Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s Statement on the County’s Adoption of the United Nations Treaty to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

LOS ANGELES – The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisors Sheila J. Kuehl and Holly J. Mitchell’s motion for Los Angeles County to recognize and adopt the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The County will become the largest local government entity in the United States to formally incorporate CEDAW’s comprehensive framework to address gender equity and advance human rights. The County will be supported in its efforts by the Women and Girls Initiative and the Commission for Women. Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell released the following statement on the County’s adoption of CEDAW: 

“The United States is one of only seven countries in the world that has yet to ratify CEDAW – which at the very minimum, is an agreement that recognizes and protects the human rights of women and girls. As the largest County in the nation, we have a responsibility to lead by example in declaring our support of this human rights mandate.

We know that the persistent social, racial and economic injustices we face require continued action. This was made evident in the County’s 2018 Report on the Status of Women, which highlights the likelihood that women and children remain more likely than men to live in poverty. These numbers are worse for women of color. Some of the largest populations comprised of Black and Latino women live in the Second Supervisorial District. [i] Despite only making up 8 percent of the population, Black women account for 20% of the County’s homeless residents. These are just a few examples of the real-life consequences that derive from the widening of the gender health and wealth gaps. With 1 million LA County households headed by women, adopting the guidelines of CEDAW doesn’t just benefit women and girls, it also improves the quality of life for their families and our communities as a whole.”

To learn more about CEDAW visit: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx

[i]  Report on the Status of Women in Los Angeles County. (2018). The Los Angeles County Commission for Women and Mount Saint Mary’s University. http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/commissionpublications/internal/1051309_2018MSMUFullReport.pdf