2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
ANDREA SHORTER
President
KAY GULBENGAY
Vice President
DORKA KEEHN
Commissioner
CAROLENE MARKS
Commissioner
KATHERINE MUNTER
Commissioner
JULIE SOO
Commissioner
EMILY MURASE, PhD
Executive Director
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COMMISSION STRATEGIC PLANNNING RETREAT MINUTESFriday, November 20, 2009
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Rosenberg Foundation
131 Steuart Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94105
Members Present: Staff Present:
President Andrea Shorter Executive Director Emily Murase
Vice President Kay Gulbengay Senior Policy Analyst Ann Lehman
Commissioner Dorka Keehn Grants Administrator Ann Lehman
Commissioner Katherine Munter Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Commissioner Julie Soo Graduate Intern Mariya Taher
Excused: Commissioner Carolene Marks
** Public comment was taken throughout the meeting. **
I. Welcome
President Andrea Shorter called the meeting to order at 9:00 am. President Shorter welcomed Commissioners, Department Staff, and public attendees. She introduced Dr. Julianna Hynes, the day’s meeting facilitator.
Action: Approve Agenda.
ms/s/c (Gulbengay/Munter/Unanimous)
No public comment.
II. Update from the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women
Marily Mondejar, President of the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women, presented a “2009 Year in Review of the Friends, which included a financial report as of October 31, 2009, an update on the Friends’ activities since March, 2009, and an overview of the 2010 Strategic Plan. Ms. Mondejar noted that there is room on the board for more members and encouraged the Commissioners to recommend prospective board members.
III. Review Goals and Agenda for the Day
Commissioners and attendees introduced themselves. Dr. Hynes reviewed the goals and agenda for the day.
Goals:
1. Preliminary adoption of the 2010 Strategic Plan.
2. Identify leadership roles for each Commissioner.
3. Plan out commission meetings for the next 18 months.
IV. Approval of Minutes
President Shorter asked Commissioners to review the minutes. Minor corrections were suggested.
Action: Approved amended minutes from October 28, 2009.
m/s/c (Shorter/Keehn/Unanimous)
No public comment.
V. Exercise: UN Assessment of Gender Equality in Cities
Executive Director Murase walked participants through a Gender Equality and Government Self-Assessment, developed by the UN Training Institute. Participants were asked to individually rate both the department and the city along 13 gender equity criteria. San Francisco is far ahead of many other cities in the United States and can set the example for the rest of the country. The group discussed how to have the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted throughout the rest of the country.
VI. Session I: Review of Strategic Plan
Senior Policy Analyst Ann Lehman presented an update of the San Francisco Gender Equality Initiative that included an overview of the current state of women in the workplace. Income disparities were reviewed by job categories and education levels. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act and Employment and Compensation principles were also presented. Finally, the UN Global Compact project and the Guide on Gender and Sustainability Reporting were discussed.
Commissioners noted that disaggregated data was needed to get a better picture of gender pay equity for women in San Francisco as the data presented (which was obtained from the Shriver Report and the US Census) did not provide a clear picture. Although women have made many strides forward, it was highlighted that women still have a ways to go in receiving equal pay. There are some organizations throughout the US focusing on this issue, yet a large enough number are not yet organized around this topic.
The Department will be meeting with the Mayor's Office in the next couple of weeks to discuss the analysis of the gender analysis of City Departments.
Dr. Murase also provided and update on the SEIU layoffs. The Department of Public Health has had deep budget cuts and unfortunately the majority of the positions that are being cut are held by women and minorities. Part of this impact reflects the fact that the Department of Public Health, itself, is largely composed of women and minority employees. Of the 500 layoffs, there are expected to be only 100 people being separated from the city because senior employees have right to other positions. The City provides 5 years of health coverage for those employees who are being laid off, as long as they remain on a holdover list and have not accepted a position elsewhere.
VII. Session II: Review of Strategic Plan
Grants Administrator Carol Sacco provided an overview of the Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Grants Program allocations and explained that, from the Department's entire budget, 80% goes to the VAW Grants Program. Dr. Murase announced that the Department has been instructed to propose budget cuts that could affect the current funding levels. Commissioner Munter expressed how important it is to get Partner Agency feedback to creatively come up with solutions for the budget cuts. Commissioners agreed that it was important to make the budget situation transparent, and receive feedback from the agencies.
Emberly Cross with the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic expressed that it was a good idea to have joint meetings with Commissioners and Partner Agencies when advocating for funding or addbacks from the Mayor's Office and Board of Supervisors. Many of the Partner Agencies are working in a crisis mode as they have received cuts on the State and Federal level as well.
Commissioners agreed that it is important to closely partner and join forces with funded agencies in advocating to the Mayor's Office and Board of Supervisors. The protection of safety net services for women survivors of violence.
President Shorter noted that the Commission and the needs to also show the other important policy issues that we work on such as the GEP, Human Trafficking, Gender Budgeting and Analysis and CEDAW. The fact that the White House Council on Women and Girls has sought out the guidance of the Department demonstrates the value and impact of our work.
