In 2014 Victoria Fitzgerald, a musician, teacher, and mother, founded California Women's Music to provide support, uplift, empower, and facilitate the development and growth of women and girls in music, business, education, wellness, and fine arts. Victoria and the board set in motion a grassroots movement of women in the creative fields in California's Central Valley who sought to be part of a sisterhood, a network of support.

Victoria identified a need in the community for a music festival that highlighted women performers and artists. CWM FEST was established as our annual fundraiser festival and since has been providing work opportunities for women performers, audio engineers, event production professionals, photographers, videographers, performance artists, dancers, poets, arts and crafts makers, small business owners, and venues. Each year our festival has expanded to new cities and towns in California.

In 2015 CWM became the Fiscal Sponsor of a project dedicated to supporting and advancing women in audio. The project SoundGirls.org has since flourished and, with collaboration with Spotify, created the EQL Directory, a database for women and gender non-conforming audio professionals.

In 2018 San Francisco-based Singer-Songwriter-Producer and Entrepreneur Maayan Oppenheim Joined as Co-Producer of Events and the CWM FEST. In 2019 she was elected to the CWM Board of Directors. Her passion for our mission has since inspired many volunteers and board members in the San Francisco Bay Area to join us. In 2020 Maayan was elected as Board Treasurer. Shortly after that, the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ensued, and CWM quickly responded to address the needs of our communities by establishing the CWM COVID-19 grant funds that provided financial assistance to women-independent performers and women small music venue owners.

In response to CDC health recommendations and lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021, our programming evolved to interactive online programs and content such as online concerts and industry panels to create education and self-expression opportunities for women. CWM facilitated the coming together of women-professionals from across the creative fields to address the issues of the time, share experiences, and uplift our community. CWM also added wellness programmings such as yoga and meditation classes and interactive panels with wellness professionals to address mental health issues that were on the rise due to the pandemic. We provided our volunteers and interns with training in content creation: public relations, and social media management during this expansion. Currently, CWM is building its programming for 2022 and 2023, including events, an Artist Development Program, and a new Podcast to feature inspiring women who embody our mission.

Through our grant funds and programs, we continue to provide the women and girls of California with resources for well-being, mental health, extracurricular and educational activities, creative fulfillment, enrichment, and financial stimulus at times of need.

We are rooted in our communities.

Together, there is nothing we can't achieve.