This year’s Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ examines how women’s roles are evolving in a changing economy and highlights the remarkable ways women are already influencing the future of work. The data are clear: Barriers and disparities persist across California’s industries and leadership spaces. These realities are sobering and sometimes daunting, yet they also remind us why it is essential to lift up the strengths women bring to the workplace. Across every sector, women are redefining leadership, economic opportunity, and community impact. 

Five Takeaways: 

• Demographics are changing. Over half of California's girls and women under age 25 are Latina, whereas half of women ages 65 and older are white. 
• People of color drive the workforce. Seventy-two percent of young workers 16–24 and 63% of older workers 25–64 are non-white. 
• Workforce participation is highest among Black women. Seventy-four percent of black women ages 20–64 were either working or actively seeking work. 
• Asian women lead in higher education achievement; 57% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 
• A gender-earning gap exists. Women earn around 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men, a gap that has not improved since 2010.