The Washington State Women's Commission was established to gather data and make policy recommendations regarding issues pertaining to women in Washington, including matters of economic security, economic opportunity, safety, health, and intersectional equity. 

This biennial report provides a review of the Commission's work in the past two years (2018-2020). The report serves to:

1. Introduce the staff and commissioners;
2. Outline the critical issues that women in the state of Washington face;
3. Summarize the priorities and past work of each of the Commission subcommittees, in partnership with businesses, professionals, and community organizations across Washington state; and
4. Present policy recommendations and to the Governor's Office. 

Read and download the 2020 Washington State Women's Commission Biennial Report below:

• 2020 Biennial Report [PDF]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

By Infographic

• Racial/ethnic demographic ratios of maternal mortality, bar graph.

  • Source: “Washington State Maternal Mortality Review Panel: Maternal Deaths 2014-2016,” Washington State Department of Health, 2019.

• 9.1% of uninsured women in Washington between ages 19 and 44 in 2020.

  • Source: “Uninsured Women in Washington,” America’s Health Rankings, 2020.

• Washington women who report fair or poor health status, 2019 (by race).

  • Source: “Females Who Report Fair or Poor Health Status by Race/Ethnicity,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 2019.

• Washington women who did not see a doctor in the past 12 months due to cost, 2019 (by race).

  • Source: “Females Who Report Not Seeing a Doctor in the Past 12 Months Due to Cost by Race/Ethnicity,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 2019.

• Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births in WA, 2013-15 (by race).

  • Source: “Vital Signs: Pregnancy-Related Deaths, United States, 2011–2015, and Strategies for Prevention, 13 States, 2013–2017,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019.

• 1 in 5 women in the U.S. experience at least one mental health condition.

  • Source: “Mental Health Disparities: Women’s Mental Health,” American Psychiatric Association, 2017.

• Women are twice as likely to experience PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and depression in their lifetime than men.

  • Source: “Mental Health Disparities: Women’s Mental Health,” American Psychiatric Association, 2017.

• 1 in 9 women have had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.

  • Source: “Mental Health Disparities: Women’s Mental Health,” American Psychiatric Association, 2017.

• Women report experiencing higher levels of anxiety/depression, worry and stress, and a major impact on mental health.

  • Source: “Women's Experiences with Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the KFF Women's Health Survey,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021.

• 73% of health care workers infected with COVID-19 were women.

  • Source: “Characteristics of Health Care Personnel with COVID-19 — United States, February 12–April 9, 2020,” Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2020.

•  On September 10, 2020, pas part of a 24-hour survey conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), 51 domestic violence programs in Washington fielded 541 hotline contacts, averaging 23 per hour. 

  • Source: "15th Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report - Washington Summary," National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2021.

• In the NNEDV's 24-hour survey, 603 victim requests for services (including emergency shelter, housing, transportation, childcare, and legal representation) remained unmet because programs lacked the resources to meet their needs. 62% of these unmet requests were for housing or emergency shelter. 

  • Source: "15th Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report - Washington Summary," National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2021.

• 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) women (84.3$) in the U.S. have experienced violence in their lifetime. Overall, more than 1.5 million AIAN women have experienced violence in their lifetime. 

  • Source: “Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men,” National Institute of Justice, 2016.

• 45% of women in Washington State have experienced sexual violence during their lifetime. 

  • Source: Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, “How Often Does It Happen?”

• Access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a women in the U.S. will die at the hands of a domestic abuser. 4.5 million women in the U.S. have reported being threatened with a gun by an intimate partner. Every month, an average of 57 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. 

  • Source: "Domestic Violence: By the Numbers," Everytown, 2021.

• Washington State ranks second in the nation in highest number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases. Although 1.9% of the state population is indigenous, indigenous persons make up 6% of the state's active missing persons reports. The actual number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls is likely much higher, as indigenous persons are often inaccurately reported, underreported, and misclassified in law enforcement databases and media. 

  • Source: “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: A snapshot of data from 71 urban cities in the United States,” Urban Indian Health Institute, 2018.

• As many as 83% of women in Washington State with developmental disabilities have been victims of sexual assault. 

  • Source: Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, “How Often Does It Happen?”

• Prevalence of rape and sexual assault by race/ethnicity in Washington State. 

  • Source: Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, “How Often Does It Happen?”

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline found that one in three hotline callers in the first half of 2020 experienced economic abuse.

  • Source: “Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Violence Survivors,” WSCADV, 2020.

• The economic impact of COVID-19 further endangered survivors who were often trapped with abusive partners without resources to leave and with reduced access to supports like shelter and civil courts. 

