September 21, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
5:00 PM
City Hall, Room 421
Members Present Staff Present
President Kay Gulbengay Executive Director Emily Murase
Commissioner Alicia Gamez Policy Director Ann Lehman
Commissioner Becca Prowda Senior Gender Policy Analyst Anu Menon
Commissioner Nancy Kirshner- Grants Administrator Carol Sacco
Rodriguez Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Commissioner Stephanie Simmons
Commissioner Andrea Shorter
Excused: Julie Soo
I. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES
President Gulbengay called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm. President Gulbengay thanked the Department Staff and the Friends for all of the amazing and success events we hosted during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
Action: To approve the meeting agenda.
m/s/c (Gamez/Prowda/Unanimous)
No public comment.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Gulbengay asked Commissioners to review the minutes from June 22, 2011.
Action: Approve minutes from June 22, 2011.
m/s/c (Simmons/Gamez/Unanimous)
No public comment.
III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
A. Executive Director's Report
Dr. Murase directed Commissioners to her written report. A highlight of the past month was the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Women and the Economy Summit, convened by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that brought together over 800 delegates representing the 21 APEC Member Economies, September 13 - 16, in
· Monday, September 12: The Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women hosted a panel discussion moderated by Janet Reilly on our groundbreaking work in advancing women’s human rights, a cocktail reception for APEC WES delegates, and local women leaders, followed by a screening of Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s new documentary MissRepresentation. Over 100 women joined us for the evening, including guests from
· Tuesday, September 13: Staff attended 2 APEC WES parallel events. Ms. Lehman and Ms. Menon attended an event on women in the workplace sponsored by the
· Wednesday, September 14: The Department and the Friends hosted a luncheon with Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, Tina Tchen, Executive Director of the Council, and Deputy Director Avra Siegel. Other Obama Administration officials included Mary Ryckman of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, Small Business Administrator Ginger Lew, Deputy Director Danielle Gray of the National Economic Council. The same day, President Gulbengay, Vice President Soo, Commissioners Shorter and Gamez and I attended the opening ceremony for the APEC WES, featuring a keynote address by Ms. Jarrett.
· Thursday, September 15: The Canadian Consulate held a luncheon on “Closing the Economic Gender Gap,” featuring the Honorable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Status of Women Canada who was introduced by Consul General Cassie J. Doyle, the first woman to serve the Consul General of Canada in San Francisco. Dr. Murase was invited by Commissioner Becca Prowda to a dinner in honor of the WES delegates hosted by Levi Strauss later that day.
· Friday, September 16: The Department and the Friends partnered with the Bay Area Council and the Commonwealth Club to host 125 women and men who watched the live simulcast of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s keynote address at the APEC WES. The broadcast was followed by a policy dialogue about the draft APEC recommendations that Ms. Lehman authored with input from local leaders.
President Gulbengay thanked Dr. Murase and Department staff for their dedicated efforts related to the Women and the Economy Summit. Dr. Murase briefly reviewed the events and activities of the previous week. The Department received media attention for its work. Phil Bronstein's column in the San Francisco Chronicle (September 19) focused on the need to recruit men to address the challenges women face in the media and in the workplace. Policy Director Ann Lehman was interviewed by KQED on September 15 about the Gender Equality Principles Initiative, and Marily Mondejar, President of the Friends of the Commission, was interviewed by KTVU television.
B. Recommendations to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) on Women & the Economy
Dr. Murase provided an overview of the APEC Women & the Economy Summit and Policy Director Ann Lehman discussed the recommendations that were developed by local women leaders. If approved, the recommendations will be advanced to the Mayor and San Francisco Board of Supervisors and, eventually, the U.S. State Department as part of the drafting process for the APEC Leaders Declaration at the APEC Leaders meeting hosted by President Barack Obama in
Commissioners thanked Ms. Lehman for her work on developing the recommendations. Commissioner Gamez expressed concern about the persistent pay gap (women earn just $.77 to the dollar that men earn). Commissioner Shorter asked about the fundamental causes of the pay gap. Discussion focused on the need to encourage girls in the growth fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, and to train women to negotiate their starting salaries.
Action: To approve the recommendations to APEC with the option of strengthening the language.
m/s/c (Gamez/Kirschner-Rodriguez/Unanimous)
No public comment.
C. Nicole Gusman, UC Berkeley
Undergraduate Intern Nicole Gusman of UC Berkeley reported on her field research on her field research on community health in
Ms. Gusman explained that during her internship, she had the opportunity to review applications for the Department's Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention programs. She became curious about the programs describing cultural competent services provided to a client base that was heavily immigrant. She received a grant from UC Berkeley to conduct field research at
Ms. Gusman gave her recommendations for immigrant services targeting Malaysians in
1. Women as access points to convey social services.
2. Ask clients for preferred backgrounds of social service providers.
3. Involve people who are familiar with
4. Alcohol abuse programs should be sensitive to Muslim clients. Confidentiality is very important.
5. Evaluate and update services with Malaysian immigrants.
D. Combined Charities
Caely French, with the Friends of the Earth Foundation (www.foe.org), provided an overview of the Combined Charities Campaign. Ms. French explained that the “Heart of the City” Campaign provides a convenient opportunity for CCSF employees to learn about and donate participating organizations. Ms. French introduced herself. She discussed the EarthShare Federation which is an option for charitable giving. The member charities are focused on clean air and water, open space, global warming. David Brower founded Friends of the Earth in San Francisco and is now in 75 countries.
