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Commission on the Status of Women presents county survey showing housing, pay and health as top concerns
Summary
The Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women reported results from a 2024 survey and its ongoing outreach: housing, equal pay and access to health care emerged as the most-commonly cited concerns, and commissioners asked the board to help publicize the 2025 survey and support local shelter and domestic-violence services.
The Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women presented data to the Board of Supervisors April 15 showing that housing, pay equity and health care are the issues most frequently cited by women across the county.
Commission chair Alisa Smith and commissioners briefed supervisors on a countywide survey the panel conducts annually. In 2024 the panel received more than 300 responses (up from a few dozen in earlier years) and aims to collect 2,000 responses over time to build a long‑term dataset. “Forty‑five percent of participants who identified as seniors selected health care as their top need,” Commissioner Karen Araujo told the board. “Forty‑two percent of respondents identified equal pay and living wage as the most pressing issue.”
Key findings and requests - Housing and homelessness: The commission noted Monterey County ranks near the top of California counties for housing cost; 32% of the county’s unhoused population are women and survey respondents identified housing and safety as major concerns. - Domestic violence and safety: County data show relatively high rates of domestic‑violence calls per 100,000 females; the commission urged support for strengthened domestic‑violence services and victim advocacy. - Economic and pay equity: The commission reported median annual earnings for women in Monterey County of roughly $49,000; the gap widens by race/ethnicity with Latinx women reporting lower median earnings.
The commission asked the board to do four things: help identify sites for shelters and safe‑parking programs; continue or increase domestic‑violence support services for victims; assist with public outreach to boost survey response rates; and consider appointments to fill current commission vacancies in several supervisorial districts.
Supervisor comments and follow up Supervisors thanked the commission and encouraged residents to participate in the 2025 survey. Supervisor Askew requested details on which districts had vacancies; commissioners said the panel had openings in Districts 1 and 2 but expected the District 2 vacancy to be filled soon.
Ending The commission said it will continue the annual survey and requested help from the board and county staff to publicize the 2025 questionnaire so the panel can reach its 2,000‑response goal and better track trends over time.
