To:	The Mayor, Board of Supervisors, & Commission on the Status of Women
From:	Commissioner Emily Moto Murase, Chair, CEDAW Task Force
Re:	CEDAW TASK FORCE FOURTH PROGRESS REPORT
Date:	January, 2001

Background

In April 1998, Mayor Willie Brown and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously enacted a local ordinance (No. 128-98) modeled on the UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW). CEDAW is an international treaty that was adopted by the United Nations General assembly in 1979, and was signed by then President Jimmy Carter over twenty years ago, but has not yet been ratified by Congress and thus, the United States is not subject to its obligations. CEDAW has now been ratified by 166 other countries, including all other industrialized member states of the United Nations and most so-called "third-world" countries. San Francisco's Ordinance made us the first-and still only-city in the United States to implement the underlying principles of CEDAW on a local level. The Ordinance requires the City to ensure the protection of human rights, including the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, and establishes a CEDAW Task Force to assist in its implementation. The Ordinance also requires periodic reports of our progress. This is the fifth report of the Task Force. Our website contains all of our reports (http://cosw/cedaw/index.htm).

National and International Recognition

Since we last reported to you in May 2000, our work has continued to attract much interest both nationally and internationally. San Francisco's Ordinance and implementation approach have become a valuable resource for others working to end discrimination against women and girls. On the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the CEDAW treaty, we began a public relations campaign. Our accomplishments have included:

Media
•The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an editorial about the twentieth anniversary of CEDAW (July, 2000)
•The San Francisco and Los Angeles Daily Journal printed our op-ed piece on the 20th anniversary of CEDAW (July, 2000)
International
•Staff participated in an invitation only government, business and education conference, IGEPT (Building and Sustaining Infrastructures for Gender Empowered Partnerships in the Technological Fields) in Europe on increasing women's participation in technology and trades (see www.usemb.se/women/igeptindex.html) (August, 2000)
•Staff spoke to a national conference in Sweden, about San Francisco's implementation of CEDAW (September, 2000)
National
•Featured CEDAW at the National Conference on Commission's on the Status of Women, which DOSW hosted in San Francisco (July, 200)
• Staff was a featured speaker by the American Association of University Women on a cable television discussion on CEDAW's international and local implementation. (December, 2000) ·
State
• San Francisco has been a model for other women's groups to adopt CEDAW, in particular both Los Angeles and Santa Cruz and also the Women's Leadership AllianceStaff was a featured speaker on San Francisco's CEDAW experience at Women's & Girls 2000, Strategies for Success, San Jose's county-wide strategic planning conference for girls (November, 2000)
•Staff counseled Contra Costa Commission on the Status of Women regarding the adoption of CEDAW locally (November, 2000)

Citywide Work-Life Survey

In part, CEDAW requires that city government proactively take steps to advance the human rights of women and girls by guaranteeing certain social and economic rights. In our gender analysis focus groups and employee surveys, both men and women consistently voiced the need for greater balance between their work and personal lives, and for more flexibility in the workplace. The Task Force, Commission and the Department on the Status of Women have designed a citywide survey of work-life policies and practices. We are seeking information on each department's policies and practices to improve management operations, employee morale, recruitment efforts and the work environment. We seek data on how information is being disseminated about work-life policies and practices, and on employee use. We intend to highlight each department's "best practices" so other departments can replicate what works well. The survey covers many issues including flexible work schedules, part-time/job sharing, telecommuting, child and elder care, stress issues, and family and medical care needs.

Gender Analysis Guidelines

This past year, we completed revision of the detailed Gender Analysis Guidelines that outline how departments can assess their compliance with CEDAW and implement gender equitable policies and programs. Gender analysis examines the status of women and men in civil, cultural, economic, social, legal, and political contexts. This analysis understands the important links between gender and other identities such as race, immigration status, parental status, language, sexual orientation, disability, age, etc. It recognizes that gender identity is socially constructed and that differences in life experiences often result in social, economic, and political inequities for women and girls that permeate our society and determine how we make critical decisions. By applying gender analysis to budgeting, and service delivery, and employment practices, the City can promote positive change in the lives of women and girls. Our website contains the full guidelines (http://cosw/cedaw/index.htm).

Departments Undergoing Gender Analysis

This past year, the CEDAW Task Force had selected the following departments to undergo the gender analysis:

• Adult Probation Department
• Arts Commission
• Department of the Environment
• Rent Stabilization Board

All four departments have now completed their data collection and have drafted their written reports analyzing their data. The Task Force is currently reviewing gender analysis reports from the departments and will soon be preparing a written response to each department. One initial recommendation is for all departments to expand their data collection practices to include considerations of gender, race, sexual orientation, and other such criteria. As we recommended in our initial report, A GENDER ANALYSIS (November, 1999), such data must be collected on a voluntary and confidential basis to ensure the protection of privacy rights and minimize the potential for any misuse of information.

Throughout this gender analysis process, DOSW staff met with senior management from all four departments to provide human rights training, discuss their data collection practices, and advise management on key issues for analysis. In three out of four of these departments, DOSW staff and consultants conducted separate focus groups with employees and with community members, in order to obtain their feedback on personnel matters and service provision, respectively. In the fourth department, the Department on the Environment, the department had too few staff for an employee focus group to be a safe enough space to openly discuss concerns. There, DOSW staff devised and administered a confidential written survey to assess employee concerns. Departmental responses have varied from appreciation for an innovative process to frustration at the extra effort required amidst an already heavy workload, with most departments expressing both. This underscores the importance of future actions on a citywide level.

