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 health, safety, economic security & opportunity, and intersectional equity. 

This biennial report provides a review of the Commission's work in the past two years (2021-2022). 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 to the Legislature and the Governor's Office. 

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Read and download the 2021-2022 Washington State Women's Commission Biennial Report here.

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Works Cited (by Infographic):

Health

• In their most recent Maternal Mortality Review (2019), the WA State Department of Health identified 30 pregnancy-related deaths from 2014 - 2016 in WA and determined that 60% of those deaths were preventable.
  • Source: “Washington State Maternal Mortality Review Panel: Maternal Deaths 2014-2016,” Washington State Department of Health, 2019
• 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
• 135,000 Washington women received a mental health diagnosis in 2020.
  • Source: “Mental Health Annual Report 2015 – 2020”, Department of Health and Human Services, 2022
• 65% of Washingtonians who received a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder in 2020 were women.
  • Source: “Mental Health Annual Report 2015 – 2020”, Department of Health and Human Services, 2022
• 86% of reproductive aged women in Washington use contraception, highlighting Washington women’s need for accessible and affordable reproductive care.
  • Source: “Washington State Profile, 2021”, Washington State Department of Health, 2021
• In the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s 2022 “Reproductive Rights Index” Report, Washington ranks third in the country for women’s reproductive rights.
  • Source: “IWPR Reproductive Rights Index: A State-by-State Analysis and Ranking”, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2022
• 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will have an abortion by the end of their childbearing years.
  • Source: “Population Group Abortion Rates and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion: United States, 2008-2014”, American Public Health Association, 2017

Safety

• Domestic Violence is on the rise in Washington State. Domestic violence fatalities increased 18% in 2020.
  • Source: “Northwest Justice Project 2020 Annual Report”, Northwest Justice Project, 2020
• Domestic violence survivors who receive “housing first” services reported lower rates of economic abuse than those who received services as usual.
  • Source: “Impact of the Domestic Violence Housing First Model on Survivor’s Housing Stability, Safety and Wellbeing: Six Month Findings”, Journal of Family Violence, 2022
• 2747 clients accessed sex trafficking and exploitation services in 2020-2021.
  • Source: In December 2022, WASE Forward collected data from the Organization for Prostitution Survivors, Aurora Commons, Mirror Ministries, Real Escape from the Sex Trade, Rebuilding Hope, and Youth care.
    *The data has not been deduplicated and may contain duplicates if individuals accessed more than one provider.
• 89% of likely sex trafficking victims in Washington who reported that they were a juvenile at the time they were first exploited.
  • Source: National Human Trafficking Hotline, Report for Washington State, pulled June 2022 by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
    *The hotline reported a total of 251 likely victims of sex trafficking in 2020. Sixty percent of victims did not provide an age of entry into exploitation. Of the 100 likely victims who did provide an age of entry, 11% reported entry as an adult and 89% reported entry as a juvenile.
• More people are killed by guns than die in car accidents in Washington.
  • Source: “Gun Violence In Washington State By The Numbers”, Alliance for Fun Responsibility, 2021.
• 781 Washingtonians are killed each year by guns.
  • Source: “Gun Violence In Washington State By The Numbers”, Alliance for Fun Responsibility, 2021.
• Gun violence costs Washington State an average of $5.3 billion every year.
  • Source: “Gun Violence In Washington State By The Numbers”, Alliance for Fun Responsibility, 2021.
• 56% of intimate partner homicides in Washington are carried out with a firearm.
• Perpetrators of domestic violence homicide in Washington use firearms more often than all other weapons combined.
  • Source: “Gun Violence In Washington State By The Numbers”, Alliance for Fun Responsibility, 2021.
• Women account for 87% of intimate partner victims in Washington.
  • Source: “Gun Violence In Washington State By The Numbers”, Alliance for Fun Responsibility, 2021.
• Washington ranks 2nd in the nation for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Cases.
  • Source: “Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls: A Snapshot of Data from 71 Urban Cities in the United States”, Urban Indian Health Institute, 2018.
• An Urban Indian Health Institute survey of 71 cities across the U.S. found 45 unique cases of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaskan Native women and girls in Seattle, the highest in the nation.
  • Source: “Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls: A Snapshot of Data from 71 Urban Cities in the United States”, Urban Indian Health Institute, 2018.
• The CDC estimate that murder is the 6th leading cause of death for Native women.
  • Source: “CDC Works To Address Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native People”, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018.

Economic Security & Opportunity

• At the current rate of progress, the gender wage gap will close in Washington State in 2070.
  • Source: “Status of Women in the States”, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2018.
• According to a 2018 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Black and Latina women in the U.S. earn less than their White counterparts but are more likely to be the primary wage earner in their family.
  • Source: “Holding Up Half The Sky: Mothers As Workers, Primary Caregivers, & Breadwinners During COVID-19”, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2020
• In Washington State it is estimated that over 300,000 families with children aged birth through give need childcare. As of March of 2021, only 34% of those children are enrolled in licensed childcare or preschool.
  • Source: “Child Care Need and Supply Data”, Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families, 2022
• 1 in 10 U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2021.
  • Source: “Food Security States of U.S. Households in 2021”, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2022
• Food stamp use in Washington State grew 12% during the pandemic, with a majority of those participants being women and children.
  • Source: “Food Security and Access Amid COVID-19: A Comprehensive Look at the Second Survey of Washington State Households”, WAFOOD, 2021
• Due to the Motherhood Penalty, mothers make 73 cents for every dollar paid to fathers.
  • Source: “The Parental Gender Earnings Gap in the United States”, Center for Economic Studies/U.S. Census Bureau, 2017
• Women are the sole or primary breadwinner in 41% of American households with children.
  • Source: “The Parental Gender Earnings Gap in the United States”, Center for Economic Studies/U.S. Census Bureau, 2017
• A study by Census Bureau researchers found that between two years after, the earnings gap between opposite-sex spouses doubles.
  • Source: “The Parental Gender Earnings Gap in the United States”, Center for Economic Studies/U.S. Census Bureau, 2017
• Data shows that several factors lead to the Motherhood Penalty phenomenon, including:
  • Hiring managers are less likely to hire mothers compared to women who don’t have children, and when employers do make an offer to a mother, they may offer her a lower salary than they do to other women.
  • Women are more likely than men to take time away from the workforce or to reduce their work hours because of caregiving responsibilities.
  • Many employers don’t offer necessary benefits such as paid parental leave, caregiving leave or flexible work schedules that could make it easier for working spouses to share domestic responsibilities and to blend their work and family life.
  • The unreasonably high cost of childcare pushes many women out of the workforce, particularly low-wage women whose earnings would barely offset the bill for day care of a babysitter.
  • Source: “The Motherhood Penalty”, AAUW, 2021