Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the only international human rights treaty to focus exclusively on the rights of women. Adopted by many countries in 1980, CEDAW has been ratified by 187 of 193 UN member states worldwide. The United States is one of the six member states that has failed to ratify CEDAW, joined by such countries as Iran, Somalia, and Sudan.
Inspired by the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and frustrated by the continued inability to get CEDAW ratified in the U.S. Congress, the women of San Francisco organized a successful effort to adopt a local ordinance reflecting the principles of CEDAW. In 1998, San Francisco became the first municipality in the world to pass such a measure. The Department on the Status of Women oversees the implementation of the CEDAW Ordinance. This Ordinance commits the City to proactive efforts to address disparities and advance the human rights of women and girls.
LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION
Reports and publications by the Department and others on local implementation of the principles of CEDAW. Learn more about efforts to advance CEDAW measures in cities around the U.S. on the Cities for CEDAW page.
- Gender Equity Through Human Rights: Local Efforts to Advance the Status of Women and Girls in the United States - Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute (January 2017)
- Human Rights in Action: San Francisco's Local Implementation of the United Nations' Women's Treaty - Department on the Status of Women (2010)
- Making Rights Real: A Workbook on the Local Implementation of Human Rights - Women's Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) for Human Rights (2006)
- CEDAW Task Force Action Plan Progress Reports (1999-2007)
GENDER ANALYSIS TOOLS AND REPORTS
A key component of local CEDAW implementation is the application of gender analysis as a tool to identify and remedy inequities. Find information about the gender analysis framework applied to City operations, budget, and workforce through the San Francisco CEDAW Ordinance below.
- Gender Analysis Toolkit: Designing & Implementing a Meaningful Gender Analysis - Goals, Strategies, and Recommendations (2014)
- Gender Analysis Guidelines - Learn how to conduct a gender analysis, a tool developed to ensure government agencies have equitable policies, programs, services, and budgets.
- CEDAW Gender Analysis Reports (1999-current) - The Department has conducted gender analyses of City departments, appointees to City commissions and boards, and other City programs.
- Gender Responsive Budgeting: A Path to Accountability and Data-Based Policy-Making (February 2010)
UNITED NATIONS ENGAGEMENT
Each year during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meetings, the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York (NGO CSW/NY) hosts parallel sessions with NGOs from around the world so that they can contribute to the conversation. Since 2011, the Department has participated in these forums by organizing panels and workshops every March.
Additionally, the Department has submitted regional and shadow reports to UN committees detailing the efforts and ongoing issues for women and girls in San Francisco.
- Local Implementation of CEDAW and Cities for CEDAW Campaign Leadership Report to UN CEDAW Committee (November 2015)
- UN Commission on the Status of Women Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 20th Anniversary Review: San Francisco Regional Input (August 2014)
- Report on Sex-Based Discrimination in the American Workplace Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (October 2013)