Meeting Member Jessica González-Rojas joined gender fairness advocates and fellow elected officers on the steps of the Capitol final week. Picture: Workplace of Jessica González-Rojas
March 13, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Meeting Member Jessica González-Rojas joined fellow elected officers and representatives from numerous non-profits advocating for gender equality on the State Capitol in Albany final week to name on Gov. Kathy Hochul to middle gender fairness within the FY26 Funds.
González-Rojas, the chair of the Meeting’s Job Power on Girls’s Points, joined a number of members of the duty drive on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, March 5, for a rally in assist of elevated funding for common baby care, gender-based violence providers and transgender providers amongst different initiatives.
Meeting Members Sarah Clark, Grace Lee, Claire Valdez, Gabriella Romero, Emily Gallagher, Larinda Hooks and Anna Kelles, who’re all members of the 48-person activity drive, rallied in assist of numerous budgetary will increase together with advocates from Deliberate Parenthood Empire State Acts, The Collective, New Satisfaction Agenda, Ladies for Gender Equality (GGE), Nationwide Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Citizen Motion New York and the Schuyler Heart.
Advocates urged Hochul and leaders of the state legislature to assist funding will increase for a number of gender fairness initiatives. They known as for a $1.2 billion funding to boost workforce wages within the childcare sector to maintain and broaden capability, arguing that doing so would assist get rid of limitations stopping low-income households from accessing childcare.
The coalition of politicians and advocates acknowledged that baby care is unaffordable for many working New Yorkers. They cited a report by the Fiscal Coverage Institute that discovered that New York households with younger youngsters are 40% extra prone to migrate out of New York than these with out youngsters.
Hochul made a number of commitments to increasing entry to baby care in her current State of the State, saying a $110 million Youngster Care Building Fund and launching a number of packages to assist make New York the “most affordable” place within the US to boost a household, together with free maternal well being and new child provide bins for 100,000 infants.
Nonetheless, advocates acknowledged that the creation of a robustly funded everlasting public childcare workforce pay fairness fund is probably the most pressing aspect to maintain the state shifting towards common baby care.
González-Rojas represents New York’s thirty fourth Meeting District, encompassing Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside, and components of Corona—vibrant, immigrant-rich communities the place elevated funding for childcare, gender-based violence providers and reproductive well being initiatives would have a profound influence.
Whereas she acknowledged Hochul’s dedication to constructing “wonderful facilities,” González-Rojas cautioned that with out correct wages and incentives, childcare employees may depart the business, leaving school rooms empty regardless of expanded infrastructure.
“Our childcare workers are very low-paid. Many of them are leaving the workforce. Some of them can make more money in McDonald’s and other places of business,” González-Rojas instructed the Queens Publish.
The group moreover known as on Hochul to offer $247.5 million in funding to create a pilot program for 15,000 eligible new moms residing beneath the federal poverty line in New York, offering a complete of $16,500 to people over a 21-month interval. Advocates described the funding as a chance for New York to put money into its “most vulnerable residents” and assist battle towards childhood poverty.
Picture: Workplace of Jessica González-Rojas
The coalition additionally known as on Hochul to broaden funding for gender-based violence providers by $23 million, calling for the growth of Sufferer Help Program grants provided by the New York State Workplace of Sufferer Providers. The group known as for culturally and language-specific sexual violence providers for immigrants and communities of coloration throughout the state.
Moreover, the coalition known as on Hochul to extend her proposal for the Reproductive Freedom and Fairness Fund by $10 million, bringing the fund to a complete of $35 million. The group acknowledged that the Trump Administration has threatened abortion entry and suppliers, including that elevated funding would supply extra help to abortion suppliers to offer care and assist to all who want it.
Lastly, advocates criticized Trump for “criminalizing” free gender expression and known as on Hochul to extend funding for the Lorena Borjas Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Fairness Fund by $5 million, offering organizations that serve transgender, non-binary and intersex communities with extra funding. They added that elevated funding is essential to showcase New York’s dedication to LGBTQ+ communities throughout the state.
The rally came about in the beginning of Herstory Month, which takes place all through March and honors the very important contributions made by ladies all through historical past. The coalition expressed hope that the truth that Hochul is the primary lady and mom to function Governor of New York State implies that she is going to assist initiatives aiming to assist numerous and low-income ladies.
González-Rojas mentioned it was “symbolic” that the group held the rally in the beginning of Herstory Month and expressed hope that Hochul will assist the initiatives earlier than the funds is due on April 1.
“We’ll continue to fight until the budget is passed,” González-Rojas mentioned. “She (Hochul) has been a champion for reproductive rights and ensuring that we are a safe haven for abortion care. So it’s, you know, it’s been a positive to have a governor that has expressed her commitment to children and families as a mom.”
González-Rojas mentioned the coalition is demanding that Hochul take motion and put money into vital areas of the lives of New Yorkers, accusing the Trump Administration of going “on the hunt” to destroy all progress that New York has made as a state and the US has made as a nation.
“We cannot sit idly by, watching and waiting for a miracle. We have to take charge and take action this budgetary season and protect our most vulnerable populations across New York. We have a commitment to every New Yorker to do all that we can to protect their freedoms and ensure their safety,” González-Rojas mentioned in a press release.
State Sen. Lea Webb, chair of the Senate Committee on Girls’s Points, described the initiatives as important and pressing.
“We have the opportunity to invest in New York’s most vulnerable families, expand access to reproductive care, support the LGBTQ+ community, and fight childhood poverty,” Webb mentioned.
Kei Williams, interim government director of the NEW Satisfaction Agenda, mentioned New York stays a “beacon of hope” for LGBTQ+ People, particularly for individuals who are transgender and gender nonconforming.
Williams acknowledged that increasing funding for the Lorena Borjas Transgender Wellness and Fairness Fund would assist organizations present vital care to the transgender neighborhood, together with housing, well being care, and workforce growth.
“Expansion of the Fund is critical to counter federal hostility, address growing safety concerns of TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary) individuals and their families, and ensure that all New Yorkers can access the resources they need,” Williams mentioned.
González-Rojas additionally instructed the Queens Publish that it’s “critical” that New York State diverts tax {dollars} to guard “our neighbors, out women and our trans siblings” that reside within the state in the course of the Trump presidency.
“We cannot accept the hate and the vitriol and the stigma that the federal government is putting out, and they’re directly harming the lives of us all.”
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