2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
KATHERINE MUNTER
President
CAROLENE MARKS
Vice President
ANDREA EVANS
Commissioner
KAY GULBENGAY
Commissioner
DORKA KEEHN
Commissioner
JING XU LEE
Commissioner
ANDREA SHORTER
Commissioner
EMILY MURASE, PhD
Executive Director
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COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Members Present Staff Present
Commissioner Andrea Evans Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD Commissioner Kay Gulbengay Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall Vice President Carolene Marks Policy Analyst Anu Menon
President Katherine Munter Senior Policy Analyst Ann Lehman
Commissioner Andrea Shorter Policy Analyst Jill Tregor
Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Absent: Commissioner Dorka Keehn and Commissioner Jing Xu Lee
I. CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA CHANGES
President Munter called the meeting to order at 5:10 pm and welcomed all present.
Action: Approved agenda. m/s/c/ (Evans/Gulbengay/Unanimous)
No public comment.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Action: Approved draft minutes from November 14, 2007.
m/s/c (Gulbengay/Evans/Unanimous)
No public comment.
Action: Approved amended draft minutes from December 13, 2007.
Commissioner Shorter requested that the December 13 minutes reflect that the Girls Committee was on hiatus for the month of December.
m/s/c (Shorter/Gulbengay/Unanimous)
III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT DISCUSSION
A. Executive Directors Report
Dr. Murase referred Commissioners to her written report and thanked Commissioner Gulbengay for her work with the CEDAW Private Sector Initiative. Dr. Murase also thanked Department staff for their assistance and support with the "Women's Call to Conversation" health meeting scheduled for January 31.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA
All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda and are considered to be routine by the Commission on the Status of Women. They will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item. Members of the public may speak on each item listed on the Consent Agenda.
A. Resolution Recognizing February as African American Heritage Month
B. Resolution Recognizing the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women Board of Directors
C. Resolution Recognizing Carmen Chu, Newest Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Action: To approve the Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (Gulbengay/Evans/Unanimous)
No public comment.
V. REPORTS
A. Health
Commissioner Marks reported that she traveled to Sacramento to work with legislators on the "Every Women Counts" initiative that provides free breast cancer screening. Commissioner Marks and Policy Analyst Jill Tregor are working with the Department of Public Health in planning a "Call to Conversation" on Women's Health that to be held on January 31 to discuss the work that is currently being done on women's health in San Francisco and the need to reinstate the Women's Health Coordinator, a position that was eliminated due to budget cuts several years ago.
B. Justice & Courage
Policy Analyst Jill Tregor reported that the Justice & Courage Governance Committee has recommended that 3 candidates be approved for membership to the Justice & Courage Oversight Panel. Once approved by the Oversight Panel, these candidates will be come to the February meeting for Commission approval.
As a result of the findings of the Domestic Violence Victim Safety and Accountability Audit, the District Attorney's Office has restarted its Stalking Taskforce, and the Oversight Panel will have a seat on the taskforce.
C. Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Grants Program
Dr. Murase reported that Grants Administrator Carol Sacco would be out of the office for a couple of weeks. Commissioners expressed their well wishes for Ms. Sacco. Currently the Human Rights Commission is reviewing the Request for Proposal (RFP). The Department hopes to release the RFP in mid-February.
D. Family Violence Council
Dr. Murase reported that the Family Violence Council held its 2nd quarterly meeting on January 17. The meeting, held at the Courthouse thanks to the sponsorship of Court Commissioner Marge Slaybaugh, was very well attended. The Council voted to approve to fill the 3 open memberships with the Superintendent of SFUSD, the Public Defender, and the Director of Animal Care and Control. The Council also welcomed Catherine Dodd, the newly appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Health and Human Services of the Mayor's Office.
E. Girls Committee
Policy Analyst Anu Menon reported that the Girls Committee continues to work on the Girl's Services Directory and will meet in February after a brief hiatus. Ms. Menon reported that the Department is recruiting members for the 4 vacant seats and that she has outreached the SFUSD, youth groups, the ACLU, and the Center for Young Women's Development.
F. Language Access and Association of California Commissions for Women
Commissioner Lee will provide a report at the February meeting.
G. U.N. Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Dr. Murase reported that as part of the CEDAW Private Sector Initiative, on Department Staff met with Calvert Asset Management and Verite on January 17 and 18 and a full report would be given tonight.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. CEDAW Private Sector Initiative
Policy Analyst Ann Lehman, Policy Analyst Anu Menon, Commissioner Gulbengay and Dr. Murase met with Calvert Asset Management and Verite to discuss implementing CEDAW in the private sector. Based in Washington D.C. Calvert is a major mutual funds company internationally recognized for its leadership on corporate social responsibility. Verite, based in Massachusetts, is an international human rights monitoring organization. In June 2004, Calvert, in partnership with the United Nations Development Fund for Women launched the Calvert Women's Principles, a global code of corporate conduct focused on empowering, advancing, and investing in women worldwide. Calvert was very interested in partnering with the Department in order to road test implementation of the Principles in the private sector.
Ms. Lehman and Ms. Menon reviewed the Gender Equality Principles for Private Enterprises.
1. Employment and Compensation - Adopting and implementing employment policies and practices that eliminate gender discrimination including recruitment, hiring, pay, and promotion.
2. Work-life balance and career development - Adopting and implementing policies and practices that enable work-life balance, education, and career and vocational development.
