First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom leads final Gender Equity Summit, launches roadmap to advance women’s wealth

What you need to know: First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom hosted her fourth and final Gender Equity Summit, spotlighting how women's financial security shapes their health and well-being and unveiling the California Women's Wealth Advisory Council's roadmap to expand women's access to capital.

SACRAMENTO - First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, in collaboration with the California Partners Project, hosted a pivotal Gender Equity Summit on Thursday focused on closing the women's wealth gap and the connection between economic mobility and women's health and safety. At a moment when rising costs are straining family budgets and women-founded startups still only receive a sliver of investments, this annual Summit convened cross-sector leaders in finance, health, policy, and philanthropy to examine the urgent need to invest in women's access to capital and their overall well-being.

When women have the resources and opportunities to build wealth, they have greater freedom to shape their futures, care for their families, and invest in their health and well-being. For four years, this Summit has brought Californians together to advance that vision. As we close this chapter, I hope this roadmap serves as a lasting commitment to that work - helping more women and future generations build financial security and live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

California is committed to building an economy where every woman has the opportunity to thrive. Jen's leadership has been instrumental in advancing gender equity and elevating women's economic opportunity, health, and well-being. Her work has helped bring greater urgency to this effort and strengthen California's dedication to creating more equitable opportunities for generations to come.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Roadmap for women's access to capital

Recognizing that women continue to face barriers to building wealth and accessing capital, the First Partner established the California Women's Wealth Advisory Council to identify solutions and advance economic opportunity for women across the state. Over the past year, the Council has brought together leaders across philanthropy, finance, and entrepreneurship to develop actionable strategies for closing the wealth gap.

During the Summit, the First Partner announced the release of Building Women's Wealth in California: A Roadmap for Action, the culmination of that work and a blueprint for directing more capital, investment, and resources toward women and their families.

"As an investor, I see so many talented women founders and fund managers who are underfunded," said Katherine Rice, Partner, GingerBread Capital and Co-chair of the California Women's Wealth. "They're not underperforming, they're undervalued. What they need is capital behind them. I'm grateful to the First Partner and Governor Newsom who recognize that closing the wealth gap is one of California's biggest economic opportunities. This roadmap give us practical ways to achieve that goal."

The roadmap's recommendations include:

• A proposed Golden State Fund: Create a California-based Golden State Fund, led within the private sector, focused on high-performing companies in industries critical to California's wellbeing.

• More philanthropic dollars for women: Help California community foundations offer more donor-advised funds that allow people to direct charitable giving toward women and women-led initiatives.

• Connect women founders with investors: Maintain a statewide Resource Hub and establish the California Innovation Showcase as an annual event connecting founders to investors, customers, and state resources.

• Help kids and families build wealth earlier: Make CalKIDS accounts easier to access for families, reach more families through schools and community partners, and create new ways for philanthropy and employers to contribute.

• Strengthen existing California programs: Connect and improve the savings, financial-education, and small-business programs the state already funds, from CalKIDS and CalSavers to California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), so more eligible Californians can benefit.

Legacy of Gender Equity summits

In 2023, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the California Partners Project launched the annual Gender Equity Summit to bring together a cross-sector group of experts to examine critical policy issues through the lens of gender and surface new solutions for a more equitable future. The goal of these Summits is to leverage California's leadership in gender equity to increase the health, wealth, and safety of women within the state, with an awareness that what happens in the Golden State radiates across the country.

• 2026: Women's Wealth & Well-being

• 2025: Tech & Well-Being

• 2024: Health & Safety

• 2023: Women, Wealth & Power

Expanding economic pathways for women

Supporting businesswomen in California means supporting the health of the economy. According to the California Chamber of Commerce, women currently own nearly 40% of all businesses in California, adding about $580 billion in revenue between 2019 and 2023.

Despite these positive numbers, there is still work to be done. Women continue to face barriers to wealth creation. They receive a fraction of venture funding, remain underrepresented in asset management, and hold a smaller share of total business and household wealth. By designing financial systems that are inclusive from the start, California aims to model a more resilient and equitable economy.

As the United States is entering the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in modern history, with an estimated $84 trillion to $124 trillion expected to change hands over the next two decades. California is home to a dynamic venture ecosystem and a global innovation economy, which will play a central role in how that capital moves.

Building on California's leadership

In 2025, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom launched the California Women's Wealth Advisory Council to expand the Golden State's commitment to equity and access at every stage of economic life. Building on her work to advance pay equity and financial literacy, while uplifting women's voices, the Council expands that commitment toward broader inclusion and wealth creation for women across the state.

In March 2026, in partnership with the Council, Governor Newsom issued an executive order to expand opportunities for women and their families to build wealth and fully participate in California's world-leading economy.

Since the launch of the California Equal Pay Pledge in 2019, hundreds of companies, organizations, and municipalities have committed to conducting annual gender pay analyses, reducing bias in hiring, and advancing equitable promotion practices. The First Partner strengthened that work through the release of The Equal Pay Playbook, a data-driven guide that helps employers implement fair pay strategies that attract talent, foster innovation, and strengthen performance.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, in partnership with California Partners Project and Stanford University, released the Board Culture Playbook in 2024, designed to help companies increase and retain the number of women, particularly women of color, on their boards of directors. The free resource is the second in a series of Playbooks that started with the Board Diversity Playbook. These resources were co-created with Stanford's VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Lab, with additional support from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Additionally, California has taken significant steps to expand access to financial literacy. In June 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2927, requiring California public high schools, including charter schools, to offer a one-semester personal finance course beginning in the 2027-28 school year. Starting with the class of 2030-31, completion of this course will be a graduation requirement. Schools may allow the new course to fulfill the existing semester-long economics requirement.

This landmark step ensures every California student leaves high school with a foundation in budgeting, banking, credit, loans, and investing, skills essential to building and sustaining wealth. As the First Partner has noted, financial literacy is fundamental to equity, empowering young women and men alike to become confident investors, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers.