Adopt a County Gender Equity Ordinance
Published on 4/26/2022
Dear San Diego County Board of Supervisors,
The League of Women Voters of San Diego and North County San Diego ask you to codify women’s rights by adopting the CEDAW Ordinance.
Events in recent years have demonstrated that government-sponsored discrimination can no longer be allowed, and half-hearted efforts at reform are insufficient. We commend your establishment of the Office of Equity and Racial Justice to address these challenges. The CEDAW Ordinance will further strengthen these efforts.
Cities and counties throughout the U.S., including San Francisco and Los Angeles which adopted CEDAW Ordinances decades ago, have experienced the benefit of enforcing these rights for half of their residents and workforce. The elected leaders of these cities and counties believe that the CEDAW ordinances have materially improved the lives of women and girls in their municipalities and fostered more transparent and accountable governance. San Diego women and girls deserve the same.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego and North County San Diego look forward to vigorous implementation of the CEDAW ordinance. We stand ready to be helpful in any way appropriate. We urge you to consider a process by which civil society can be engaged in assuring that the objectives of the CEDAW ordinance are achieved.
Sincerely,
Kim Knox, President
League of Women Voters of San Diego
Karen Sutton, President
League of Women Voters of North County San Diego
Update: The ordinance passed after the second reading on May 10, 2022.