San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a new initiative designed to support women and families with children in San Francisco. The so-called Women and Families First Initiative is designed to provide job training for 300 women in industries that are expected to grow during San Francisco’s economic recovery and will support approximately 800 children with childcare tuition credits.
“Women, and particularly women with children, have experienced higher rates of unemployment throughout the course of the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, women were getting paid less than men doing similar work,” said Mayor Breed. “As we move forward on our recovery, we have an opportunity to make San Francisco a more equitable and supportive place for women and their children. With this initiative, we’re working to make sure that women have employment opportunities that can get them on the path to a fulfilling career, and that more families can access high-quality, affordable childcare so their kids are taken care of and parents can return to work."
Mayor Breed's office says it is proposing fund the Initiative in part with revenues from the June 2018 Proposition C, which provides funding to support early care and education investments.
Mayor Breed's office stated that by ensuring early care and education options remain affordable, available, and accessible throughout San Francisco is essential for making sure all young people are ready for Kindergarten and success in school.
The childcare tuition program will be run by the Office of Early Care and Education, and complements the City’s existing programs to provide child care subsidies for low-income families.
“The only way our City will come back stronger from the disparate economic, social, and health impacts of the pandemic is to center women in our recovery efforts,” said Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “The status quo was not working and it is time to transform our industries by lifting up women and providing them the essential support they need to build their careers, strengthen their opportunities and provide affordable childcare so they are able to make choices and be assured their children are given the best opportunities for a strong head start in life. With this Initiative, we are getting closer to fulfilling the vision our voters and community members fought hard for: to bring high quality, robust early care and education to families across San Francisco.”
“San Francisco is unburdening the financial cost of childcare for moderate-income families with an early education safety net,” said Ingrid Mezquita, Director, Office of Early Care and Education. “Our investment in high-quality early education is economic security that helps more women become active in their own economic recovery.”
“Women are the backbone of our families, our community, and our economy. During the pandemic, they have been especially heroic, supporting their children in home schooling while working both inside and outside the home as essential workers and first responders. Even as we reopen and recover, women as a whole who make up a significant portion of San Francisco’s laid off workforce are returning to work at a much slower rate,” said Kate Sofis, Director, Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “With the launch of our Women and Children First Initiative, San Francisco begins the important work to elevate and advance women and women of color and their families to the front of the line with job training and investments in childcare born out of our Economic Recovery Task Force Plan.”
“Over the past year, women were forced to choose between the traditional workforce and being the primary sources of care for children and elders at home,” said Sheryl Davis, Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission. “The pandemic quickly expanded gender disparities and rolled back decades of progress. This initiative will give an earned boost to families that need a little more support from our City to ensure that their families not only survive, but also have a real chance to thrive.”
“By launching the Women and Families First Initiative, San Francisco is once again leading the pack by recognizing the critical importance women, especially working mothers, will play in rebuilding a vibrant and thriving economy. Certainly, affordable and reliable childcare will be a critical component of our economic recovery,” said Kimberly Ellis, Director of the Department on the Status of Women. “This initiative focuses on the good paying jobs in new and emerging sectors like healthcare, technology and construction, while balancing investments in the hospitality industry that has long employed women of color. This is exactly the type of strategic thinking needed to bolster our economic recovery by bringing a gender equity lens to this moment while creating replicable blueprints that others can follow. When we lift up women, we lift up all of society and lay the foundation for a better tomorrow.”
“It is clear that early care and education is important. Everyone deserves to have access to high-quality early education opportunities. Investing in our children’s future by providing middle-moderate income families, especially women, financial assistance for early care will lay a path for greater economic security,” said Tracy List, Executive Director, FranDelJa Enrichment Center. “We can begin to build an early education system that reaches all young children, regardless of their income or neighborhood. This will allow more children and their families to benefit from educational to economic success.”