Meeting Information

Emily Murase thanked the working group for their dedicated efforts. Members consist of staff, Rebecca Rolfe and Rosario Navarrette, and Krishanti Dharmaraj, Myrna Lopez, Sonia Melara, Cosette Thompson and facilitator Yolanda Alindor (whose work was funded by the Women’s Foundation). A preliminary draft of the Five-Year Action Plan was presented by the group. What follows are discussion highlights regarding the vision and goals.

Vision Statement: The local implementation of the United Nations Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will result in women and girls fully exercising their human rights including an:

o adequate standard of living,

o bodily integrity and

o health;

while acknowledging the multiple identities of women and girls including race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality, nationality and immigration status.

Full implementation of CEDAW would ensure dignity and respect for women and girls in both public and private spaces; and end systemic forms of discrimination and violence towards women and girls in the U.S.

· This strategic plan is intended to provide a map to move expeditiously towards the implementation of CEDAW in the City and County of San Francisco.

· Overtime, all aspects of public and private sector will fully integrated CEDAW into their systems and structures; and

· Everything that happens to San Francisco women and girls will be interpreted and acted upon using the CEDAW conceptual framework, analysis and language.

Discussion: Task Force members primarily spoke about the need to define commonly understood human right words such as adequate standard of living (which includes rights to employment, education and civil and social rights), bodily integrity (which includes a right to be free of violence) and health (which includes a right to reproductive freedom). There was a suggestion to include a definitions section.

The goals and objectives were separated from the specific recommended tasks and timelines, as each task has a potential resource issue that DOSW staff will need to prioritize on a yearly basis. General feedback includes a need to address the fact that the plan prioritizes objectives with in broad goals and a "wish list" of work not included in the plan.

Goal: CEDAW analysis and framework is fully integrated into all of the work of the Commission and Department on the Status of Women.

Discussion: Commissioners, the new executive director, and staff will be trained on human rights soon and prior to the July COSW meeting when the Five-Year Action Plan is scheduled to be heard.

Goal: Increase the number of women in decision-making roles and positions of authority.

Discussion: Be sure to include "all" in the objective regarding increasing the number of women commissioners and ensuring that the appointments reflect the diversity and balance of population in the City and County of San Francisco.

Goal: Review federal state and local laws and public policies to identify systemic and structural discrimination against women and girls.

Goal: Every city department integrates gender to achieve full equality for men and women.

Goal: Increase the public awareness of CEDAW principles and the local CEDAW Ordinance in the San Francisco communities.

Goal: Increase the opportunities for non-traditional and higher-paid employment for women.

Goal: Develop and expand work/life policies that impact on women at all levels; ensure their availability to all women employees.

Discussion: Extensive discussion on how to include "questioning the way work is structured in today’s society" and how this does or does not work for women. In particular, members wanted to expand the notion of work/life to include unpaid work. Public comments included.

Goal: Increase women’s access to financial resources, including bank accounts, loans, mortgages, and other forms of financial services.

Goal: Increase criminal justice, social service, and other intervention strategies and make them more accessible to women and girls who experience violence.

Goal: Increase the viable, accessible options for preventing violence against women and girls.

Goal: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and accessibility of the service delivery system (both governmental and nonprofit agencies) for both the prevention and intervention services.

Goal: Increase access to health care and wellness information to all women and girls, regardless of insurance, family status, ability to pay, or immigration status.

Goal: Monitor and evaluate the health care systems (both governmental and nonprofit agencies) to ensure they are comprehensive and accessible.

Discussion: Health care goals are ambitious and we should explore strategic partnering with community based organizations, such as the Latino Health Forum, as well as, City Departments, such as Women’s Services at the Public Department of Health.

Goal: Increase the knowledge and visibility about the differential impacts of the environment on the health and well being of women and girls.

CEDAW COMMITTEE

The CEDAW Task Force will sunset on December 31, 2002, to be replaced by a Committee with a different membership and structure as outlined below:

Membership: The Committee will have seven members

• The Mayor or his/her designee

• The President of the Board of Supervisors or his/her designee

• The President of the Commission on the Status of Women or his/her designee

• Four members at large who are nominated by the CEDAW Committee and appointed by:

  o The Mayor (one committee member)

  o The Board of Supervisors (one committee member)

  o The Commission on the Status of Women (two committee members)

• Committee members will be expected to have a commitment to the values and principles of CEDAW, and knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas: human rights issues, employment/economics, violence against women, or health. Committee members will represent the public stakeholders, ensuring that implementation of the local CEDAW Ordinance positively impacts the lives of San Francisco women and girls.

Leadership:

• The Committee will elect a Chair of the Committee and Vice Chair.

• Terms for the Chair and Vice Chair will be one year (twelve months)

• No person may serve more than two consecutive years as Chair or more than two consecutive years as Vice Chair.

Authority:

• The CEDAW Committee reports to the Mayor, The Board of Supervisors and the Commission on the Status of Women.

• The CEDAW Committee’s authority extends to making recommendations regarding implementation of local CEDAW Ordinance to the Mayor, Board of Supervisors and COSW.

  Discussion: Task Forced reviewed a number of different options for creating the Committee:

  1) Ordinance amendment

  2) Independent of CCSF (e.g. Public/Private Partnership) - Performance Partnerships

  3) Through approval of the Action Plan or a Memorandum of Understanding.

  Discussion included the ideas that it would be helpful to include a member from the private for profit sector, and to ensure that each representative member has relevant experience and knowledge in the areas of human rights and their respective areas of expertise. Some felt that a single two year term may not be long enough. The draft structure includes a rotating chair. The need to define a monitoring system was noted.

OLD BUSINESS

• DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: Schedule of CEDAW Task Force meetings and monitoring reports for department’s gender analysis progress reports.

  Members discussed inviting the Art Commission to the June meeting. Meetings were changed to start at 2:00 p.m.

   

• DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: Update on national and international CEDAW events.

  Ms. Dharmaraj reported that Senators Boxer and Biden have called for a hearing on the UN CEDAW Treaty on May 15, 2002. Due to the current political climate, very few individuals are being asked to speak. However, organizers in Washington D.C. are hopeful it will pass out of committee. Ms. Dharmaraj also reported that at the UN CEDAW hearings next January (2003), she hoped to invite staff of the Department on the Status of Women to help celebrate a five-year anniversary of the adoption of CEDAW in San Francisco.

   

• DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEM: Report on public awareness campaign.

  Ms. Melara reported on her presentation to a group of women from Santa Cruz on Sunday, April 21, 2002 regarding the Santa Cruz Commission on the Status of Women’s efforts to adopt a CEDAW ordinance. The drafting of the ordinance is in the beginning stages. A large section relates to violence against women and Santa Cruz County has a separate Commission on this issue. Ms. Melara also reported on a recent study that indicated women with children make less money than women without children and less than men without children in similar jobs.

  Ms. Dharmaraj, reported that WILD will be giving CEDAW trainings; one will be in New York City to the City Council on May 6, 2002, the other will be in Los Angeles.

  Ms. Rolfe reported she will be going to Sweden in May to make a presentation on San Francisco’s CEDAW experience.

PUBLIC COMMENT

The public participated in the above discussions. Public comment is reflected accordingly.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

None.

ADJOURN

The meeting was adjourned.