When we co-founded the California Partners Project (CPP) two years ago, we set a clear goal: measure and understand the impact of California’s landmark legislation, SB 826, which requires that all public companies headquartered in this state include women on their boards of directors. Having worked for years as researchers and advocates for gender equity, we wanted to promote women in corporate leadership and smooth the path for this transformation in board leadership.

The California Partners Project is engaged in a listening tour with California caregivers to understand how parents are navigating the integration of technology and devices into most aspects of their children’s lives. Many of the caregivers report it is difficult to get their kids moving. A mom of a teenage daughter shared, “The bottom line is that she is spending too much time on the computer.” Other families found connecting with nature to be a helpful strategy to encourage movement. A mom of three in Oakland shared, “The public parks have been lifesaving for our mental health.” School-age children should get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In CPP’s Are the Kids Alright? report, 65% of the California teens interviewed in fall 2020 for the qualitative study had little to no exercise over the course of a week. A study published in Pediatrics showed an increase of obesity by nearly two percent in children ages 2 – 17 from January 2019 – December 2020, with greater increases for Black and Latino children. Physical activity promotes healthy bodies, restorative sleep, and opportunities to connect with others. Dr. Dana Tuttle, co-founder of ScreenSense.org, suggests that setting limits on screen time can create space for physical activity. She also recommends parents have options ready to encourage movement like a jump rope or a ball and be ready to join in when you have time to do so. For many working parents, making time to exercise, either individually or as a family, is challenging. Parents we spoke to in communities throughout California shared the practical strategies they use to encourage their kids to move.

For more than a year, Californians have witnessed a global pandemic, social unrest, and an economic upheaval causing American women to lose over 5.4 million net jobs in the past year. Despite this turmoil, Senate Bill 826 — the law requiring each publicly held company in California to have at least one woman on its board of directors for boards with fewer than five members, at least two women for five-member boards, and three female directors on boards of six or more by the end of this year — has emerged as an inspiring success story of the ability of motivated businesses to adapt, evolve, and grow.