California Women Lawyers (CWL) is the statewide bar association for women in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Sacramento, CWL was founded in 1974 to seek the professional advancement of women lawyers, to promote gender equity in the legal profession and the judiciary, and to advance women's rights generally.
Programs
"So You Want to Be a Judge?" aims to demystify the judicial application process and to encourage women in California to seek judicial appointment. Panelists have included the judicial appointments advisor of the Governor of California, members of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE), and sitting judges and justices from throughout the state. Panelists teach lawyers how to build the strongest résumé and gather support for appointment or election.
"Elect to Run" is a program to educate and encourage women to run for public office, meet other women who have run for office, as well as those who support or train women to run, and to get the information you need to decide whether you want to run. Keynote speakers have included Senator Toni Atkins, Senator Kevin de Leon, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and State Controller Betty Yee.
Both "So You Want to be a Judge?" and "Elect to Run" have been recognized as Outstanding Member Programs by the National Conference of Women Bar Associations.
Legislative advocacy
CWL promotes state and national policy initiatives meant to improve women's lives. CWL has voiced support for the Violence Against Women Act, bills that protect women's reproductive rights, and a resolution urging California corporations to include more women on their boards of directors.
CWL's legislative priorities have included work in the following areas: 1) reproductive justice (choice, maternity care, access and privacy), 2) violence against women and children (human trafficking, domestic violence, gun violence and sex crimes), 3) human rights and equality, 4) court funding and access to justice, and 5) economics.
CWL has advocated for many bills on its legislative agenda, such as:
AB 1517, which sought to expedite the processing of DNA rape kits. CWL drafted a letter in support of this bill, and wrote directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) urging it to increase the speed in which DNA is tested and uploaded into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). SB 477, which protected documented foreign workers from abuse and human trafficking by banning labor contractors from charging recruitment fees and requiring full disclosure of employment conditions. CWL drafted a letter in support of this bill. SB 899, which protects newborn's health and safety while prohibiting the state from inserting itself into the private reproductive and medical decisions of families just because of income level. CWL drafted a letter in support of this bill. SB 939, which would streamline the prosecution of human trafficking charges and help victims avoid the trauma of testifying in multiple jurisdictions against their traffickers. CWL drafted a letter in support of this bill. In addition to these bills, CWL supported Planned Parenthood and sent letters of support for each bill on their legislative agenda. (AB 1755, AB 1841, AB 1805, and AB 1759). CWL supported military spouses by sending a letter to California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in support of the Military Spouse JD Network's drafted model rule urging that military spouses be treated similarly to corporate counsel, allowing them to practice law on a limited basis in states to which they are relocated due to their spouse's service. CWL, along with the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDACA), joined the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Coalition (CSEC) and sent letters in support of, and testified on behalf of, an increase to the CWDACA's budget to provide training and programming for CSEC. SB 855, which included the increase, was signed into law; it establishes the CSEC program and clarifies the jurisdiction of CSEC under the child welfare system. At the federal level, CWL was one of the first 50 organizations in the country to sign on in support of the Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014, also known as the "Not My Boss’s Business Bill". 2014 legislative work was especially focused on the use of social media. CWL worked with several national grassroots social media campaigns using tweet "storms" and national "town halls" to address the public.