First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom leads Gender Equity Summit on technology and well-being
What you need to know: California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom hosted the annual Gender Equity Summit, building a safer tomorrow for all in the age of innovative technology.
SACRAMENTO – California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, in collaboration with the California Partners Project, hosted a pivotal Gender Equity Summit on Wednesday focused on the intersection of gender, technology, and well-being. At a moment when rapid technological change is reshaping childhood, straining families, and exposing women and girls to new forms of online harm, this annual Summit underscored the urgent need to design digital spaces that prioritize safety, equity, and humanity.
This year’s Gender Equity Summit is about shaping our digital world with the well-being of women and children at the forefront. Our conversations across sectors and with industry leaders underscored that representation is truly a safety feature. And when you invite more women and young people into advancing technology, it will lead to better, more equitable outcomes for everyone.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
In this new AI era, our first responsibility is protecting folks who are most at risk — especially women and kids — from the real-world harms that can come with these powerful tools. California will lead in shaping a digital future that will fortify the safety and well-being of all Californians.
Governor Gavin Newsom
The Summit convened cross-sector leaders in technology, education, philanthropy, and more to discuss the current digital environment and its effects on youth and women, while underscoring the need for innovative partnerships and solutions to promote online safety, equity, and well-being for all. The conversations at the Summit demonstrated that California is the home of innovation and leads globally in modernizing systems while protecting people by developing both opportunities and guardrails of AI.
This year, the First Partner also announced the release of her Nourishing Mind & Body Family Guide, the latest addition to the Tech/Life Balance parenting series created by her non-profit, the California Partners Project. This new guide offers tools to help parents have real conversations with their kids about what they are experiencing online related to bodies, fitness, and food.
Legacy of Gender Equity Summits
In 2023, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the California Partners Project launched the annual Gender Equity Summit to bring together a cross-sector group of experts to examine critical policy issues through the lens of gender and surface new solutions for a more equitable future. The goal of these Summits is to leverage California’s leadership in gender equity to increase the health, wealth, and safety of women within the state, with an awareness that what happens in the Golden State radiates across the country.
2025: Tech & Well-Being
2024: Health & Safety
2023: Women, Wealth & Power
A voice for women and children
The First Partner is a leading advocate for gender equity and the mental health and well-being of all Californian children. Through California for ALL Women, the First Partner has made it a priority to center the needs of women as she makes strides to build economic equity, equal representation, and advance a family-first agenda. Through California for ALL Kids, the First Partner champions initiatives and policies that support children’s mental and physical health and works to provide families with the tools they need to ensure their children get the best start in life.
California’s leadership in tech policy
This year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed landmark child safety legislation requiring platform age verification, chatbot safety protocols, social media warning labels, guidance to prevent cyberbullying, and stronger penalties for deepfake pornography and those who profit from illegal deepfakes.
California has long stood as a bold leader in protecting children from the danger of emerging technology and will continue working toward addressing social media addiction, fighting for strong privacy requirements, combating technology-facilitated gender based violence, and spearheading nation-leading transparency measures.
Governor Newsom also signed legislation to protect Californians from safety risks that may be posed by frontier AI and to protect user data privacy. The California Civil Rights Council and the California Privacy Protection Agency have also issued regulations to protect against discrimination and privacy violations by automated decisionmaking systems. As the digital world continues to evolve, Governor Newsom and First Partner Siebel Newsom are committed to strengthening online protections for all.