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COUNTY CLERK
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Komikina Kiilana Olakino o Na Wahine
Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women
Prepared for the Hawaii County Council
By Khara Jabola-Carolus, Executive Director
Testimony IN SUPPORT
Resolution 680
Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.
Dear Chair, Vice Chair and Honorable Members:
On behalf of Hawai`i State Commission on the Status of Women, I write in support of
Resolution 680, which supports and urges equity, inclusion, and social and economic justice
principles into COVID-19 recovery initiatives for Hawaii County. I respectfully request that you
pass this urgent measure today in order to guide the recovery process already in motion
throughout government on Hawaii Island and across the state.
Resolution 680 is landmark legislation that represents an important step to counteract
economic turmoil,job loss, heightened violence and caregiving demands on women that have
been caused, in large part, by COVID-19 layered onto existing gender inequities. This would be
the second legislation in the United States that seeks to mitigate the gendered impacts of the
COVID-19 crisis.
According to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO),
women account for the majority of job losses and 57% of unemployment insurance claims in
Hawaii to date. The systemic discrimination against women prior to COVID-19 leaves them ill-
prepared to weather this economic shock. Seventy percent of Native Hawaiians and eighty
percent of Filipinos in Hawaii report living paycheck to paycheck, and of these an estimated
eighty-five percent are women. With a broken child care system, women will be unable to
reenter the workforce at the same rate of men. Further, women will remain locked out of
construction, trades and renewable energy—sectors targeted for stimulus.
Another barrier to economic recovery for women is increased domestic violence, child
sexual abuse, and sex trafficking. Local experts in each field anticipate a spike following
lockdown. Women also face interruptions to reproductive health care unexampled in recent}
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history. The list of unique impacts to women is long, and underscores the importance of this
measure. Thank you for your leadership to ensure that the recovery process repairs the harm
done by the COVID-19 crisis and allows women to equally benefit from the recovery forward.
Accordingly, the Commission respectfully urges the Council to pass Resolution 680 today.
Mahalo,
Khara Jabola-Carolus, J.D.
Executive Director