Kathy Hochul has been at the forefront of the fight for women’s equality in New York State.  Now she will make history as New York’s first woman governor. She has fought tirelessly for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment at the federal level, championed protections for domestic violence survivors and headed the Women’s Suffrage Committee. 

Admittedly, New York State has long led the way when it came to protecting women’s rights, but there is still work to be done. 

Women in New York earn just over 86% of what men earn. And attacks on women’s rights, particularly reproductive rights, nationally are growing. 

Sonia Ossorio has known Kathy Hochul for a very long time and she joined In Focus to talk about why she believes Hochul is the right person for the job of continuing and expanding on the protection of women’s equality in New York and across the country. 

She talked about what women will see as the top priorities as we begin to emerge from the pandemic, like employment (more than 2.5 million women left the work force during COVID.  Hundreds of thousands have not returned) and the all-important issue of affordable child care.

She also addressed the need for New Yorkers, and Americans, to help protect the women of Afghanistan whom she fears will once again lose their rights, including the right to an education, to the Taliban.