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By Cynthia Gibson
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — In honor of women’s history month, Los Angeles Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox moderated a virtual women in government panel discussion March 14 with some of the city’s top women leaders.
In her opening remarks, Tracy Gray, president of the Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women, noted that, politically, Los Angeles is currently run by women. She that that achievement “reflects not just progress, but the power of representation.”
As of December, eight of the 15 members of the Los Angeles City Council are women and all five members of the county Board of Supervisors are women.
Gray is part of Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Venture’s Women of Color Advisory Council and numerous global-steering committees focused on finance and multiple issues, including technology, climate, gender, race and manufacturing.
Three members of the City Council, Imelda Padilla, Heather Hutt and Ysaldo Jurado, shared insights into how their identities influence their leadership styles and advocacy efforts, emphasizing the importance of representation for future representation.
Padilla joined the City Council in 2023, following a special election, and she was elected to serve her first full term in March 2024 replacing former Council President Nury Martinez. Padilla has championed community initiatives such as monthly cleanups and transformative infrastructure investments in Council District 6, focusing on economic opportunity and support for women and girls.
Hutt is the first woman and the first Black woman to represent the 10th District. Prior to that, she was the state director for then-U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris.
Hutt has a background in public service and advocacy, having reduced homelessness in her district by 13% and secured significant funding for libraries and cultural programs, while also addressing domestic violence resources.
Jurado is a housing rights attorney and the first council member of Filipino descent. She represents Council District 14, a diverse region of the city that includes downtown L.A. (including Skid Row), Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, El Sereno, and much of Northeast Los Angeles. Her strong commitment to immigrant rights and community service comes from her experiences as a daughter of Filipino immigrants and advocating for policies that support vulnerable populations.
The discussion included a wide range of topics including how their identities influence their leadership styles and advocacy efforts, the impact of the majority female council on policy decisions prioritizing families and community service, and barriers faced in policy implementation, including the need for equitable practices and protections for immigrant families.
Jurado said her identity and her leadership style comes from her family and upbringing. Coming from a big Filipino family led by matriarchs, she learned how to be a team player and to work in systems that maybe weren’t designed for women of color.
“A lot of society, especially in America, teaches you about harsh individualism in order to succeed. My success was not an individual pursuit,” Jurado said. “My family taught me the idea of being a part of a collective and leading from the center, which I bring into this role.”
Padilla said she was inspired by the Chicana Mexican American women in her community. She noted the difference in leadership qualities between men and women.
“Women bring more empathy and really think about the future,” she said. “I’ve always noticed that men in leadership, they want to be the popular kid. They want everybody to love them.
“We, as women, we’re not so much focused on that. We’re just focused on, if I could work with you, let’s get it done. It’s not about being the most popular person in the room.”
Enacting options that allow people a level of equity and freedom community is crucial for anyone in a leadership position, according to Hutt.
Her effort to ban cashless businesses came from witnessing a child at a sporting event trying to buy popcorn with a $20 bill. The concessionaire would only accept credit cards.
“If you’re unbanked or underbanked, you don’t have a card for your kids. Are you kidding me? You got one card and you better not lose it,” Hutt said. “That’s a luxury and we shouldn’t be conducting business that way in our city.”
The panelists emphasized that diverse representation in government and other sectors promotes policies which address the unique challenges faced by women, ultimately creating a more equitable society for future generations.
“These are women leaders who are standing up for a better Los Angeles,” Maddox said. “They are the ones who stand up and right the wrongs from the past and they’re looking forward for solutions, whether it’s with LA Metro or supporting our unhoused population or standing up for immigrant rights or funding businesses.”
Cynthia Gibson is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers. She can be reached at ckgcommunications@gmail.com.
