City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors Resolution 0249-03

SUMMARY OF CEDAW GENDER ANALYSES OF BUDGET CUTS

As of June 3, 2003

On April 15, 2003, the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed Resolution 0249-03 urging city departments to consider conducting a CEDAW gender analysis of their budget cuts. This resolution specifically requested that departments analyze and quantify, to the extent possible, the impact of the proposed Fiscal Year 2003-04 budget cuts on employment and services to the public, aggregated by gender, race and other identities, along with the impact on the City’s Equal Access to Services for limited English speakers. 

 

Background

In April 1998, Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously enacted a local ordinance (No. 128-98) modeled on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  The Ordinance [1] requires the City to ensure the protection of human rights, including the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, and established a CEDAW Task Force to assist in its implementation in San Francisco. Since 1998, the Department on the Status of Women has facilitated the CEDAW Task Force whose 11 members balance City officials and community activists in developing and implementing CEDAW gender analysis guidelines for individual departments to utilize.  Six departments have undergone a gender analysis: Adult Probation Department, Arts Commission, and Department of the Environment, Juvenile Probation Department, Rent Stabilization Board, and the Department of Public Works. 

The recently passed CEDAW Gender Analysis Resolution is the first attempt to integrate CEDAW in the budget process and to urge all departments in the City and County of San Francisco to cooperate in conducting their own gender analysis. This is also an attempt to educate departments on how a gender analysis within a human rights framework promotes the dignity of all people.  The ultimate goal is to integrate gender into daily operations so that women and men, as well as girls and boys, are ensured equitable access to employment and services. 

 

Response from the City and County of San Francisco Departments

To date, DOSW has received twelve responses to the resolution. These include:

1. Arts Commission
2. Board of Supervisors
3. Department of Building Inspection
4. Ethics Commission
5. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
6. Human Rights Commission
7. Department of Human Services
8. Medical Examiner
9. Police Department
10. Port of San Francisco
11. Department of Parking & Traffic
12. Department on the Status of Women

Most departments did not think the budget cuts would have a disparate impact on any gender, race or other identities, and most were not anticipating major layoffs or reduction in services.  However, of the two departments that compiled solid data on potential impacts, both the Department of Human Services and the Department on the Status of Women stated that women, especially women of color, would be severely affected by the proposed budget cuts.

Employees: Of the twelve departments, a total of 13 layoffs were anticipated.  Some departments did not provide numbers, but stated they were equitably represented among gender, race and other identities.  Of these 13 anticipated layoffs, four (4) were temporary craft positions (no gender given), five (5) were women of color, and four (4) were men of color. The Fine Arts Museum is working to place three (3) men of color and one (1) women of color in another department. The Police Department stated that attrition might increase the ratio of women and minorities within its sworn ranks.

Services:  Departments that reported reduced services indicated that the following programs will be impacted: Senior Escort Program, Ethics Audits, Hate Crimes Prevention, Housing Discrimination Testing, Internships for Disadvantaged Youth, Violence Against Women Programs, In-Home Support Services, CAAP (Job training), CALM (assistance to immigrants) and Child Care Wages Plus.

The Department of Human Services tallied the number of “clients/providers” affected by budget cuts, which totaled 17,325 in the following programs: In-Home Support Services, CAAP (Job training), CALM (assistance to immigrants), and Child Care Wages Plus).

Female                        11,409 (66%)

Male                              5,916 (34%)

Total                           17,325

 

ADDENDUM JUNE 17, 2003:

Since this summary was written four additional departments have submitted their analysis: 

13. Adult Probation

14. San Francisco International Airport
15. San Francisco Redevelopment Agency

16. Department of the Environment

With these four new departments additional budget cut affects are summarized below:

 

Airport:         

Disaggregated data on department lay-offs as follows:

Women         #           %                     Men       #            %

White              21        21%                             16        16%

Far. Amer.         7          7%                               6          6%

Latino                2          2%                               4          4%

Asian               18        18%                             11        11%

Filipino              7          7%                               5           5%

Native Amer.     0                                              1           1%

Total                55         56%                             43         44%

 

The higher rate for women is tied to the disproportionate number of women clerical workers scheduled for layoffs, but the Airport does not believe this will adversely impact women or minorities or services to limited-English speakers.

Adult Probation is not filling approximately 10 vacant positions of which females occupied 40%.  Additional lay-offs include two females and two males.  The department believes the 10% reduction “may slow down the service provided to” limited-English speaking clients and probationers.  In addition one gender specific service, the Network Program, lost funding in fiscal year 01-02 and has not been refunded. The other gender specific program, P.O.W.E.R. will not be affected.

San Francisco Redevelopment Agency is not a City department but did report three women and one man would be laid-off; of these two are African American and two are White.  The agency  of budget cutsdoes not believe services would be impacted.

Department of the Environment reported no lay offs and no decreases in services.

IN SUMMARY,  16 Departments did the gender analysis of budget cuts, approximately 65 women and 50 men, primarily employees of color will be affected by employee lay-offs.  Services to women and seniors will be impacted, as will services to limited and non-English speakers, but no department believes this will have a severe impact.