Progress Reports on Completed Gender Analyses

In the previous year, the CEDAW Task Force conducted a gender analysis with two other departments: the Juvenile Probation Department and the Department of Public Works. The Task Force reported its findings to the Board of Supervisors at a hearing in November 1999 (for full report, see http://cosw/cedaw/index.htm). The Task Force continues to monitor each department on its implementation of our recommendations and its furtherance of gender equity. Since our last report focused on the Department of Public Works, this report primarily discusses implementation within the Juvenile Probation Department.

Juvenile Probation Department

In May 2000, the Juvenile Probation Department reported to the Task Force on its progress in implementing the recommendations generated from the gender analysis. This past fall, DOSW staff again met with the Department's senior staff. One finding in our study was the need for additional gender-specific services for girls.

One year after completion of the initial analysis, the Juvenile Probation Department reported accelerating its push to expand gender-specific programs (from $40,000 in 1997 to $800,000 in 2000). However, most of this funding is to provide services to girls and young women who are incarcerated or otherwise away from home. There is a gross lack of prevention and intervention services to keep girls free from the juvenile justice system. The Department must continue to expand the few existing prevention services to provide young women with the comprehensive skills and community-based support they need to remain free from the juvenile justice system. Furthermore, virtually all of this funding for existing services is TANF-based, and soon will expire with no promise of replacement. The Department needs assistance is developing long-term sustainable funding for gender-specific prevention, intervention, and rehabilitative services for girls and young women.

Another finding was the need for all staff to be trained in gender and human rights issues, and for gender-specific evaluation measures to be integrated into current programming. Staff are now offered training on gender and sexual orientation issues. However, this training is still optional and additional gender sensitivity training is needed. The department must develop gender-specific protocols on how staff interacts with incarcerated youth, in particular with transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning youth. Furthermore, gender sensitive evaluation measures must be integrated into all programs. For example, a new program evaluation project lacks a gender component. Likewise, the new "Project Impact" for assessment of the mental health needs of youth, also needs a gender focus.

A third finding was the need for staff specialization in girls' experiences and services. A coordinator of girls' services has been hired, one large step towards fulfilling this recommendation. The Department has also piloted a girls-only caseload for selected probation officers, who in theory can now work more closely with young women's complex issues-often including histories of sexual and emotional abuse-as well as provide increased mental health assessment and services. While this does not come close to solving the complex and multi-layered problems of girls involved in the criminal justice system, these changes show increased support for girls in the system. As stated above, what is still needed is increased support to keep girls free from incarceration and probation.

Finally, the Department still needs to expand its work/life balance programs, which would help both in retaining top staff and in recruiting new staff in an increasingly competitive market. In addition, the disproportionate minority representation of incarcerated youth-including an alarming number of African American girls-needs to be studied for the affects of discrimination.

Department of Public Works

In the last report, we noted that since completing its gender analysis, the Department of Public Works sponsored its first-ever mentorship program for female engineers throughout the City. The program was very successful at reaching out to women engineers throughout the city and resulted in improved job opportunities for some female engineers. The Department also established its first job-share. The Department continues to offer professional development opportunities to its staff with the aide of its own stellar Training Unit. Sexual harassment training is extensive. The Department initiated its most aggressive recruitment effort for its Student Trainee Program, resulting in increased applications from women and minorities. The Department, however, must make much greater efforts towards employing woman in nontraditional job categories. The statistics here are alarming. At the time of the analysis, women were only:

•7% of the architects,
•2% of the skilled craft workers, and
•19% of the maintenance workers.

With the exception of engineers, women were well below the 1990 labor pools in every other nontraditional occupation. This is unacceptable for the City and County of San Francisco. This is an area that needs sustained and focused attention and resources.

The Department also needs to train staff on how to integrate gender concerns into its service design and operations. One such example is increased lighting on dark streets, which allows both men and women-who may in particular fear sexual assault-to feel equally safe walking down a street at night. Tracking customer feedback data by gender, race, etc., would help the Department better understand and serve the sometimes-different needs of both women and men.

Changes in CEDAW Ordinance

After three years of working on CEDAW implementation, the Task Force found the need for some revisions to the CEDAW Ordinance. The CEDAW Task Force and the Commission on the Status of Women suggested the following changes, which were sponsored by former Supervisor Barbara Kaufman:
1. Added findings demonstrating the need to examine programs and policies citywide, as well as on a departmental level.
2. Added findings demonstrating the need to examine the intersection of gender and race and the particular experiences faced by women of color, with reference to the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Race Discrimination (CERD).
3. Added definitions of CEDAW-related terms.
4. Enabled analysis of programs and policies in addition to analysis of departments.
5. Required the Commission and the CEDAW Task Force to prepare a five year citywide Action Plan to address deficiencies revealed by the gender analyses and to further implement CEDAW's principles.
6. Made some changes to the composition and duties of the CEDAW Task Force.

Plans for the Future

The Task Force, the Commission, and staff at the DOSW have been very busy with all of the above work. We look forward to expanding public awareness of our work and all that we have achieved by bringing CEDAW to San Francisco. In particular, we want others to understand that the San Francisco implementation of CEDAW's human rights principles are an innovative and proactive approach that deals with discrimination in a holistic and positive manner, rather than the more traditional complaint-driven reactive style of the past. This is particularly useful in light of the restrictions imposed on affirmative action. We hope to expand our efforts to the private sector, to follow our department survey of work/life practices with an employee survey, and to continue monitoring the work that has been done to achieve gender equity in San Francisco.