Vermont Commission on Women

05/14/2026

Yesterday, the House passed the equal rights amendment to the Vermont Constitution, which means it will be on the ballot for all Vermonters in November!

The nine protected classes named in the provision are race, ethnicity, s*x, religion, disability, s*xual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and national origin. The Vermont Commission on Women has been part of this work for the last decade.

“We are living at a time when we cannot take for granted that the legal and social gains made for equality based on s*x or any other class will stand,” Executive Director Cary Brown recently told lawmakers.

House lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee “equal treatment under the law” for nine protected classes, including race, s*x, disability, gender identity and s*xual orientation.

05/05/2026

VCW Commissioner Aleta Sprague on why Vermont needs paid leave! VT Paid Leave Coalition

In 2022, Governor Scott’s administration partnered with a private insurance company to launch a new voluntary paid leave program, offering paid family and medical leave to all state employees and

04/11/2026

A new chapter is in bloom at the Vermont Commission on Women. Stay tuned.💐

📧For communications and outreach inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

03/25/2026

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Pay Equity Café at the State House! Legislators and community partners accessed the new Women, Work, and Wages 2025 Spotlight Report and discussed the state of pay equity in Vermont. To access the report, visit: bit.ly/WWWreport📑

03/18/2026

🫖Stop by the State House Cafeteria tomorrow morning for the latest tea on pay equity! and key collaborators will share the latest findings from the Women, Work, and Wages 2026 Spotlight Report (and a fun surprise!📚).

Deep appreciation for ’s sponsorship of refreshments🥐and partnership from and in making this Pay Equity Café event possible. 📊🗯️

03/09/2026

It all started with a strike…🪧🍞☮️ Here’s to honoring International Women’s Day every day!

03/02/2026

🗓️March is Women’s History Month!🗓️As cisgender and transgender women and girls and gender expansive people continue to face backlash, one of the ways in which VCW is working to advance rights and opportunities is through our advocacy for pay equity.

Pay equity is more than equal pay—though closing the gender wage gap is crucial for achieving true equity—it also involves valuing unpaid and underpaid care work as well as creating equitable employment opportunities.

Join us on March 19 from 8am to 10am at the State House Cafeteria in Montpelier for a Pay Equity Café and learn more about how you can help champion in 🗯️💵🗣️ Tag a friend; tag a legislator; we will have coffee/tea service☕️🍵 and pastries courtesy of .🥐

Special thanks to our partners:

02/28/2026

Today marks the end of Black History Month, but our work is only beginning.⌛️Let us not leave our remembrances of historical “firsts” and changemakers in the past—let’s center all that we have learned over these February weeks in our present, for our future.

02/26/2026

🌱The more you know, the more you grow: "The United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026) to highlight the vital roles women play in agrifood systems and to promote gender equality in agriculture." -United Nations

Next month, just in time for Women's History Month in March, celebrate farmers and women in agriculture with these exciting FREE events hosted by Lawson's Finest Liquids and Soil Sisters:

📍Waitsfield, VT [in-person] March 8, 2026
The Power of Women in Agriculture
https://www.lawsonsfinest.com/event/the-power-of-women-in-agriculture/
(with proceeds benefitting The Vermont Women's Fund)

📍Virtual [Zoom] March 11, 2026
Women Farmers Aging Strong Learning Series: Thrive
https://www.uvm.edu/aglabor/dashboard/events

Explore Lawson's Finest events, like The Power of Women in Agriculture, currently on tap.

02/02/2026

🗯️Join this Thursday, February 5, 2026 at Jenna’s House in Johnson, Vermont for the next Community Conversations event! Hosted by , Vermont Commission on Women (VCW) staff and commissioners look forward to discussing the rights and opportunities of cisgender and transgender women and girls and gender expansive people in Vermont, listening to and learning from community members, and collaborating on next steps.

🚪Doors open at 5:00 PM and the program will begin at 5:30 PM. No registration needed! Visit women.vermont.gov to learn more about VCW and jennaspromise.org to learn about Jenna Tatro and her family’s pursuit of substance use prevention in her honor.