NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Mayor Eric Adams expanded on the city’s milestone $43 million gender equity investment on Thursday, which intends to help New York City women overcome economic hurdles and disparities in health, safety and housing.
The investment into "Women Forward NYC: An Action Plan" comes from a combination of city dollars, private and public partnerships, academic institutions and federal grant funding, and aims to make the city “a national leader on gender equity, including for transgender and gender expansive New Yorkers,” City Hall said.
“As a child, my mother worked three jobs just to make ends meet, and for too long, women like her have been left behind, failed by systems that pay women less than their counterparts, overlook and even diminish their health needs, and neglect their safety,” said Mayor Adams. “This plan builds on our administration’s existing efforts by creating a clear path to holistically and comprehensively address the inequities women face today.”
According to government data, women continue to be paid 86 cents for every dollar a man is paid in NY State (64 cents for Black women, 57 cents for Hispanic women). In the city, 250,000 mothers have altered their careers due to a lack of child care, Black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth and 75% of women report bring harassed during their daily commute.
The persistence of gender disparities in different areas has directed the investment to have three main focuses: economic mobility, women’s health and public safety/housing stability.
Economic mobility investments include providing funding and age-appropriate financial literacy training to a Girl Scout Troop made up of girls from the Department of Homeless Services; expanding opportunities for NYCHA residents to start their own food or child care business; and expanding city mentoring initiatives for young women.
Women’s health initiatives include releasing city reports on women’s health and recommendations to help women’s health in the workplace; launching new mental health support for pre/post-natal women; and providing funding for the city’s Abortion Access Hub hotline and medication abortion services.
The city plans to invest in public safety and housing stability for women by expanding the city’s Home+ program, which provides personal security devices and resources to domestic violence survivors; restarting the Girl Talk mentorship program between teens and female NYPD officers; and providing housing assistance for formerly incarcerated women.
Adams first announced the plan during his 2024 State of the City address on Wednesday.
New Yorkers can visit women.nyc to learn more about the action plan and access city services designed to help women and families.