When LaKenya Jordan begins explaining how the socioeconomic model influenced her to begin working in policy and government , she pauses . With a smile , she warns , “ It ’ s going to be a little nerdy .” The self-described nerdiness is a manifestation of Jordan ’ s drive to “ bring people together to help make change ,” and as head of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls , a state government office that focuses on initiatives and programs that promote and establish equity for women and girls statewide , that is her job .
Jordan became CCSWG ’ s executive director in May 2020 . She became interested in policy while she was a premed communications major at Saint Mary ’ s College and worked at Children ’ s Hospital Oakland . She was researching how people receive information and the effects it has on their health . “ I came to understand the policy role for doctors who are engaged in both medicine and policy ,” she says .
Her first foray into government work was in 2008 — after spending about 15 years in the private sector in banking , nonprofits , real estate and research — through Sacramento
State ’ s Capital Fellows Program . She has worked for government offices since , including the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Business , Consumer Services and Housing Agency . She earned a master ’ s of public health at Touro University in 2011 , and the Vallejo native says that working in a variety of sectors — including her first job at a fast-food restaurant as a teenager — has helped her “ understand what happens to a person at all levels of the economy and all levels and walks of life .”
CCSWG identifies inequities for women and girls in state laws , programs and policies , and it finds solutions to provide more equity . One initiative , # EqualPayCA , is in partnership with first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and encourages equal pay for women . It includes the Equal Pay Pledge , where employers publicly commit to finding where unconscious biases may exist in hiring or compensation practices . “ We ’ re asking them to fix that ,” Jordan says .
The commission partners with other government agencies , such as the Labor Commissioner ’ s Office and the California Department of Education , on programs that
“ You define yourself with your values . You define yourself with the purpose you have in your heart , and you keep moving . And I think really you ’ re unstoppable if you do that .” support disenfranchised workers to advocate for themselves ; advise on how to distribute funds to sexual assault prevention organizations ; and encourage the participation of more girls in science , technology , engineering , arts and mathematics .
CCSWG ’ s Your Vote Is Your Voice campaign encourages voter turnout , and with the historic turnout for the November 2020 election , Jordan is happy that the efforts of the commission and other organizations achieved that goal . “ I ’ m proud of when what we do together has such an impact on the rest of the world ,” she says .
While there have been victories , there have also been challenges . When she began working in government , Jordan says not knowing the lay of the land made it rough . “ It is difficult too when as a woman , to survive , you often have to walk differently than a male , especially a woman of color ,” she says . “ As a Black woman , walking through government , you know , there ’ s a lot of things you have to temper … ( like ) your outspokenness in a board meeting … and when to push for something , and learn … how do you go and win what you ’ re trying to get before you actually get into the boardroom .”
Jordan wants to help other women with what she ’ s learned , so she mentors through the speaker series She Shares , run in partnership with the nonprofit California Center for Civic Participation . “ I am here because of the women who came before me ,” she says , and as the ladder to opportunities grows taller , “ I have to bring people along with me as I ’ m building and climbing .”
Shoka is associate editor for Comstock ’ s magazine . She is a journalist , copy editor and photojournalist who specializes in covering arts , culture , animal rights and sustainability .
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