AGENDA IS POSTED IN

HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION (HRC) ACCORDANCE

WITH GOVERNMENT
REGULAR MEETING
CODE SECTION
February 8, 2018 54954.2(a) OR
AGENDA SECTION 54956

Community Meeting Room

7:00 PM Meeting
250 Hamilton
*In accordance with SB 343 materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the Commission after distribution of the
agenda packet are available for public inspection in the administration office (T2) at the Cubberley Community Center, 4000
Middlefield Road, during normal business hours. Please call: 650-463-4906.
Attention Speakers: If you wish to address the Commission during oral communications or on an item on the agenda, please
complete a speaker’s card and give it to City staff. By submitting the speaker’s card, the Chair will recognize you at the
appropriate time.

I. ROLL CALL

II. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS

III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

(Members of the public are invited to address the Commission during the period reserved for Oral
Communications on any subject not on the agenda. In the interest of time, the Commission requests
that speakers limit the length of their remarks to five minutes.)

IV. BUSINESS
1. Review and consider ad hoc committee report to Council on an ordinance related to the
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women – Chair Stinger –
Action (60 minutes)

2. Consideration of updated recommendations in relation to Council Resolution #9653 -

Reaffirming Palo Alto’s Commitment to a Diverse, Supportive, Inclusive, and Protective
Community.– Chair Stinger – Action (30 minutes)
3. Status update on FY2018 work plan projects – Chair Stinger - Discussion (15 minutes)
4. Assignment of Liaisons – Chair Stinger – Discussion (5 minutes)
5. Human Services Resource Allocation Process (HSRAP) site visits – Chair Stinger – Discussion
(10 minutes)

V. REPORTS FROM OFFICIALS – Chair Stinger

1. Commissioner Reports
2. Council Liaison Report
3. Staff Liaison Report

VI. TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR NEXT REGULAR MEETING: Thursday, March 8, 2018
1. Community Development Grant Block (CDBG)

ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access
City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section
54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting.
VII. ADJOURNMENT

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS

Our Mission: To promote the just and fair treatment of all people in Palo Alto, particularly our most
vulnerable populations. By promoting awareness of issues and enabling conversations that enhance
inclusion, the HRC strives to create a community where civility, respect and responsible actions are
the norm.

ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access
City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section
54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting.
 Community Services Department
STAFF REPORT

TO: Human Relations Commission

FROM: Minka van der Zwaag DEPARTMENT: CSD

Manager, Office of Human Services

DATE: February 2, 2018

SUBJECT: Agenda Item #1: Review and consider ad hoc committee report to Council on an
ordinance related to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination
against Women.

Action at this meeting:

The Human Relations Commission (HRC) is being asked to consider whether or not to forward a
recommendation to the City Council in favor of a local CEDAW ordinance.

Background:
In response to Council Resolution #9653 – Reaffirming Palo Alto’s Commitment to a Diverse, Supportive,
Inclusive and Protective Community – the HRC, aided by the efforts of an ad hoc committee, has been
exploring ways to address issues related to gender equity in the community, with possible policy
recommendations to the City Council. One avenue that the ad hoc committee has been exploring, by
means of recommending a local ordinance, is in relation to an international human rights agreement
called the Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). To
assist the HRC in its analysis of this option, staff is providing the following overview of CEDAW.

CEDAW advocates for the rights and opportunities of women in all areas of society. The treaty was
adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1979. To date, 187 of the 193 UN member states have ratified
CEDAW. Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Palau, United States (US), and Tonga have not ratified the treaty. It should
be noted that several of the countries who are signatories to CEDAW do not offer the rights and/or
protections for women already included in US Law.
In the absence of a US signature on CEDAW and stalled efforts in the US Senate, there is a country wide
campaign called Cities for CEDAW whose aim is to encourage local cities and counties to pass local
legislation establishing the principles of CEDAW. According to Cities for CEDAW, the “principles
embodied in CEDAW are fully in accord with American laws, principles and values. The U.S. Constitution
already protects women’s rights to due process and equality under the law, and numerous laws on both
the federal and state level also protect women–prohibiting sex discrimination in employment,
education, housing and credit; providing for family and medical leave and child care; and combating
domestic violence and human trafficking….” However, they state that “American women enjoy
opportunities and status not available to most of the world’s women, yet few would dispute that more
progress is needed. CEDAW provides an opportunity for dialogue on how to address persistent gaps in
women’s full equality, particularly regarding closing the pay gap, reducing domestic violence, and
stopping trafficking.”