3. Health, safety, and freedom from violence - Adopting policies and procedures to secure the health, safety, and well being of workers.
4. Management and governance - Adopting and implementing policies to ensure equitable participation in management and governance.
5. Business, supply chain, and marketing practices - Adopting and implementing non-discriminatory business, supply chain, contracting, and marketing policies and practices.
6. Civic and community engagement - Adopting and implementing policies to promote equitable participation in civic life and freedom from all forms of discrimination and exploitation.
7. Transparency and accountability - Take concrete steps to attain gender equality in their operations and in their business and stakeholder relationships by adopting and implementing polices that are publicly disclosed and monitored.
These Principles will be accompanied by indicators that measure among companies who sign onto the Principles. The Department will convene these companies regularly to provide peer support and networking focused on implementing the Gender Equality Principals.
Calvert, Verite, and the Department will send out a joint letter to various companies announcing the collaboration and the Gender Equality Initiative for the Private Sector. Through the various contacts of these partners, a diverse selection of companies is expected to participate. The Department hopes to have a private sector roundtable event in May.
Commissioners discussed the significance of this initiative and expressed their wish that San Francisco-based companies participate. Commissioners also expressed concern over the subjectivity of some of the principles as a possible barrier for companies to sign-on. Dr. Murase explained that this is a pilot program that will be constantly refined during the initial implementation.
Action: Approved endorsing the collaboration with Calvert Asset Management and Verite.
m/s/c (Shorter/Marks//Unanimous)
Chivy Sok, Executive Director of Women's Institute of Leadership Development for Human Rights (WILD) expressed her gratitude to the Commission and the Department for taking these principles and making them concrete for a variety of contexts, beyond local government. San Francisco has always been the leader in CEDAW implementation, and this initiative will only continue the advancement of CEDAW. Ms. Sok volunteered to assist the Department with this initiative. Ms. Sok also announced that WILD is in the process of producing a 10-year report on CEDAW implementation in San Francisco and hopes to have the report ready by February. WILD would like to partner with the Department in the release of the report.
Commissioner Shorter thanked Chivy for WILD's leadership in San Francisco and expressed her wish that the work that is being done in San Francisco be replicated in other parts of the nation.
B. Adoption of the Budget for FY08-09
Dr. Murase reviewed the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008-2009 (FY08-09). She explained that in order to meet mandated budget reduction targets, the Department would need to reduce staffing by 7% and cut direct services by 6%. Commissioners were asked to approve mid-year cuts that were carefully designed so as not to impact exciting grantees.
Dr. Murase reported that, given the long list of budget cuts across departments, the Department will ask the Mayor to do a gender analysis of these cuts in order to identify their impact on women, minorities, and other groups.
Commissioners expressed their concerns the proposed cuts could possibly cripple the Department. President Munter emphasized the importance of the services provided by the Department and how the Commission is charter mandated to serve the women and girls of San Francisco. Commissioner Shorter expressed how important it is to meet with the Mayor and his staff to explain the disastrous effects of the cuts. Commissioner Gulbengay explained that it is very important to show the number of women and girls being served by the Department. Commissioners agreed that this is a key opportunity to showcase the important work that is being done with the CEDAW Private Sector Initiative, the work of the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel, and the impact that the Department's work is having in the city's response to domestic violence.
Commissioners agreed that President Munter should send a statement to the Mayor's Office on behalf of the Commission explaining the Commission's position on the budget cuts.
Action: Approve proposed mid-year cuts as they will not affect existing contracts for the Violence Against Women Prevention/Intervention Grants Program.
m/s/c (Marks/Munter/Shorter Opposed/Approved)
No public comment.
Action: Not to approve the proposed FY08-09 budget as cuts to the Department will have a damaging effect on serving the needs of the women and girls of San Francisco.
m/s/c (Shorter/Munter/Gulbengay Opposed/Approved)
No public comment.
Commissioner Gulbengay requested clarification of what budget will be submitted to the Mayor's Office and the Board of Supervisors. Dr. Murase explained that historically the Commission has not approved the proposed budget to reflect its objection to cuts to the Department budget, but that a budget including the cuts would be forwarded to the Mayor's Office and the Board of Supervisors.
Action: To reconsider the previous motion.
m/s/c/ (Shorter/Munter/Unanimous)
No public comment.
Action: Not to approve the proposed FY08-09 budget.
m/s/c (Shorter/Munter/Unanimous)
No public comment.
VII. OLD BUSINESS
A. Update Commission Meeting Themes
Dr. Murase explained that in conversation with President Munter and Vice President Marks, they have determined that it would be beneficial to the Commission to have presentations on existing work that is being done by the Department. President Munter explained that such presentations would provide Commissioners information to be better advocates for the Department.
Vice President Marks requested that agendas be circulated to Commissioners 3 weeks in advance to allow Commissioners to provide input.
VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT
No public comment.
IX. ADJOURN
Motion to adjourn meeting. m/s/c (Marks/Shorter/Unanimous)
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm.
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
Explanatory documents: For copies of explanatory documents listed in this agenda, and other related materials received by COSW, please contact the Department on the Status of Women at 25 Van Ness Ave, Suite 130, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: 415-252-2570, fax: 415-252-2575. Also, to the extent possible, documents will be available on the COSW website at http://www.sfgov.org/cosw.
Know Your Rights under the Sunshine Ordinance(Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code)
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Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code § 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 220, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: 415-252-3100, fax: 415-252-3112; web site: sfgov.org/ethics.
