The COVID-19 pandemic was unbelievably hard on women. During the pandemic, mothers were three times more likely than fathers to take on the majority of the housework and childcare. This has been a major contributor to the millions of women who have left the labor force since February 2020. As a result of this mass exit, women’s labor force participation rate reached an over 30-year low in January 2021. Unfortunately, the impact on women was not an outlier- but yet another example of a system that continues to treat women as second-class citizens.
CITY WORKFORCE
In 2021, a survey was sent to all City employees to determine the COVID-19 impact on our workforce during the first 18 months of the pandemic. The intention was for the results to assist the Personnel Department and City Council in creating and implementing new policies and programs to support city employees at work. The results are being used in conjunction with another survey assessed in 2020 regarding Telecommuting and Workplace Safety to help expand our understanding of our workforce's experiences, needs, and interests. It also included demographic questions to assist the Personnel Department in incorporating Equity considerations into new programs and policies.
MARSHALL PLAN FOR MOMS
- During Women's History Month 2021, the Los Angeles City Council passed the Marshall Plan for Moms Resolution, a plan to urge Congress and President Biden to provide direct payments to moms and pass long overdue policies addressing paid family leave, affordable childcare, and pay equity.
- In January, 50 prominent women called on the Biden Administration to implement a Marshall Plan for Moms, organized by Girls Who Code Founder and CEO Reshma Saujani. Like the original Marshall Plan of 1948, this plan would be a financial investment in rebuilding women from the ground up by providing mothers with direct monthly payments to compensate for their unseen, unpaid labor.
SURVIVORS FIRST
- In October 2021, the Survivors First program was created, establishing the city’s first permanent housing program for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Modeled after the successful statewide Domestic Violence Housing First program, Survivors First is aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness among survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
- The Survivors First pilot program, managed by the Community Investment for Families Department, includes three major components: flexible funding that can be used in a variety of ways to reduce barriers to permanent housing; mobile advocacy where a case manager meets the survivor in the field at a location that is convenient for the client—this reduces the added barrier of transportation when a survivor is seeking services; and landlord engagement so that agencies build relationships with landlords to increase the number of safe and affordable units available to survivors.
- Survivors of domestic violence make up 40% of the City’s homeless population. Survivors First will give them access to support services and resources to lift and keep them out of homelessness. This program focuses not only on housing those that are currently unhoused but also on preventing homelessness.
- The Survivors First services will be coordinated through the City’s Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Shelter System providers who have demonstrated experience providing case management and wraparound services to domestic violence and human trafficking survivors. The most critical service will focus on the unique housing needs of survivors, as these agencies are sensitive to their safety needs and distinct challenges.
For further information about Survivors First contact info.cifd@lacity.org. If you or someone you know would like to report domestic violence, please call the County’s Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-978-3600 or go to https://publichealth.lacounty.gov/dvcouncil/.