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"As the leader on human rights and women's
rights, the United States' ratification of CEDAW would demonstrate a commitment
to promoting equality and to protecting women's
rights throughout
the world."
-- U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
“By supporting CEDAW, we can send a message to
employers that health
care in the workplace is a right -- not a
privilege -- and that employers need to do what is
necessary to support and
value the contributions that female employees
make."
--
Sandra Camacho, Latina Health
Policy Project
"Not only is the right to work a human
right, but the right to work under
decent working conditions with living wages
is a human right.
This right is being denied to Asian and Latina
immigrant women garment workers here in San
Francisco."
--
Lora Jo Fee, Asian Law Caucus
The Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) provides
a broad definition of discrimination against
women, as "any distinction, execution
or restriction made on the basis of sex." It
requires that women and girls receive equity
in the civil, political, economic, social and
cultural spheres. 177 countries have ratified
CEDAW. The United States is the only industrialized
country in the world that has not ratified
the treaty.
In San Francisco, WILD for Human Rights
spearheaded the passing of the first-ever U.S.
city ordinance
implementing the principles underlying CEDAW. WILD for Human Rights worked in collaboration
with members of city government, policy makers,
and advocates to provide training on CEDAW
and organize a public hearing that was held
on October 30, 1997. At that hearing, government
officials heard testimony on the relevance
of CEDAW to the lives of San Francisco's women
and girls in the areas of violence against
women, economic justice, and health.
As a result of these efforts, on April
13, 1998 Mayor Willie Brown and the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors unanimously enacted a
local ordinance (No.
128-98) instituting the
principles that underlie the
U.N. Convention on the Elimination of all forms
of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW). This law
requires city departments to use a gender and
human rights analysis to review
city policy in employment, funding allocations,
and delivery of direct and indirect services.
The ordinance also 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 in San Francisco.
Since 1998, the Department on the Status of
Women has facilitated the CEDAW Task Force
whose 11 members balance City officials and
community activists. In 2001, the ordinance
was expanded to include the intersection of
gender and race and the particular experiences
faced by women and girls of color, with reference
to the U.N.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms
of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which
the U.S. ratified in 1994. The ordinance and
its implementation progress have received
international recognition. It was included
in the United Nations Development Fund for
Women's collection of best practices worldwide
for implementing CEDAW and has been studied
in Sweden as a model as well as presented to
the American Association of University Women
in California.
CEDAW Summary
More
info on how San Francisco implemented CEDAW
San Francisco CEDAW
press release
A
summary of San Francisco's CEDAW Ordinance
CEDAW around the U.S.
Why is CERD important to include?
A
Step-by-Step Outline on How to Pass CEDAW
in Your City.
Adobe
Acrobat PDF, 120 k
Visit the San
Francisco’s full CEDAW guidelines at
the city's site.
Read San
Francisco’s CEDAW Five Year Action Plan at
the city's site.
Visit the San
Francisco Commission on the Status of Women's site
Visit the official CEDAW site at the United
Nations Division for the Advancement of Women.
