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CEDAW

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CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO TASK FORCE FOR THE LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

MINUTES FOR APRIL 25, 2001 MEETING

1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Emily Murase, Chair called the meeting to order.

Task Force Members          Staff                              Public & Department Staff
Dorothy Yee                    Ann Lehman                     Ann Courtright
Ken Theisen                    Christina Neuner           Nancy Gonchar
Emily Murase
Myrna Lopez

2. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
There was no quorum to take action.

3. ADOPTION OF MINUTES

q Minutes of meetings on February 28, 2001
There was no quorum to take action.

4. OLD BUSINESS

q DISCUSSION ITEM: Staff progress report on citywide work-life survey.
Ann Lehman gave an update on the survey. The deadline for returning the survey was March 31, 2001. A reminder letter was sent the end of March and, thus far, thirty departments have responded to the survey (see attached list) with 5-6 more on the way. Staff has also been calling the other city departments as a reminder. The response has been very positive and enthusiastic. Women have been particularly interested in the survey. Men have been participating as well. The Controller’s office has volunteered to help by setting up a system in Excel format to compile the information. A timeline is being planned to complete the collection and compilation of the information. We hope to have a report and recommendations by the end of June.

q ACTION ITEM/SCHEDULE ITEM: Review of schedule and protocols for the review of each department’s gender analysis (Rent Board, Art Commission, Adult Probation, and Environment) and monitoring of action plans (Department of Public Works and Juvenile Probation).
Due to time constraints, there was no discussion on this item.

q DISCUSSION ITEM: Report on public awareness campaign.
Ann Lehman reported that she met with the CEDAW committee of the Santa Cruz Commission on the Status of Women and also gave a report to the Commissioners on March 8, 2001. Santa Cruz is working on its own local adoption of CEDAW. However, it is an elaborate process and there needs to be more education before it is implemented. The current plan is to hold public hearings in February 2002. The group in Santa Cruz was very eager to hear about San Francisco’s experiences and the lessons we have learned about the process.

q Ken Theisen and Ann Lehman met with representatives from the US-China Peoples Friendship Association in March, 2001 and discussed issues of violence against women and CEDAW. Despite many cultural differences, women in both countries face similar problems.

5. NEW BUSINESS

q ACTION ITEM/DISCUSSION ITEM: Report from the Arts Commission CEDAW liaison on the department’s gender analysis report and discussion of Task Force recommendations.
Nancy Gonchar, Deputy Director, reviewed the Arts Commission Gender Analysis Report (see attached). Ms. Gonchar summarized the Arts Commission’s programs and services. The department’s budget is approaching $9 million. The department has had success with administering gender equitable programs, particularly the Community Arts and Education and Cultural Equity Grants programs, both of which have a focus on women. There was a discussion of why the arts in the United States are not taken very seriously or funded very extensively. Ms. Gonchar said that the arts are often perceived as a "women’s field." Although she does not necessarily agree with that notion, she admitted that directors in arts fields are often men. As part of the gender analysis, the cultural issue of women vs. men in the arts emerged. The group agreed that this is a bigger issue that goes beyond just the Arts Commission alone, and includes what work women vs. men do, who has higher education in the arts, etc.

The Department reported extensive outreach for job searches and diverse hiring panels. Ann Courtright, Human Services Personnel Officer, reported that the Department recently hired a woman of color for a high-level management position. 75% of staff are women and 66% of managers are women.

The Arts Commission described its best practices to include the inclusion of programs targeting women, a high degree of trust and professionalism among employees, and a work environment that accommodated flexible schedules and sensitivity to parental responsibilities. The Department is working with the Department of Human Resources to complete a long overdue reclassification analysis of staff by which most staff salaries are expected to increase to market pay levels. Areas of improvement include: expanding intern and mentorship’s programs, publicizing gender work that is already being done, looking into compressed workweek schedules, and evaluating the timing of morning Street Artists lottery so it will not conflict with parental responsibilities.
§ Ms. Gonchar said that the most challenging part of the gender analysis was the issue of time. All staff participated in the human rights training with a gender perspective. For meaningful change, the gender analysis should be enforced citywide and not just by City departments.
§ The Arts Commission is already collecting data on gender for the Department of Human Resources. And, in some areas, for instance the review panels, gender would be easy to identify. It is more difficult to collect gender and other disaggregated data from the grants programs and the cultural centers, where the grantees and center operators would have to gather that data.
§ Recommendations by the Task Force were that: disaggregated data should be collected not necessarily in every area but in particular areas for which the collection process is not too labor-intensive, as well as in program areas which gave been very successful (Street Artists program). Ms. Gonchar expressed interest in developing a comprehensive evaluation process for the Department’s programs that would produce gender and other disaggregated data.
§ Access to the Street Artists lottery was addressed. The group discussed ways of providing easier access to artists to find out about the daily lottery winners (via phone line, internet, etc.). Ms. Gonchar explained that the lottery, as it is currently run, is considered a fair process by most participants.
§ The Arts Commission does its best to make panels, committees, boards, etc. as diverse as possible, thereby keeping in line with diversity goals for gender, race, etc.
§ There is a higher turnover rate for entry-level positions because there is a low turnover rate for management positions, so people tend to move on to different arts organizations.
§ Issues raised in the employee focus groups included health and safety and evening transportation. Employees also discussed what some perceive as a shift in the Arts Commission’s preferences from public art towards community-based art due to changes in the gender composition and interest of current commissioners. Additionally some employees queried if the difficulties that sometimes arose in collecting the mandated art funds as a percent of public works projects was gender based, or a perception of arts as expendable.
§ Regarding public sculpture, the concern was raised that the Arts Commission look into the history (e.g., possibly violent, etc.) of individuals for whom art tributes (e.g., statues) are proposed. One person noted that there are currently public tributes to individuals who were known batterers. The importance of honoring positive role models was emphasized. The Arts Commission attempts to contextualize historical monuments which may currently be controversial.
§ The Department advertises its grant programs through the cultural centers, mailings targeting arts organizations, announcements in art magazines, etc.
§ Ms. Gonchar will revise the Department’s report before it is submitted to the CEDAW Task Force.

DOSW Staff was asked to report on funding for the arts from other City & County sources of funds, outside of the Arts Commission’s budget.

q ACTION ITEM: Adoption of gender analysis response and recommendations for the Rent Board.
This item will be discussed at the next meeting.

q REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT’S REVISED GENDER ANALYSIS
Due to time constraints, there was no discussion on this item.

q DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEM: Retreat to plan future CEDAW work.
Due to time constraints, there was no discussion on this item.

q DISCUSSION ITEM: The appointments of Task Force members and designees.
The terms of the following Task Force members have expired, but will be submitted for reappointment at the next Commission meeting: Ken Theisen, community member familiar with violence against women; Cosette Thompson, community member for human rights; Krishanti Dharmaraj, alternate Youmna Chala, community members for human rights. Patti Chang is no longer able to attend meetings of the Task Force on a regular basis. Openings now exist for the labor, health, and employment and economic community positions. Staff is reviewing recommendations for replacement of these positions, which will be forwarded to the Commission on the Status of Women for appointment.

Meeting Information

CEDAW