The council will include leaders from finance, venture capital and government who will advise on strategies to promote women’s participation in California’s economy
California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom announced the creation of the California Women’s Wealth Advisory Council, a new body aimed at expanding financial access and ownership opportunities for women across the state.
The council will include leaders from finance, venture capital and government who will advise on strategies to narrow the gender wealth gap and promote women’s participation in California’s economy. The initiative comes as the U.S. approaches what economists describe as the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in modern history, with an estimated $84 trillion expected to change hands over the next two decades.
“California is bringing the best and brightest minds together to meet this moment of historic wealth transfer and shape the foundations of a more equitable economy,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement.
Katherine Rice, co-chair of the new council and a partner at GingerBread Capital, said the group will focus on redirecting more investment toward women founders and asset managers. “Women continue to face chronic financial inequities,” Rice said. “This council is designed to help close those gaps and harness the power of the great wealth transfer.”
State officials say women in California remain underrepresented in asset management, receive a fraction of venture capital funding and hold a smaller share of total business and household wealth. The council’s goal is to promote policies and financial systems that expand access to capital and ownership opportunities.
The initiative builds on Siebel Newsom’s earlier efforts to improve pay equity and financial literacy in the state. Since 2019, hundreds of employers have signed the California Equal Pay Pledge, committing to regular gender pay analyses and bias reduction in hiring. The First Partner’s office also released a series of “Playbooks” with Stanford University aimed at increasing women’s representation on corporate boards.
Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring all California high schools to offer a personal finance course starting in the 2027–28 school year. Beginning with the class of 2031, students must complete the course to graduate.