Volunteer supporters from the Cities for CEDAW campaign have addressed the City Council and HRC
during oral communications, requesting that the City consider enacting a local CEDAW ordinance. An
ordinance is essentially a local law.

According to Cities for CEDAW, becoming a “CEDAW City” generally involves the following first step
measures.

Commitment to conducting a gender analysis of city operations (e.g., workforce, programs,

budget);
Establishment of an oversight body to monitor the implementation of a local CEDAW ordinance,
(e.g., Commission on the Status of Women, Human Rights Commission, etc.); **
Provide funding to support the implementation of CEDAW principles.

**Suggested members include representatives from the HRC, City budget staff, City Human Resources
Director, health care, violence against women, women’s issues, international human rights.

However, it should be noted that while these steps are stated, but there is no official oversight
body/organization for CEDAW that regulates what individual Cities/Counties do in relation to
language/commitments included in their local ordinances.

According to the Cities for CEDAW website, at present, nine cities/counties in the United States have
passed local ordinances to become CEDAW cities; San Francisco, Berkeley, Cincinnati, Honolulu, Los
Angeles, Miami-Dade County and Pittsburgh, San Jose and Santa Clara County. The City of Berkeley
(population around 120,000) is the city closest in population to Palo Alto (population around 64,000)
which has passed a CEDAW ordinance; all other entities are large cities and/or counties. Is should be
noted that the City of Berkley already had a Commission on the Status of Women, which was designated
to serve as the CEDAW oversight body. Its CEDAW ordinance does not include specific outcome goals,
but reiterates city policy and commitments in regards to core CEDAW principles. Around 25-30
cities/counties have passed local CEDAW resolutions. In 2002, the Palo Alto City Council passed
Resolution #8217 to go on record in support of an effort for United States ratification or accession to
CEDAW (Attachment A).

The HRC is being asked to consider forwarding a recommendation regarding a local CEDAW ordinance to
Council. While staff strongly supports gender equality and the sentiment driving the request for a
CEDAW ordinance, the commitment of HRC and staff time needed to implement the initial and ongoing
work connected to the ordinance are not completely known and look to be quite significant which could
draw HRC and Human Services staff away from other core functions and priorities. If the HRC forwards
a recommendation to Council on CEDAW, staff asks that the HRC discuss the question of whether the
“Task Force” mentioned in the ad hoc CEDAW committee should be a task force reporting to the HRC or
Council. If the prior, not only would HRC commissioner(s) serve on the Task Force, but the HRC would
be responsible for overseeing the work of the task force; to conduct the gender analysis, analyze the
results, and prepare a report and recommendations for Council review.

Staff encourages the HRC to discuss and consider the following questions during their deliberations:

What are the HRC’s goals in regards to gender equality and is CEDAW is the right mechanism to
reach these goals?
Does the HRC have the “bandwidth” to fully commit to the initial and ongoing work associated
with a CEDAW ordinance as well as other core and special projects?
If a recommendation on CEDAW is forwarded to Council, does the HRC want to recommend that
the Task Force suggested in the ad hoc committee’s report to report to the HRC or not?

Attachments:
Attachment A – City of Palo Alto Resolution #8217 (2002)
 AGENDA ITEM #1

COMMITTEE MEMO

Date: February 2, 2018

To: Members of the Human Relations Commission (HRC)

From: Ad Hoc CEDAW Committee:

Commissioner Steven D. Lee
Chair Valerie Stinger

Subject: CEDAW Committee’s Recommendation to HRC for CEDAW Ordinance -Agenda

Item #1

Introduction

The goal of the committee recommendation that follows is to identify and study gender
equality issues, as they affect and apply to Palo Alto. The committee was asked to evaluate
Cities for CEDAW as a framework to enhance gender equality in this community. What follows
is a description of CEDAW as an analytical process leading to policy and program
recommendations. There is enthusiasm for the process and what could be accomplished. There
are also concerns. Both the possible outcomes and hurdles are considered in the following
recommendation.

Gender discrimination in Palo Alto, as well as the current political and social climate, highlight
longstanding, pervasive, and, as of yet, still unresolved gender equality issues that continue to
affect the women of our community, nation and the world. They also highlight the continued
need for us as a City and community to proactively identify where there is room for
improvement and to suggest policies and programs which can be adopted to address gender
equality issues in the City of Palo Alto.

