Moms’ unequal work is topic of California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s new film

When Gov. Gavin Newsom arrived late to a press conference in April, he had an unusual excuse: a book report on LeBron James.

Newsom said at breakfast he had asked his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, why she scheduled her COVID-19 vaccine for the following week and not as soon as she became eligible, a conversation that morphed into one about how he needed to shoulder more of their parenting duties.

“She then reminded me of my role and responsibility with my kids, and no sooner did that happen, then I was working on my son Hunter’s book report of LeBron James,” Newsom said. “Perhaps that’s too much information… I’m in trouble now when I get home.”

Newsom, a Democrat, often admits women shoulder a disproportionate share of domestic duties, even in his own household. That disparity is the subject of Siebel Newsom’s new documentary, “Fair Play,” which she created in collaboration with actress Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine.

“We need a care revolution once and for all where women’s domestic work is seen and valued, where women have more time to pursue their passions, and where men are able to step into and build more caring relationships at home,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Eve Rodsky and Hello Sunshine on this journey to awaken consciousness and inspire major cultural shifts towards gender equity at home.”

The documentary follows “three families on their journey to better balance their home life style,” according to its IMDb page. It will feature appearances from philanthropist Melinda Gates and U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine.

The documentary is based on a book of the same name by Eve Rodsky that explores the “unpaid, invisible work that women have shouldered for too long” and aims to help couples divide domestic work fairly, according to her website. Hello Sunshine, which sold this summer to a media company funded by investment firm Blackstone, has made Fair Play an key part of its brand and has announced plans to create a range of content, including podcasts and events, related to the book and its central concept.

The film marks Siebel Newsom’s fourth time directing and co-writing a documentary related to gender disparities, following her previous films Miss Representation, The Mask You Live In and The Great American Lie. As the first partner of California, she’s championed efforts to reduce gender disparities, including by supporting efforts to close the gender pay gap.

Although she has featured her own family in her previous films, this one won’t focus on the Newsoms, said Caroline Heldman, executive director of The Representation Project, a nonprofit Siebel Newsom founded that promotes feminist causes and helps fund her films. Heldman said the release date isn’t finalized, but that the goal is for the film to be out on Valentine’s Day of next year.

Earlier this year, a Sacramento Bee investigation found The Representation Project had received more than $800,000 from a dozen corporations that regularly lobby state government.

In the last year, The Representation Project’s top donors have included the charitable foundations of Aileen Getty, a member of the oil family that helped fund Newsom’s political career, and Anne Wojcicki, founder of genetics company 23andMe. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which manages donations by wealthy Silicon Valley companies and individuals, and the California Endowment, a health foundation that worked with the Newsom administration to fund COVID-19 response, also gave at least $5,000 to the nonprofit since July 2020, according to its website.

The Newsoms’ family life was in the spotlight earlier this month when the first couple canceled a trip to Scotland for the United Nations climate conference.

After more than a week of speculation about what unspecified “family obligations” forced the move, Newsom explained he had canceled to spend time with his kids in an effort to shoulder more of the parenting responsibilities in the household.

As he often does, Newsom referenced the disproportionate share of responsibilities moms have taken on during the pandemic, and encouraged dads to do more to help.

“The fits and starts at schools, the stresses of balancing your responsibilities at work and also your responsibilities at home – I extend those responsibilities particularly to fathers that may not be doing, let’s be honest, as the moms have been doing in the last few years, and balancing the responsibilities at home.”