Senator Padilla Introduces Bill Mandating Gender Analysis in State Climate Plans to Protect Vulnerable Communities
SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 10, a measure protecting vulnerable communities by requiring state agencies to include a gender analysis and perspective in climate emergency plans.
“Climate emergencies don’t affect everyone equally,” said Senator Padilla. “By requiring a gender analysis in our climate plans, we can better understand who is most at risk and ensure our policies protect those who are too often overlooked. This approach leads to smarter, more equitable solutions that strengthen the resilience of entire communities.”
A global scientific consensus has emerged in the last 15 years that women are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change. This is a result of economic inequality, caregiving responsibilities, and biological risks that make them more exposed during climate-related disasters. At the same time, women play a vital role in response and recovery, comprising the majority of California’s health and care workforce. Based on this consensus, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted a Gender Action Plan (2019), committing to advancing gender equality in climate action. California’s global peers, especially Canada and Mexico, both have robust policies and programs addressing the gendered impacts of climate change.
California rightly considers itself a global leader on climate action. In alignment with global practice, recently gender was added to California’s definition of climate “vulnerable communities.” Despite California’s commitment to climate equity, in the past gender had been mostly overlooked and unaddressed in the state’s climate policy and planning. Given this record, action is needed to ensure that a gender perspective will be integrated in California’s climate work to advance community resilience and promote racial and gender equality.
SB 10 will require specified state agencies to integrate a gender assessment into their climate plans, to address and avoid worsening gender inequities alongside existing priorities for vulnerable communities and environmental justices. The gender assessment will provide guidance for addressing women’s unique vulnerabilities to climate change, as well as surface distinct impacts that men and LGBTQ+ people face. SB 10 will establish California as a national innovator in integrating a gender equality perspective into climate policy, bringing the state into alignment with global neighbors and peers. This bill expands on California’s recent addition of gender to the definition of climate “vulnerable communities” by establishing a legislative mandate for responsible agencies to integrate gender into their climate planning and policy. It will lodge the first effort in meaningful climate plans, while also yielding concrete success.
In 2024, Senator Padilla authored SB 990 which was signed into law. This measure directs the Office of Emergency Services to establish what best practices state and local governments are to use when addressing the needs of the LGBTQ+ community after a disaster. In 2025, The Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation recognized that gender is one of several vulnerabilities to climate change and updated the definition of climate vulnerable communities to include gender. SB 10 takes an important step in protecting vulnerable communities and supports Senator Padilla’s ongoing efforts to advocate for equitable emergency planning.
SB 10 is sponsored by the Gender Equity Policy Institute.
“Women bear the brunt of climate change. Our research also finds that California women face greater affordability challenges than men,” said Dr. Nancy L. Cohen, CEO of Gender Equity Policy Institute. “A pillar of California’s climate policy is equity, but up to now the gendered impacts of climate change have been largely overlooked. SB 10 tackles that missing piece in California’s climate policy. It is a groundbreaking measure that will ensure that California’s climate solutions benefit everyone. Gender Equity Policy Institute is proud to sponsor SB 10 and we applaud Senator Padilla’s visionary leadership in introducing this bill.”
SB 10 will be heard in the Legislature in the coming months.
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Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/