First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom hosted the fourth and final Gender Equity Summit on Thursday in Sacramento, where she announced the release of a roadmap designed to expand women's access to capital and address barriers to wealth creation.
The California Women's Wealth Advisory Council, which Siebel Newsom established over the past year, developed the strategies detailed in "Building Women's Wealth in California: A Roadmap for Action." The recommendations include creating a Golden State Fund focused on high-performing companies in industries critical to the state's wellbeing, increasing philanthropic support through donor-advised funds, establishing a statewide Resource Hub and annual California Innovation Showcase to connect founders with investors, and expanding access to CalKIDS savings accounts for families.
Women currently own nearly 40 percent of all businesses in California, generating about $580 billion in revenue between 2019 and 2023, according to the California Chamber of Commerce. However, women continue to receive a fraction of venture funding and remain underrepresented in asset management and business ownership wealth, the state said.
The roadmap also recommends strengthening existing state programs by improving connections between savings, financial-education, and small-business initiatives including CalKIDS, CalSavers, and the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. In June 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2927, requiring California public high schools to offer a one-semester personal finance course beginning in 2027-28, with completion becoming a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2030-31.
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, providing context for the state's focus on women's wealth building. In March 2026, Governor Newsom issued an executive order to expand opportunities for women and their families to build wealth and participate in California's economy.