were joined by a remarkable collection of more than 1,000 leaders from across our city’s private, public, and non-profit sectors, as well as over 350 juniors and seniors from local public schools. All of us got a chance to engage with one another, network, learn, be inspired and educated on the challenges in front of us — and the incredible work happening around us to bring parity to the ranks of our public servants, our sports leagues, our police and fire departments, and all of our initiatives.

When we launched this event three years ago, it was the first-ever gender equity conference led by a Mayoral administration in L.A. Today, it’s an annual tradition and a chance to show how our City government stands front and center in this effort.

We’ve already made tremendous strides in every facet of our policies and programs. And to build on our progress, I announced my proposal for Los Angeles to offer paid parental leave to tens of thousands of full-time workers employed by the City.

Family is everything, and I don’t believe parents should have to rely only on sick or vacation days when it’s time to bond with their newborn, newly adopted child, or long-term foster child. This policy empowers women in the workplace, helps moms and dads care for their kids, and supports City workers in a way that helps them better serve the public.

We also honored our team at the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering with the 2019 Gender Equity Award, in recognition of their innovative recruiting and hiring practices to bring more women onto their team. 

And that’s not all — we launched the first-ever international gender equity network for cities to share strategies with our fellow local governments around the world and lead the the urgent work of supporting and empowering women and girls across the globe.

The network will help us collaborate with other cities to promote gender equity initiatives, exchange best practices, and use L.A.’s gender equity toolkit to help our peers build their own models for action.

This year’s event launched the #WomenMoveLA Expo, where attendees applied for jobs and internships, received free headshots and resume advice, participated in on-site health screenings, interacted with female empowerment art displays, and shopped at a marketplace featuring local women-owned businesses. Following the expo, students attended the Young Women’s Assembly, where they gained career insights from female executives in government, technology, sports, entertainment, manufacturing, and business. 

Thank you to everyone who shares our commitment to creating a level playing field for women and girls, and is working alongside us in this march for progress.

You can read more about the conference and find ways to get engaged with our gender equity initiatives at WomenMoveLA.org.

 As always, thanks for reading.


Eric Garcetti
Your Mayor