Florida is the country’s third largest state by population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state has grown from approximately 13 million residents in 1990, to nearly 22 million in 2019, with continued growth expected.

Women and girls make up 51.2% of Florida’s total population – approximately 10.9 million individuals according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 population estimates (data.census.gov.)

From June 2019 – January 2020, the Commission conducted this ambitious state-wide listening campaign, inviting women to join in identifying issues they cared about through in-person community conversations and an online survey. Overall, the Commission received input from more than 1,500 women. The Florida Commission on the Status of Women began 2020 by hosting the final four community conversations that were part of our comprehensive Voices of Florida Women project. Sessions were held in Tampa, Panama City, North Tallahassee, and South Tallahassee.

Florida Women expressed concerns over a wide range of subjects, all of which we believe are important and deserve attention. These five key issues, listed in alphabetical order, received the most mentions across the forums and survey:

While these issues seem to be very different, almost all of them are tied to economic security in some way. For more detailed information on this project, please see the Voices of Florida Women Community Conversations and Survey Report (March 2020.)

On February 5, 2020, the Florida Commission on the Status of Women invited women from across the state to gather in Tallahassee to first learn from a panel of experts on each of the five key issues and then to brainstorm answers to the framing questions in round-table discussions.

Recommendations developed during Continuing the Conversation are available at www.fcsw.net/voices