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CEDAW

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CEDAW TASK FORCE

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

RETREAT MINUTES - JANUARY 13, 2000

1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order and introductions were made.

MEMBERS PRESENT          STAFF PRESENT                    PUBLIC

Patti Chang                              Ann Lehman, COSW                    Shirley Bryer Black
Youmna Chlala                    Latika Malkani, COSW          Natalie Britton
Krishanti Dharmaraj                    Sonia Melara, COSW
Rebecca Prozan
Robin Levi
Myrna Lopez
Emily Murase
Sandra Ruiz
Patty Tamura
Ken Theisen
Cosette Thompson
Pansy Waller
Dorothy Yee

2. ADOPTION OF AGENDA m/s/p with changes
The Agenda was adopted with changes as incorporated in these minutes.

3. NEW BUSINESS
DISCUSSION ITEM: Introductions/ icebreaker. What do you see as your role with the CEDAW Task Force? The icebreaker was changed to the following question: What worked/what hasn’t worked regarding the Task Force? (30 minutes). Following are some of the comments, along with the number of times that each comment was made:
Innovative/ground breaking,Impact of gender analysis on departments (2); Remaking of decisions/ People not showing up (4); Changing focus/ depending on who shows up,Different vision/ clarity goals/ consult audience/ different commission views/ boxed in (4; ,CEDAW passed/ Gender Analysis accomplished; Time issues (3) / Too short deadline (3) / Work load material,Diversity of Task Force/ Commitment of people (4); Conscious, not down to staff of department + also community (2); Working with diversity of people, vision into reality (2); More planning + maintain momentum, More education necessary monitoring budgets + implement recommendations (1); Human Rights needs more integration in process,Report process needs broad support from outside comm; ,Media Access improved / Email distribution may help with communication,Support from board/ Mayo;, Coming in late- How to get labor input;Who has the real agents of change in departments? (2);Better understanding of how departments work;Who is Audience?;Enjoyed work on women’s issue;Role of Commission on the Status of Women vs. Task Force

¨ DISCUSSION ITEM: Long-term goals of CEDAW implementation in San Francisco. (45 minutes)

Exercise: Participants write down responses to the following on paper, to share:
a. Vision for equity
b. What are the long-term goals of CEDAW implementation?
c. What is the Task Force’s role in this endeavor?
d. What is the COSW’s role in this endeavor?
e. How does gender analysis fit into these goals?
f. Integrated plan for women and girls
g. Role of the community

Following are comments from participants, grouped under the categories a through d above:

Vision for equity:
Full representation of people;Push principles as far as possible; Eliminate COSW because no need; Different needs of women + girls, including their multiple identities, integrated throughout city decision-making process (including interactions with private entities, like contracting) Change in practices will change attitudes/ Raise consciousness; Proactive beyond traditional discrimination issues; Holistic view of each gender needs;Links between violence against women + girls & access to health care + discrimination; Inclusive of men

What are the long-term goals of CEDAW implementation?
Include all communities’ (5 yr.), i.e., homeless, transgender, undocumented, Native American & young people; Non traditional employment of young people;Expand Legislation to include other treaties (Children, torture, race, civil + economic rights); Human rights integrated into decision making of city 1) Budget reflect Human Rights 2) Services3) Employment; Beyond city: Private sector/ non-profit/ Media; Mayor spokesperson for CEDAW; Other cities improve model of San Francisco; Real Practice changes within Departments of G.A.gender analysis; Remain Realistic with Goals; Departments we have worked with Promoting Process Themselves; Independent of Task Force/COSW; Model for private sector; Education Human Rights throughout City;Public Relations Campaign; Regulations for Implementation

What is the Task Force’s role in this endeavor?
Broad vision of work/Ordinance;Public relations for CEDAW
Broad monitoring of CEDAW; Less detail work (COSW doing this); Public education and monitoring role of the implementation;Practical changes to implement CEDAW within departments;Set standard for work;Communication to policy makers;Only the City at this stage; See members sit down with the departments/ creating the political climate to make things possible (Charan)/ have to do the nitty-gritty work; Monitor (countries report to experts; Task force asks questions and gets the report from the Departments);Monitoring NOT implementing; Advocates for change; Advisor and experts for certain Commissions and issues; Capacity building/ institutional change: who in the City can begin to implement this?;To give advice/input to the staff (e.g., HRC has several advisory committees to advise the Commission) - implementation is left to the staff;Must be hands on for a certain time (for organization perspectives);Taking a look at the power inequities within our system;Task force has to be involved in implementation;Model around Affirmative Action reports may work with some changes

