From the Office of the Mayor, San Francisco London N. Breed, Mayor
Identity is complex and personal. Too often, transgender and gender nonconforming communities are forced to make choices on City and County of San Francisco (City) forms and applications that do not accurately reflect their identity or gender expression. We know that narrow gender definitions of either male or female are not sufficient to recognize the diverse experiences of our communities.
Therefore, the City must continue to move towards inclusive administrative forms and applications that lift up all identities, allowing people to more broadly choose how they self-identify when demographic information is collected.
We must acknowledge, expand, and reaffirm all identities so that every resident is fully recognized throughout all of our City Departments and Offices.
The City is committed to inclusionary practices, and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected category under the law, including sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression.
The City has made several investments to provide staff with anti-bias and harassment training, and is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity hiring practices, which have allowed City staff to better serve and engage the diverse communities in which we operate.
However, to be truly effective, we must strive to practice inclusivity at all times to ensure that everyone can live as their authentic self. Something that may appear to be a simple City application or form, but does not account for the full range of self-identifiers, can trigger an emotionally stressful experience for individuals who do not fall into narrow, pre-set identity categories.
Since 2017, the City has collected expanded data on sexual and gender identity across six City Departments that provide direct services to the community (Department of Public Health, Mayor’s Office of Housing, Department of Human Services, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, the Department of Children Youth and their Families, and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing). The Sheriff’s Department has also taken important steps of allowing individuals to self-identify, and has instituted gender awareness training as an integral part of its practices.
This Directive will extend this practice to all Departments that collect demographic information during the course of licensing, permitting, or other administrative, business or service functions, thereby officially recognizing the breadth of the identity spectrum within our City.
San Francisco is a home for all. At the core of our foundation is a commitment to inclusivity. Our City practices should acknowledge and welcome the diverse makeup of our communities, regardless of gender expression or identity.
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Through this directive, I hereby direct that action be taken in the following ways:
Back to top1. Expand gender and self-identifiers
All city forms and applications, paper or electronic, shall include nonbinary option(s) when asking for demographic information and provide:
- Additional identity and title options, where appropriate, beyond “Male and Female” and “Mr. and Ms.”
- Additional identifiers, where appropriate, beyond identifiers such as “She, Her, Hers” and “He, Him, His.”
- Designation of a chosen name.
- Gender-neutral labels such as “Parent or Guardian” to be used with or in lieu of terms such as “Mother” and “Father.”
2. Gender identity trainings
DHR, in conjunction with the Office of Transgender Initiatives, shall include education on LGBTQ identities for City employees as part of any required harassment prevention, implicit bias, and cross-cultural communications trainings.
Any forms already in print that do not confirm with the requirements of this Directive shall be allowed to be exhausted, but any new printing shall comply with the above requirements. In addition, this Directive shall not be construed to conflict with any State or Federal law or regulation.
This executive directive shall be effective immediately, and will remain in place until rescinded by future written communication or supplanted by ordinance.
For questions or additional support please contact the Office of Transgender Initiatives at transcitysf@sfgov.org or 415-671-3071.
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