Gender and Finance

The United States of America (USA) is one of the few countries not to have ratified the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). At the subnational level, several states, counties and cities have passed resolutions urging

ratification. San Francisco has gone further by enacting its own ordinance incorporating

CEDAW principles. The city’s Commission on the Status of Women was given responsibility for implementation, with oversight from an eleven-member CEDAW task force which included elected officials, government employees, organised labour and community advocates.

The first step in implementing the new ordinance was to develop a set of guidelines for a

gender analysis that would assist in examining two departments for discrimination in

32 respect of employment practices, budget allocation and provision of direct and indirect

services (see http://www.ci.sf.uf/cosw/cedaw/guidelines.htm). The Department of Public Works was chosen because of its size, because traditionally it provides few jobs for women, and because services are provided indirectly rather than to individuals. The Juvenile Probation Department was the second choice, as it provides services to an increasing number of women who are also very diverse. The Commission worked with the international consulting group Strategic Analysis for Gender Equity in developing the gender analysis guidelines. It completed its first report during 2000. It is currently looking at four more city departments and also at City-wide practices, such as work-life policies and practices.

In a separate initiative, Jane Midgley has done work on women's budgets in the US and is

currently writing The Women's Guide to the US Budget.