Spring 2019 Newsletter

In this issue…

Celebrating CWLC’s 30th Anniversary

CWLC 2019 Pursuit of Justice Awards honors Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chris Hollinger, and Cindy Robbins on May 29th! 

Recognizing Women’s History Month with Women Jurists

Advancing Pay Equity with Lilly Ledbetter

An Update: CWLC’s Breastfeeding Accomplishments

Keeping Domestic Violence Victims Safe: CWLC Training

Message from the Executive Director

Three decades ago, CWLC set out to serve women and girls through advocacy and education. At the time, we were a trailblazing organization fighting for pay equity and safer workplaces, against domestic violence and sexual harassment, and for women’s health and reproductive rights; today, we welcome the energy of movements like #MeToo and others that have brought women together and encouraged them to speak out and stand up for themselves and others.

Progress is happening, but not quickly enough.

Women in America still do not earn what men do. And, although the pay gap for white women has closed from 59 cents when the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, white women today earn just 80 cents on the dollar; women of color fare much worse with Latinas in California earning just 44 cents to the average white man. In addition, many school districts are slow to comply with anti-discrimination policies, women continue to challenge leaders who want to take away our reproductive rights, and the Trump administration seems intent upon rolling back regulations that prevent sexual assault on campuses.

Gender equity is complex and intersectional, and at the heart of this movement lies a fundamental need for women’s economic security. CWLC continues our 30 year legacy of pursuing justice through this lens. We thank you for your partnership in this fight and hope you will join us at our 2019 Pursuit of Justice Awards on May 29th where we will celebrate CWLC’s victories while recognizing a number of California’s inspiring leaders!

With gratitude and onward in the pursuit of justice,

Betsy Butler

Executive Director


Join Us! 2019 Pursuit of Justice Awards lunch: May 29

The California Women’s Law Center will host our annual Pursuit of Justice Awards lunch on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. We hope you will join us in recognizing our phenomenal 2019 honorees who have positively impacted the lives of women and girls in California and across the country: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, CWLC Board Treasurer and O’Melveny & Myers Partner Chris Hollinger, and Former Salesforce President and Chief People Officer Cindy Robbins. Dee Dee Myers, the Executive Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Warner Bros. Entertainment, will be the Mistress of Ceremonies, and special guests include Lilly Ledbetter, Nancy Solomon and Kathy Spillar.

      
Please join us for this inspiring afternoon on May 29th. The VIP Reception will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 12:00 noon. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities and to participate in our celebration, please visit bit.ly/POJ2019 or contact us at

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Upcoming Distinguished Guest Speaker Series: Featuring Lilly Ledbetter

The Fight for Equal Pay — RSVP Today!


After a nearly 20-year career with her employer, Lilly Ledbetter realized she was paid less than her male colleagues — so she spoke up, ultimately prompting President Obama to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.

On Tuesday, May 28th, CWLC’s Executive Director, Betsy Butler, will moderate a discussion on the persistent gender wage gap with Lilly and fellow panelists Kathy Spillar, Executive Director of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Prof. Michele Goodwin, Chancellor’s Professor at UCI School of Law, and Prof. Brad Sears, Assoc. Dean of Public Interest at UCLA School of Law.

For more details and to RSVP, please click here or contact

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Women’s History Month 2019
Distinguished Guest Speaker Series with Women Jurists

In recognition of Women’s History Month in March, CWLC and the University of California, Irvine School of Law’s Reproductive Justice Initiative hosted a panel titled “A Discussion with Women Jurists” at the Skirball Cultural Center. Moderated by UCI Law School Chancellor’s Professor Michele B. Goodwin, the conversation with women jurists included the Honorable Judge Pamela G. Alexander from the Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota, the Honorable Chief Judge Michelle Brown-Yazzie of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico, and the Honorable Chief Judge Glenda Hatchett of Fulton County Juvenile Court in Georgia. The evening’s program also included a visit to the Skirball’s popular Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg exhibition.

CWLC thanks Judge Alexander, Judge Brown-Yazzie, and Judge Hatchett for sharing your experiences and for celebrating Women’s History Month with us! To view photos from the event, click here.


