Equality of Rights and Opportunity

California Democrats recognize that widening economic inequality and entrenched disparities are not accidental, but the result of institutionalized discrimination against protected and vulnerable communities, including racism, classism, casteism, sexism, ageism, and anti-LGBTQ bias. We affirm that racism and other forms of systemic discrimination have measurable impacts on health, economic opportunity, education, housing, and public safety, and we are committed to correcting adverse outcomes at every level of government.

At the same time, we take pride in and celebrate our diversity and work to foster the shared values that unite all people — regardless of age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, cultural heritage, national origin, citizenship status, disability, physical attributes, socio-economic status, gender, race, or personal views on religion. We believe every person deserves full participation in the economic, cultural, political, religious, and social life of our state.

We affirm our commitment to full equality, inclusion, and acceptance, and we support policies that both protect individual rights and address structural inequities so that equality is not merely promised, but realized in lived experience.

To fight for all people to live with dignity and equality, California Democrats will:

1. Speak with a unified and public voice against racism, classism, casteism, sexism, ageism, ableism, antisemitism, anti-LGBTQ+ bias, religious persecution, and all forms of discrimination, harassment, hatred, and violence directed at vulnerable communities, and commit to measurable action to eliminate systemic discrimination in law and policy;
2. Support and partner with movements advancing racial, social, economic, environmental, and disability justice, recognizing that equity requires structural change, not symbolic acknowledgment;
3. Guarantee equal pay for equal work and enforce strong anti-discrimination protections in employment, housing, education, healthcare, public accommodations, credit, jury service, and all state and federally funded programs;
4. Protect and expand the civil, political, and economic rights of people with disabilities, including the removal of physical, regulatory, technological, and systemic barriers that limit full participation in civic life;
5. Defend and strengthen affirmative action and equity-based public policy, including voluntary and mandatory measures, to remedy historic and ongoing discrimination in education, employment, contracting, and business development;
6. Uphold the separation of church and state and prohibit public funding for any organization that discriminates on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, or disability;
7. Affirm the inherent and pre-constitutional sovereignty of American Indian and Alaska Native Nations and California Tribal Governments and commit to full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the enforceable standard of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for any state action affecting tribal lands, waters, sacred sites, cultural heritage, or natural resources;
8. Dismantle laws and policies rooted in colonial doctrines and systemic racism that undermine tribal jurisdiction, land rights, and Indigenous self-determination;
9. Protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination and violence in all settings and ensure access to affirming healthcare, including gender-affirming care, as well as the right to use facilities and participate fully in society consistent with one’s gender identity.
10. Affirm the right of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals to be addressed by their chosen name and pronouns and protect their full participation in public life, education, employment, healthcare, and civic institutions;
11. Encourage and actively recruit women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, Indigenous people, and communities of color to run for and serve in elected office at all levels of government;
12. Support trans youth’s rights to healthcare and participation in sports and other activities, and reject the rollback of any rights;
13. Advance wage and economic equality, including targeted policies that address racial and gender wealth gaps and expand access to capital, ownership, and generational wealth-building opportunities;
14. Support reparative policies, including reparations for the lasting harms caused to African Americans by slavery and systemic racism;
15. Promote the use of inclusive and gender-neutral language in law, government, and public institutions and;
16. Ensure that government and our legal system function equitably and transparently for all people, not just the privileged, and remove structural barriers that prevent equal access to justice.