What Are Today’s L.A. Women Fighting For?

Women have made Los Angeles one of the nation’s most progressive cities, fighting for their own rights as well as those of children, laborers, immigrants, and other underrepresented groups since well before they gained the right to vote over 100 years ago. The city, which has the lowest gender pay gap of any American metropolis, has been a leader in creating policies designed to create wealth for working-class women in particular, from passing legislation to create the country’s first public bank to raising the minimum wage. But women in Los Angeles—particularly lower-income and Black and brown women—still face a number of challenges, including health disparities, housing struggles, and human trafficking. What battles are the women of Los Angeles fighting today, and what are the plans to win them?

California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, artist and Social and Public Art Resource Center co-founder Judy Baca, Social Venture Partners Los Angeles executive director Christine Margiotta, and civil rights activist and lawyer Connie Rice, co-director of the Advancement Project, visit Zócalo to discuss what all the women of Los Angeles need to truly thrive.