CEDAW - Women's Human Rights Ordinance
San Francisco CEDAW Ordinance - Inspired by the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and frustrated by the continued inability to get the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ratified in the U.S. Congress, the women of San Francisco organized a successful effort to adopt a local ordinance reflecting the principles. In 1998 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the local ordinance, and the Department on the Status of Women oversees the implementation of it. Click here to read the official Administrative Code.
Road to Leadership: How to Get that Appointment, 2010 (pdf) - This tool has been designed to help increase the number of women on City commissions and boards by providing information about these bodies and how to apply for positions.
Human Rights in Action 2010 (pdf): This report documents the work of the Department since the 1998 adoption of the local CEDAW Women's Human Rights Ordinance, providing examples of best practices to aid other municipalities in adopting similar measures.
Gender Responsive Budgeting: A Path to Accountability and Data-Based Policy-Making, February 2010 (pdf) - On the forefront of accountability and transparency, San Francisco moves a step closer to Gender Responsive Budgeting with this report, a survey of demographic data collection practices of City departments.
Gender Analysis Guidelines - Learn how to conduct a gender analysis, an tool developed to ensure City departments have equitable policies, programs, services, and budgets.
CEDAW Gender Analysis Reports - Gender analyses were conducted at several City departments, and the original and follow-up reports are contained here.
Gender Analysis of San Francisco Commissions and Boards, 2011 (pdf) - A 2008 charter amendment requires that the Department conduct biannual gender analysis of appointments to commissions and boards, analyzing gender, race, and disability status of appointees. The charter amendment came as a result of the Department's Gender Analysis of Commissions, Boards, and Task Forces, 2007 (pdf). To view the 2009 Gender Analysis Report, click here.
Gender Analysis of City Departments' Budget Cuts, 2006 (.doc) - A prelude to Gender Responsive Budgeting, the Department won a 2006 National Association of Counties Acheivement Award for utilizing the Gender Analysis tool to uncover disparities in the 2003 budget process.
CEDAW Task Force Action Plan Progress Reports - The CEDAW Task Force, per the CEDAW Ordinance, operated from 1998 to 2007. The work of the Task Force is documented in the Progress Reports.
Human Trafficking
The San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT) was launched in January 2010 with a membership of over 20 agencies representing a broad array of nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, law enforcement agencies, service providers, educators, and community members. The Department and the Human Rights Commission lead the collaborative in ending human trafficking through collaboration, education, outreach, advocacy, and supporting survivors by taking a zero tolerance stance on exploitation, violence, and human trafficking.
2013 Anti-Human Trafficking Teen Poster Contest:
- 2013 Rules and Eligibility
- 2012 winner: Doreen Pacini, Ruth Asawa SF School of the Arts High School
The Status of Girls and Women in San Francisco
An Update on Girls in San Francisco: A Decade of Success and Challenges (2012): This report follows up on the 2003, "A Report on Girls in San Francisco, Benchmarks for the Future," and looks at emerging trends in the lives of girls today and reexamines key findings. Executive Summary.
- Addendum and Recommendations. Additional materials made at the June 27, 2012 Commission Hearing and key recommendations approved during the July 25, 2012 Commission Meeting.
Recommendations from the GirlUP Town Hall featuring the film MissRepresentation. One-hundred fifty youth, community leaders and elected officials considered concrete individual and community actions.
San Francisco Bay Area STEM Resources: Programs around the Bay Area that encourage girls to pursue interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Local Tools, Global Impact (2010): This brochure documents the tools and resources the Department has developed to ensure the equality and human rights of women in San Francisco.
A Report on the Status of Women in San Francisco (2009), Executive Summary
A Report on Girls in San Francisco: Benchmarks for the Future (2003), Executive Summary
Out Of Sight/Out Of Mind Task Force On Girls And The Juvenile Justice System (1998)
"Human Rights and the City"
Lecture Series, University of Ottowa, November 2010
Department on the Status of Women Executive Director Dr. Emily Murase speaks via video conference about San Francisco's landmark CEDAW Ordinance. View the lecture here.
UN NGO Parallel Sessions
For the past two years, the Department's panels were accepted to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women's NGO CSW Forum Parallel Events.
2011: Violence Against the Girl Child, and How Women Learn to Earn
2012: Women. Create. Change. Proposed 5th World Conference on Women in San Francisco in 2015; and The Pursuit of Work-Life Balance Among Korean, Filipina, and American Women
