San Francisco, CA – Today, Mayor London N. Breed issued a statement in celebration of International Women’s Day. San Francisco has been a city with a long history of supporting women’s reproductive freedoms and rights, equal pay, and gender inclusivity.
“Thank you to all of the women doing the work every day. The women fighting for gender equality and inspiring people around the world to value inclusion. The woman working tirelessly to put food on the table and provide for their families. To those in our City workforce who move San Francisco forward. Thank you to the fearless women who are leading communities, companies, hospitals, classrooms and boardrooms, who serve in public and in private office. Thank you to those who have a seat at the table and are doing the work every day to bring more women to that table. To the mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts, and the women role models helping to raise and inspire our children and empower the futures of young girls who will carry the torch for the next generation. Thank you to all the women in the arena.
“I have been blessed to stand on the shoulders of a generation of women before me. To know and admire many women throughout my life, spanning my career, who embody a relentless energy of hard work and a spirit in service of others, and without question that helped paved the way for me. They continue to inspire me to lead this City that I love, to do the work, and to ensure that all women have a strong voice in this City.
“We must continue to lift one another up and find encouragement in each other. We will not ask for permission, but instead demand and fight for what is equally ours. Today, we honor every woman, celebrate our achievements, and recommit to defending women’s equality, freedoms and given right to choose.”
Mayor London Breed’s Key Efforts to Support Women
Bay Area Abortion Rights Coalition
- Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, Mayor Breed, along with regional partners, launched the Bay Area Abortion Rights Coalition. As part of this effort, San Francisco is leading the way in providing staff and funding to support a coordinated blueprint mapping of the Bay Area’s abortion services, analyze capacity, and monitor developments and impacts that restrictive abortion laws from around the country are having in our region.
Women and Families First Initiative
- In 2021, Mayor Breed launched the Women and Families First Initiative, a focused effort to provide job training for women and support their children with childcare tuition. The job training targeted industries that we expected to grow in San Francisco’s post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery, such as healthcare, technology, construction, and hospitality.
Women’s Construction Academy
- In 2021, Mayor Breed also spearheaded focused academy classes geared specifically to women to introduce them to the construction industry. These five-week training courses provided participants with stipends and support for childcare while they were trained in a wide variety of construction activities. As a result, we were able to increase the participation of women construction apprentices on key development projects such as the development of Mission Rock, a large mixed-use development project next to the Giant’s Ballpark.
Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention
- Under Mayor Breed's leadership, the City invests significantly in core services to end gender-based violence in San Francisco. The City supports 39 programs that provide crisis lines, counseling and case management, prevention and education services, legal services, emergency shelter and transitional housing to those impacted by gender-based violence.
Abundant Birth Project
- Launched in 2021 as a partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Expecting Justice, the Abundant Birth Project was the first program of its kind in the country to provide monthly income of $600-$1,000 to high-risk expecting mothers with a focus on reducing economic stress that leads to racial birth disparities. As a result of continued investment by Mayor Breed and recently the State of California, the program will be expanding to four other counties in California.
Women’s Summits
- During her time in office, Mayor Breed has hosted two (and a third is scheduled for later in 2024) Women’s Summits to inspire women to recognize and activate their personal power and provide tangible takeaways to help women drive solutions to challenges in the City. These events have also included focus on health and wellness, financial empowerment, leadership, and civic engagement.
Mayor Breed’s Advancement of Women in City Leadership Roles
Recognizing that women in leadership roles are essential to a thriving City, Mayor Breed has appointed several women to key leadership roles within her administration and City government. She has appointed women to key elected offices including District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Board of Education members Jenny Lam, Lainie Motamedi and Lisa Weissman-Ward. The Mayor has also appointed more than 210 women across a range of San Francisco Commissions.
Under Mayor Breed’s vision of strong women leadership, she has elevated and supported City leadership across Departments, including:
- Carmen Chu, City Administrator
- Chief Jeanine Nicholson, San Francisco Fire Department
- Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director, Department of Emergency Management
- Elaine Forbes, Executive Director, San Francisco Port
- Carla Short, Director, Public Works
- Sarah Dennis Phillips, Executive Director, Office of Economic and Workforce Development
- Kimberly Ellis, Director, Department on the Status of Women
- Maria Su, Executive Director, Department of Children, Youth and Families
- Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director, Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing
- Carol Isen, Director, Human Resources Department
- Sheryl Davis, Executive Director, Human Rights Commission
- Maryam Muduroglu, Chief of Protocol
- Cristal Tullock, Chief Probation Officer, Adult Probation
- Katy Miller, Chief Probation Officer, Juvenile Probation
- Tonia Lediju, Chief Executive Officer, San Francisco Housing Authority
- Nancy Alfaro, Director, 311
- Katy Tang, Executive Director, Office of Small Business
- Kelly Dearman, Executive Director, Disability and Aging Services
- Manijeh Fata, Executive Director, San Francisco Film Commission/Film SF
- Ingrid Mezquita, Executive Director, Department of Early Childhood
- Maggie Weiland, Executive Director, San Francisco Entertainment Commission
- Nicole Bohn, Director, Mayor’s Office on Disability
- Marcia Bell, Director, San Francisco Law Library
- Diane Rea, County Clerk
- Stephanie Tsang, Director, Contract Monitoring Division
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