Carol Sacco is our Combined Charities Coordinator and Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White is this year's Campaign Chair. The overall city participation goal is 25%. In past years, the rate has been about 21%, raising over $1 million. Top donor departments have been the Airport and the Public Utilities Commission. Our Department has been recognized for 100% participation by staff, but we have never achieved 100% participation by Commissions. Dr. Murase encouraged all Commissioners to participate.
III. 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.
Action: To approve the Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (/Unanimous)
A. Resolution Recognizing Sally Al-Daher with the Arab Cultural Center
B. Resolution Recognizing the CEDAW Awardees
Dr. Al-Daher thanked the Commission for its support and recounted that in the early years of the Women's Program, there was a great deal of skepticism about the need for the program. Dr. Al-Daher thanked the Commission and Department for supporting and underserved and underrepresented community. The agency has been able to leverage the Department's grant dollars with funding from a federal Violence Against Women Grant and the Blue Shield of California Foundation. Dr. Al-Daher reported that the Arab Cultural Center just launched a new website this week and the program received 5 new clients since its launch. Loubna Qutam will succeed Dr. Al-Daher. Ms. Qutam invited Commissioners and Department staff to attend the Arab Women's Conference slated for March 2012.
V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Women and Technology Funding in Silicon Valley
Julie Chin provided an overview of the challenges women face when seeking technology funding in the Silicon Valley.
Ms. Chin reviewed statistics about the scale of technology as a part of the regional economy: 3 out of every 10 workers are in the technology field, 1/3 of all venture capital goes toward technology start-ups. She also gave an overview of research on the importance of diversity to innovation and performance. Studies have found that the optimal gender balance for teams producing innovation is 50:50 (London Business School). Companies with more than 3 women on governing boards produce over 41% returns on equity and over 56% better on operating results (McKinsey, 2010). However, the percentage of women with computer science degrees has dropped from 37% in 1985 to 19% in 2010. While the number of women in senior leadership positions is 16% overall, in technical fields, the percentage is 4% (ABI). Ms. Chin concluded with resources, including organizations and additional research.
Senior Gender Policy Analyst Anu Menon thanked Ms. Chin for her presentation and sharing such interesting information.
B. Overview of the San Francisco Office of Small Business
Director Regina Dick-Endrizzi provided an overview of her office. In 2008, Proposition I was enacted by the voters to open the Small Business Assistance Center, now located on the 1st floor of City Hall. Assistance is available in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Shanghainese, and covers local, state, and federal rules and regulations related to business ownership. Small businesses are defined as enterprises under 100 employees. Ms. Dick-Endrizzi explained the variety of services that are available to small business owners from her office. She noted that financial literacy is a major issue among small business owners. Women tend to be risk averse which can also be a challenge.
Ms. Dick-Endrizzi stated that the Mayor's Revolving Loan fund began with $800,000. The program is now contracted out to Working Solutions, an agency that has expertise in working with borrowers over 5 years. Of the 27 outstanding loans in the program, 15 (55%) go to women business owners, and, of these, 6 of 15 (40%) are minority women. Overall statistics related to women business owners are not currently available since the data is not collected on the business registration form. Commissioners expressed interest pursuing a change to the business registration form that will enable data collection about women and minority-owned businesses.
Ms. Dick-Endrizzi raised the problem of small business owners being unaware of impact fees that are required for businesses that are changing the use of a property. These fees can be substantial $10,000 - $60,000, depending on the circumstance. Commissioners would like to see how to make the process more transparent and user friendly by, for example, creating an on-line flowchart of steps for business owners to follow.
C. National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)
Kathleen Thurmond, newly-elected President of the San Francisco Chapter of NAWBO, provided an overview of her organization and challenges her members face as business owners. Ms. Thurmond spent 18 years in social work and serves on the board of Girls, Inc. in Alameda. She explained that the mission of NAWBO is to empower women, expand contracting opportunities for women. NAWBO began in 1975, there are 8,000 members in chapters nation-wide.
On November 13, Korn Ferry Partner Eunice Azzani will be moderating a panel, beginning at 5:30 pm at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. NAWBO generally meets for dinner meetings on the 2nd Thursday of the month and also hosts 5 breakfast meetings per month throughout the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, Walnut Creek, and Marin).
Ms. Thurmond stated that California boasts the most women-owned businesses in the country, at 1.1 million. Commissioners discussed the stereotyping of women that can limit them to small and medium-sized businesses. Ms. Thurmond explained that NAWBO includes owners of businesses of all sizes and that there are associations for women presidents of large companies.
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Adjourn the meeting. At the request of Vice President Soo, the meeting will be adjourned in honor of the late Maria Luisa Babilangan Haley.
m/s/c (Gamez/Simmons/Unanimous)
The meeting adjourned at 7:55 pm.
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