Background

CEDAW is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly, and
is often referred to as the international women’s bill of rights. CEDAW has been adopted by
over 189 countries. The US is one of a handful of countries, including, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and
Tonga, which have not ratified the treaty. In the absence of national action in the U.S. Senate to
ratify the treaty, the Cities for CEDAW initiative aims to “make the global local.”

The Palo Alto City Council passed Resolution No. 8217 in support of CEDAW on October 15,
2002.

For additional information on the Cities for CEDAW initiative please visit:
http://citiesforcedaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/CEDAW-USFact-Sheet-07-2017.pdf
CEDAW as a Framework for Analyzing Gender Discrimination and Enhancing Gender Equality

The committee proposes to utilize the Cities for CEDAW framework to address gender equality
issues in Palo Alto. This framework consists of: (1) establishing a gender equality task force that
is responsible for conducting a gender analysis and proposing policies and programs that
address the Palo Alto-specific issues identified, and (2) identifying staff, budget, and community
resources to conduct the gender analysis and to implement the policies and programs that are
recommended by the task force and which are adopted by the City Council. This framework is
not unique to Cities for CEDAW, nor is it a rigid or binding framework. While it is informative to
examine how other jurisdictions have undertaken their own Cities for CEDAW initiatives, given
the flexibility of the CEDAW framework and the size of the City of Palo Alto relative to much
larger jurisdictions which have undertaken this effort, the committee encourages the City of
Palo Alto to think creatively about ways it can structure its own CEDAW initiative in light of our
size and resources.

With respect to conducting a gender analysis, jurisdictions have staffed and budgeted those
efforts in different ways, including: (1) using existing staff and budgetary resources, (2)
dedicating new staff and budgetary resources, (3) hiring outside consultants, (4) leveraging
support from local universities, community groups, stakeholders and experts, or (5) some
combination thereof.

Establishment of a Task Force

The committee recognizes the benefit of leveraging community expertise and human-power to
augment limited City resources, and recommends that the City form a task force consisting of
11 members, with representatives from the HRC and members who live, work, or study in the
community with the following experience, expertise, or backgrounds in:
- human resources or diversity employment
- local business community
- political involvement
- women’s advocacy
- gender violence
- women’s studies
- current university student
- City of Palo Alto employment

The task force would be responsible for setting its gender study priorities, establishing a work
plan, conducting and/or overseeing the gender analysis, and preparing recommendations for
policies and programs.

In formulating this recommendation, the committee assumes that HRC expertise and time, and
staff time and budget are limited. To assist the task force in conducting and/or overseeing the
gender analysis, the committee recommends that it leverage expertise and human-power from
individuals, experts, university students and groups, nonprofits, law firms and local businesses.
One open question for the HRC is whether the task force should report to the HRC or the City
Council directly? One proposal is that the task force report to the HRC, so that the HRC retains
its codified advisory role on this subject matter, while leveraging additional expertise and
human power to assist the HRC in formulating its recommendations on policy and programs for
the City Council’s consideration. In this role, the HRC would be responsible for overseeing the
task force. An alternative would establish this task force a separate body, reporting to and
advising the City Council directly. This alternative might abdicate some of the HRC’s existing
role, but maintain the capacity of the HRC to do it other work. In either case, the HRC would
have representatives on the task force.

The work of the task force will be primarily, but not exclusively, in the following subject areas,
which reflect CEDAW principles applicable to the City of Palo Alto:

(1) Leadership and Political/ Civic Empowerment. To ensure that women are engaged in
leadership opportunities in all areas, such as the formulation of City policies and programs at
the commission, City Council and departmental (both staff and executive) levels.

(2) Economic Development. To ensure that women have the same economic opportunities and
results both inside and outside the workplace.

(3) Gender Violence. To address gender violence against women and girls, including, but not
limited to, sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, human trafficking, and prostitution.

The work of the task force in each of the three broad subject areas specified above should be
focused, in light of the limited roles and powers of the City of Palo Alto, through the lenses of
the City as a (i) employer, (ii) regulator, (iii) provider of services, programs and grants/funding,
(iv) contractor, and/or (v) partner with non-profits, other government agencies, local
businesses and the community at large.

Recommendation

The proposed recommendation of the HRC to the City Council is:

The HRC formally recommends that the City Council direct staff to study and submit a draft
CEDAW ordinance for the HRC’s and City Council’s consideration, which factors in this memo
and guidance provided by the HRC and City Council, that:

1. affirms the City of Palo Alto’s commitment to the principles of the United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and
2. establishes a task force that conducts and/or oversees a gender analysis, the task force’s
composition, reporting structure, and responsibilities.