Women and Girls Subcommittee survey open to public

As part of the effort to recognize the needs of women in Culver City through a City Council Ad Hoc Women and Girls Subcommittee, the city recently released a survey to gather community feedback on how to prioritize those needs. The “Her Story, Her City: Survey Women and Girls in Culver City” survey was made available online earlier this month and will accept responses until the end of the day Friday.

This survey gives residents a direct way to provide input that will help determine the goals of the Subcommittee, which was officially approved by the City Council at its February 9 meeting. Mayor Freddy Puza and Councilmember Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, the only woman currently serving on the City Council, were appointed to develop the goals, structure, and term of this newly created body.

The survey consists of four questions that gauge the opinions of the Culver City community on the biggest issues facing women and girls in Culver City today. There is a selection of both focused issues — such as representation in government, wage and economic equity, reproductive health and menstrual equity — alongside general issues like housing security and affordability, mental health, and public safety, for respondents to argue as priorities for the subcommittee.

McMorrin suggested and pushed for the creation of a city body dedicated to women's issues as early as June 2024, but there was no consensus to form a separate body until the January 12, 2026 City Council meeting. At the June 10, 2024 City Council meeting, Councilmember Albert Vera said he felt the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC) should be tasked with considering the idea rather than creating an entirely separate committee for it.

Concerns about the staff time required to establish a new committee were the main drivers of the hesitancy to establish a body during that initial consideration.

Puza, who was a councilmember at the time, argued alongside McMorrin for the creation of a focused committee in 2024, pointing out the city’s duty to create a city equitable for all who participate in the Culver City community.

“Cities and policies are generally built for white working males,” Puza said at the June 10, 2024 meeting. “I think this committee is worthwhile.”

“I think that when you see the gaps in the pipelines,” McMorrin said at the June 2024 meeting, “it's almost self-explanatory that there needs to be more investment and young girls and young women to know that they belong in these spaces.”

Vice Mayor Bubba Fish, who took office in December 2024 after the initial discussion had already taken place, also supported creating a focused body for women’s issues when the issue was brought back to the dais this January.

“Women and girls face acute specific challenges navigating the world,” Fish said at the January 12, 2026 city council meeting, “so this is a really great opportunity to make sure our city is serving them.”

The Los Angeles County Commission for Women and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls focus on similar issues at the county and state levels. Other California jurisdictions, including West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Long Beach, and San Diego, have their own local committees or commissions focused on women's issues.

With the body established, the city is looking to its constituents to guide its priorities. McMorrin said at the January 12 meeting that she hoped the subcommittee would achieve its goals, which will be guided by the responses to this survey, within a two-year term.

The survey will be open until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, July 24.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story stated that the Heart of L.A. Democratic Club felt that EHRAC should be tasked with deliberating women and girls' issues.