  • Source: “Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Violence Survivors,” WSCADV, 2020.

• Survivors reported that abusive partners had used pandemic restrictions to prevent them from seeing family, including their children. Widespread closures made it more difficult for survivors to reach out for help and connection. 

  • Source: “Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Violence Survivors,” WSCADV, 2020.

• 10.9% of women in Washington state between ages 18-64 who were living at or below the federal poverty level in 2019. 

  • Source: “Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months,” United States Census Bureau, 2019.

• 26% of more than 274,000 households that are headed by women in Washington state live at or below the poverty level. 

  • Source: “About Women in Poverty,” Junior League of Seattle.

• In 2017, of the 311,716 women and children in Washington state eligible for the WIC program, only 49.3% participated. 

  • Source: “National- and State-level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and WIC Program Reach in 2017, Final Report: Volume 1,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2019. 

• For every 100 extremely low income households in the U.S. who make less than 30% of the median income in their area, there are only 33 units that are affordable and available. 

  • Source: “The Importance of Housing Affordability and Stability for Preventing and Ending Homelessness,” United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2019.

  • Source: “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes,” National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2021.

• 4 in 10 low income people in Washington State are homeless or pay over half of their income towards rent. 

  • Source: "Washington Federal Rental Assistance Fact Sheet," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2021. 

• There is a deficit of 157,461 rental homes in Washington state that are affordable and available to extremely low income renters, despite making up 21% of renter households. 

  • Source: "Housing Needs By State: Washington," National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2020.

• Only 52% of eligible children accessed Washington state's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) or Head Start in 2019. 

  • Source: "Washington State Early Learning & Care: Where Historic Underinvestment Meets National Health Crisis." Washington STEM, 2021.

• According to 2019 Washington data, about 21% of American Indian and Alaskan Natives are living at or below the federal poverty threshold; 16.3% of African Americans and 16% of Hispanic/Latinxs. 

  • Source: "Washington 2020," Talk Poverty, 2021. 

• Single mothers in WA state living below the federal poverty level, 2019 (by race/ethnicity).

  • Source: "U.S. Census American Community Survey 2018: Selected Social Characteristics in the United States,” United States Census Bureau, 2018.

• 25% of women in Washington who became unemployed during the pandemic reported the job loss was due to a lack of childcare, twice the rate of men surveyed from May and June 2020. 

  • Source: “How COVID-19 Sent Women’s Workforce Progress Backward,” Center for American Progress, 2020.

• 6 in 10 children in Washington state were without access to care at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

  • Source: "Washington State Early Learning & Care: Where Historic Underinvestment Meets National Health Crisis." Washington STEM, 2021.

• Washington State ranks 34th in the nation in gender pay parity, with women making 22% less in their annual earnings than men. 

  • Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Women’s Earnings in Washington - 2019.” News release, Thursday, February 18, 2021. 

• Women make 78.2 cents for every dollar that a white man makes. The gender pay gap in Washington State has widened since 2014, when it was 81 cents per dollar. 

  • Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Women’s Earnings in Washington - 2019.” News release, Thursday, February 18, 2021.

• Gender pay gap by race/ethnicity. 

  • Source: “The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap,” AAUW, 2018.

  • Source: “Quantifying America’s Gender Wage Gap by Race/Ethnicity,” National Partnership for Women & Families, 2021.

• At the current rate of progress, the gender wage gap in Washington state will close in 2071. 

  • Source: “About Women in Poverty,” Junior League of Seattle.

• In Washington state, a computer is rarely or never available for a child's educational use for 59% of households experiencing poverty. 

  • Source: HB 1365, State of Washington 67th Legislature, 2021. 

• Only 5.4% of corporations with headquarters in Washington state have a woman CEO. 

  • Source: “Economic Opportunity Committee,” Washington State Women’s Commission, 2019.

• 17.8% of corporations with headquarters in Washington state have no women board members. 

  • Source: “Economic Opportunity Committee,” Washington State Women’s Commission, 2019.

• Unemployment rates for women by race and ethnicity in Washington state, from Q4 2019 to Q1 2021.

  • Source: “E-16. Unemployment Rates by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. 

• Four times more women than men dropped out of the U.S. workforce in September 2020. 

  • Source: Ewing, C. "Four Times More Women Than Men Dropped Out of the Labor Force in September," National Women's Law Center, 2021. 

• There is a 5% predicted increase in gender wage gap after the pandemic recession. 

  • Source: "COVID-19 Impact on Women in the Workplace," Boston College Center for Work & Family, 2020.