An Update on CWLC’s Breastfeeding Accomplishments

Protecting the Rights of Pregnant and Parenting Students and Employees

In February, CWLC released our 2019 ABC’s of Breastfeeding report card for Los Angeles County school districts, which updated our 2016 publication of the ABC’s of Breastfeeding in Los Angeles County. California law mandates that schools provide specific accommodations for lactating students and employees, including a private, clean space to express milk. Despite this, in 2015 only 10 out of 81 school districts in Los Angeles had adopted lactation accommodation policies for employees and students.

Over the last two years, CWLC has prioritized bringing Los Angeles County school districts into compliance and we are happy to report that as of this month, 63 districts have both employee and student lactation accommodation policies in place.

To download the full 2019 ABCs of Breastfeeding report card, click here. Please also check back to continue to gauge the progress of non-compliant school districts as we are seeking full compliance from every single district in Los Angeles.

Click below to read the articles written about CWLC’s ABC’s of Breastfeeding report card!

CWLC has expanded our work in this area to conduct a statewide analysis of lactation accommodation policies which we hope to publish in early 2020.

CWLC Standing up for Students’ Safety and Rights

Over the last two years, the current administration has marginalized women and girls, and in January proposed new federal regulations to strip away vital protections for survivors of sexual assault and harassment in schools. CWLC responded to the U.S. Department of Education with extensive comments and also asked our supporters to submit their comments. Read CWLC’s response here.

The new regulations have not gone into effect. CWLC will continue to oppose these harmful regulations, and to fight to ensure victims have the ability to seek justice.

Training Our Allies

Pregnancy and Lactation Accommodations
In March, CWLC and the Center for WorkLife Law conducted a training titled “Pregnancy and Lactation Accommodations in Los Angeles County School Districts,” which discussed leave rights and the laws surrounding accommodations for lactation in schools. CWLC’s 2019 ABC’s of Breastfeeding report card was also discussed. This webinar qualified for one hour of MCLE credit. To view the recorded training, click here.

Title IX In-Person Training
CWLC, in collaboration with BreastfeedLA and Dr. Raphael of Cerritos College, presented at the California Community Colleges Conference in March on the legal responsibilities to protect breastfeeding students and employees on school campuses.

Dr. Raphael of Cerritos College shared a program she created as a direct result of a training CWLC and others gave in 2018. Cerritos College’s program is called Pregnant SEAS(Pregnant Scholars Expecting Academic Success) and provides one-on-one student consultations and trainings on pregnancy rights and more. Thank you, Dr. Raphael, for working to ensure all students at Cerritos College are supported!

CWLC Training: Keeping Domestic Violence Victims Safe

Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in California Courts

Join CWLC and the Family Violence Appellate Project for a training titled “Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in California Courts” on Thursday, May 30 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. This informational webinar will explore the different types of restraining orders that can be issued to protect a domestic violence survivor and discuss common issues that arise before judges when applying for or requesting transfer or renewal of an order between the family and juvenile court systems. The webinar qualifies for one hour of MCLE credit. To register, click here.

2019 Columbia Law School Interns


Columbia Caravan
CWLC was pleased to host four Columbia Law School students for the fifth year in a row. Joining us on their spring break, Chelsi DeTurk, Rachel Horn, Megan Hirsh and Laura Lee created a “know your rights” pamphlet clarifying the law around domestic violence restraining orders. This document will be published in the coming weeks, so please keep an eye out for it!

We thank our Columbia Law School students for spending their break with CWLC. If you or someone you know is in law school and would be interested in interning with us, please visit our website by clicking here.


We Are So Proud: CWLC Alumni Spotlight

Lanna Lan (Columbia Law School, Spring 2016 CWLC Intern)
Lanna interned with CWLC in the Spring of 2016 with a cohort of volunteers from Columbia Law School. Lanna graduated with a JD in 2017 and while at school she was involved in the Journal of Gender and Law and the Columbia Law Women’s Association. She credits law school for giving her confidence in her abilities to advocate for what she believes is right. Lanna is currently a corporate associate in New York at Simpson Thacher focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions.

Kathryn Roulett (Columbia Law School, Spring 2015 CWLC Intern)
In 2015, Kathryn interned with CWLC with four other volunteers from Columbia Law School. Kathryn has worked as an associate at the New York office of Ropes & Gray since her graduation in 2015. At Ropes & Gray, Kathryn serves as a co-leader of the Women’s Forum Litigation Mentoring Circle where she spearheads gender diversity initiatives from the New York litigation department. Related to these efforts, Kathryn was recently nominated as a Future Leader in Gender Diversity for the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards: USA 2019. Congratulations Kathryn!