What is the COSW’s role in this endeavor?
Monitoring;Staffing to Task Force;Institutional policy department
Documentation of the process - gives Task force something both to monitor and for which to advocate;Departments should be doing the gender analysis themselves, and gender analysis needs to be integrated into all the decision-making;COSW to provide technical assistance to departments;COSW participates in monitoring;At some point, let the gender analysis go
COSW providing some continuity to this process;Task Force can provide more impetus for outside change/ community advocacy;COSW throws the public forum and the Task Force strategies about who should be at these forums;Task Force sets the policy and the staff implements - use your expertise to review the gender analysis - Task Force sets up the forms - need directions to come from the Mayor’s Office to the Task force - Task force can then review the reports;Task Force can set up a tracking program;Concern about putting COSW in a position that they cannot/ will not take without reprisal: how much can the COSW really buck the system? Without the support of the community? Fully implementing CEDAW really bucks the system;Tension about whom makes the final decision;Really provide the technical assistance to answer questions;Resolving it amongst the Task Force;Departments write the report: burden on the department to write to us;Who will be making decisions in-between meetings?;Review all action items at the end of each meeting;Use the guidelines to teach the departments to write the report;Need training at the beginning;Updates in between monthly meetings;Regulations on how to implement the Ordinance (can look at this with the re-authorization)

Items e, f and g above were not discussed due to time limitations.

The Task force elected to complete an exercise in order to resolve what happens when the Task Force and the COSW have joint responsibility for an action, such as the guidelines. To resolve this, the Task Force elected to form a Drafting Committee, and to give the decision-making authority around the drafting of the guidelines to the committee. The committee will review the guidelines in full, and will bring any areas of controversy and/or concern to the full Task Force. The membership of this subcommittee should represent all the different conflicting voices. The following were elected to the subcommittee: Myrna Lopez (budget), Youmna Chlala (human rights), Dorothy Yee (human resources), and Ann Lehman/ Latika Malkani (COSW staff). COSW staff will also send the draft guidelines document to Task Force member Patricia Chang for her comments.

The Task Force also formed a separate subcommittee to iron out the role of the Task Force vis-à-vis the role of the COSW. The following were elected to the subcommittee: Cosette Thompson (human rights), Natalie Britton (public member, Aide to Supervisor Barbara Kaufman), and Ann Lehman/ Latika Malkani (COSW staff).

Both committees will meet and present at the next Task Force meeting.

¨ DISCUSSION ITEM: Audience & Community Voice. (30 minutes)
a. Who is our audience? For CEDAW implementation in general? For gender analysis of City departments to determine if they are implementing the CEDAW principles? For education purposes? Is it the City’s clients? Is it community groups? Is it City decision-makers? Is it City line employees? Is it the international players? Is it the U.S. Congress to encourage them to ratify the treaty? What should be our priorities in this arena?

b. Who is the community? Is it the representatives on the Task Force? Is it community-based organizations? It is the clients/ service users? Is it members of the public?

c. What role should community voices have? In the education process? In the gender analysis of departments? Should we have a "shadow"-like report from local nonprofits?

The above was not discussed due to time limitations.

¨ BREAK (15 minutes)

¨ DISCUSSION ITEM: Beyond Gender Analysis: Expanding CEDAW Implementation. (30 minutes)

¨ What does "work toward implementing the principles of CEDAW in the private sector" mean?

¨ How best can we ensure public awareness of our work as we progress?

¨ How do we ensure sufficient funding to do all the work?

The above was not discussed due to time limitations.

¨ DISCUSSION ITEM: Where do we go from here? Action items for next meeting? Planning for all of the above? (What, Who, When, Where, How) (15 minutes)

The above was not fully discussed due to time limitations. However, future Task Force agenda items should include subcommittee presentations, the budget process, the continuation of the Task Force, and forming a Strategy Subcommitte (Volunteers include Patti Chang, Kristanti Dharmaraj and Patti Tamura).

6. PUBLIC COMMENT

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS

8. ADJOURNMENT

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Meeting Information

CEDAW