Happy Women's History Month 

OCWLA Members! 

Women’s History Month first began in 1978 in Santa Rosa, California when a task force was commissioned to address the status of women. The organizers selected the week of March 8th to correspond to International Women’s Day. The movement spread across the country. In 1980, President Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress passed a law designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

Looking back on our history, Orange County Women Lawyers started in 1975 with 5 members. The original goal was to focus on the rights not only of women but also of all individual groups that may have experienced discrimination in our society or before the law. At the time, there were no women jurists sitting on the bench in Orange County. The group quickly grew to over 30 members. Since this time, OCWLA has been dedicated to the advancement of women in the legal profession and the support of diversity both on the bench and in law firm partnerships. Nearly 50 years later, today the OCWLA has over 500 members. While women have come a long way in the legal profession and on the bench, there is still much work to do.

Equal Pay Day this year is March 14th, which represents how far into the year women must work to be paid what men were paid the previous year. Women who work full-time are paid on average just 84% of what men are paid and for part-time work just 77%. These percentages are even lower for women of color.

Our Annual Equal Pay Day MCLE will be on April 7th. Learn how women litigators are fighting for equal pay in the workplace and how the U.S. stacks up in terms of pay equity for women. This will be a very informative event, so I hope to see you there.