Commissioner Soo commented on the importance of the Department measuring its progress on achieving goals and challenged the group to ask, how do we know we’re successful? One way, she said, the Department would know that it is successful in its domestic violence efforts is to stabilize or lower the number of domestic violence cases in San Francisco.
VIII. Session III: Review of Strategic Plan
Dr. Murase presented the Budget & Administration portion of the Strategic Plan. As mentioned, the Department has been asked to make drastic budget cuts. Dr. Murase explained that she cannot afford to cut staff as we are already one of the smallest Departments, with less than 5 FTE. Dr. Murase announced that Department has received a $4,000 grant for an intern from the Pacific Asian American Bay Area Coalition who will be working at the Department beginning in January for 6 months. The Office of Immigrant Affairs has asked the Department to assist with the language training of city personnel in responding to domestic violence. The Commission discussed pending budget cuts and how to protect the services the Department provides.
IX. Session IV
The group summarized the day with the following thoughts on each section of the Strategic Plan:
Women’s Human Rights
· Women’s rights need stronger safeguards.
· There is an opportunity to position DOSW as the leader in women’s human rights.
· There is an opportunity to bring national attention to CEDAW in San Francisco.
· There is a need for disaggregated data in the pay equity studies.
· There is a opportunity and need to frame issues as urgent.
· Senior women are receiving low wages, no healthcare, and there is an attack on pensions.
Health and Safety
· There is currently a proposed five year waiting period for immigrants to receive healthcare and that is not acceptable from the Department’s perspective.
· At the Department of Public Health, there is a lack of overall focus on healthcare for women since the loss of a Women’s Health Coordinator.
· Trafficking is still a big issue.
· Pre-natal health needs additional attention.
· There is a lack of focus on safety issues on affordable housing for women.
· There is a tendency to focus services on women of child-bearing age.
· Senior women are targets for financial fraud and identity theft.
· Women in positions in which they interact with the public are without healthcare and are prone to receive and pass diseases because they are less likely to receive treatment and cannot afford to take time off.
· Mothers cannot afford to keep their children home when the children are sick due to lack of childcare resources and the inability to take time off.
· There is a lack of safety for women in senior facilities.
· We are already in a state of emergency and need to change the conversation – we need to come up with innovative policies and strategies to shift the paradigm.
Department
· We need to engage more women and girls.
· What are the essential things that the women in SF need?
o Go after those things and achieve them without compromise.
o Ensure that the women are thriving and not just living.
o The department already addresses:
§ Freedom from violence
§ Economic independence
· Currently the Department does not have the resources or support for implementation of several issues (e.g. adoption of CEDAW).
o Must demonstrate consequences in order to get the resources or support.
· Strategically, how do we want to package things?
· What are the metrics for success?
o E.g. stabilize domestic violence numbers
From the above recap, Commissioners were encouraged to incorporate these issues and concerns into their focal areas for the year.
Commissioners reviewed the current policy areas and signed up to support the various areas.
Katherine Munter Justice and Courage
Carolene Marks / Julie Soo (secondary role) Health
Julie Soo Economic Opportunity
Kay Gulbengay Human Trafficking
Andrea Shorter Department Budget
Open for New Commissioner CEDAW
Violence Against Women Grants Program A committee of 2-3 Commissioners (Julie Soo secondary role)
Commissioners agreed to attend 5 events a year to support the Department and bring awareness to the various work of the Department/Commission.
Action: Motion to preliminarily Adopt the Strategic Plan with revisions as requested by Commissioners.
m/s/c (Keehn/Gulbengay/Unanimous)
No public comment.
Staff will review the plan and final approval will be made at the next Commission meeting.
X. Session V: Meeting Planning
Commissioners discussed and planned out the meetings for the 2010 – 2011 Commission meetings.
Date Issue
January 2010 Budget Approval
February 2010 CEDAW Report
*Women’s History Month Resolutions*
March 2010 Joint Meeting with Police Commission
April 2010 Gender Equity Principles
May 2010 Department of Public Health
June 2010 Joint Meeting with Small Businesses
July 2010 Gender Analysis
August 2010 Human Rights Commission
September 2010 Gender Analysis
October 2010 Senior Women
November 2010 Strategic Planning
December 2010 Performance Evaluations
January 2011 Budget Approval
February 2011 Gender Analysis
March 2011 Youth in Foster Care
April 2011 Gender Analysis
May 2011 Safe Housing
June 2011 SF Collaboration on Human Trafficking
Family Violence will be addressed throughout the calendar year.
XI. Closing Remarks/Evaluation
Dr. Hynes thanked the Commission, staff, and the public for their participation and hard work. She noted that this is where the real work will begin.
Dr. Murase stated that her performance evaluation will be reviewed at the December Commission meeting and he distributed supporting documents.
Action: Adjourn Meeting
m/s/c (Keehn/Gulbengay/Unanimous)
The meeting adjourned at 2:10 pm.
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