Female leaders from government, business, and labor organizations joined Mayor Edwin M. Lee and City Administrator Naomi Kelly today for a panel discussion at City Hall to recognize and celebrate Women’s History Month. Additionally, Mayor Lee announced in partnership with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf that the second Bay Area Women’s Summit will take place on June 19, 2018.

Mayor Lee has made gender equality and support a key priority of his administration. San Francisco became the first City in the country to approve full-paid parental leave, and Mayor Lee championed one of the most progressive minimum wage increases in the nation, an act that will help working families and mothers. Last year, Mayor Lee included $6 million in new funding for subsidized child care and expanded implicit bias training for City staff, part of a larger commitment to dedicate more than $16.7 million for initiatives that support San Francisco families.

“San Francisco has always been a leader in social change and the advancement of women’s rights, and we are determined to continue that great progress,” said Mayor Lee. “This City has been home to countless female trailblazers, who have left lasting cultural, social, economic and political impacts. By celebrating Women’s History Month, we are recognizing their considerable achievements and helping to foster the next generation of female leaders.”

Currently, women comprise 58 percent of the City government’s workforce, and females lead several major agencies, including the City Administrator, the Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Management, the Department of Public Health, and the Department of the Environment, among others. San Francisco was the first City in the nation to create a Department on the Status of Women, and for the first time in 21 years, there is a female majority on the Board of Supervisors.

Today, Mayor Lee introduced a symposium on civic engagement strategies. The panel discussion was moderated by Surina Khan, chief executive officer of the Women’s Foundation of California. Khan joined panelists Olga Miranda, president of the labor group Service Employees International Union, Local 87, Buffy Wicks, a political strategist with the Obama Administration, and Catherine Stefani, the County Clerk of San Francisco.

Mayor Lee also announced that the second Bay Area Women’s Summit will take place on June 19, 2018 at the Moscone West Convention Center and will be co-chaired by City Administrator Naomi Kelly and Deborah Mesloh, Vice President of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.

“Facilitating open conversations about diversity and inclusion is critical to the progress of gender equality,” said City Administrator Naomi Kelly. “Today’s celebration and next year’s panel is about fostering continued participation in the process. The more engaged and aware women are, the more empowered we will be to push for policies and leadership roles that can improve economic and social opportunities for all women.”

In 2016, Mayor Lee and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf hosted the first Bay Area Women’s Summit, a gathering attended by more than 1,000 people that featured regional and national leaders discussing policies that advanced women’s equity, empowerment and opportunity in the region.

With proposals at the national level targeting women’s reproductive rights, and equal pay laws under attack, next year’s Bay Area Women’s Summit presents a vital opportunity to protect, promote and advance essential female empowerment initiatives. 

Mayor Lee recently wrote about the importance of International Women’s Day, which can be found here.