Agenda - 09-04-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

23 1 Commissioner Gordon said she is happy about the last part of the report. She is not so 2 sure that the only way to do this is with additional resources. She asked why there cannot be a 3 sub-committee on this since there are so many other sub-committees. 4 James Davis said the HRC is comprised of a diverse membership, and having a sub- 5 committee focused strictly on women sparked a discussion about sub-committees for all of the 6 other minorities. He said it occurred to the HRC that this could lead to a never ending creation 7 of subcommittees and issues with failing to include certain groups. He said the Diversity 8 Matters subcommittee was created prior to these discussions, and it was decided that this 9 subcommittee should be the one to discuss all matters of diversity, including women and equity. 10 Commissioner Price said she is pleased that this is going forward, but she wonders if 11 hiring a person to address this issue may not be the way to go. She said if the staff person 12 does not get funded, there may be other ways to collect the data. She said this could be 13 addressed with Diversity Matters. 14 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the Board is supposed to give direction to HRC on what 15 to prioritize over the next year. 16 Chair Jacobs said the request is for a response to this report. 17 Michael Talbert said the purpose is specifically to deal with the study of women's issues 18 by the HRC, and give feedback on where the HRC should go from here and whether their idea 19 of addressing it through the Diversity Matters subcommittee is adequate. 20 Commissioner Dorosin said he has not signed on to the idea that study of pay equity is 21 the highest priority human relations issue. He said if there are limited resources on what can be 22 focused on, he has some different ideas on gender discrimination and what the focus should 23 be. He noted that the Health Department is going to have the poverty council, which will be 24 looking at issues including gender discrimination and the problems faced by single mothers and 25 female heads of household. He feels there is an opportunity for synergy here, and he wants to 26 be clear on what the Board is supposed to be doing here. He said he would propose a broader 27 agenda than just pay disparity, as he does not think this is the most pressing issue. 28 Commissioner Price said this was in response to a request she made along with 29 Commissioner Gordon to bring back a commission that focused on women's issues. She 30 realizes there are many issues that can be tackled, but after talking to many women a decision 31 was made to hone in on such issues as pay equity, raises, promotions, and the ability to get 32 loans. She said there are many issues, but an advisory board can only do so much, and she is 33 pleased to see this step in the right direction. She said there are already plans to do a 34 community read to begin the dialogue. 35 James Davis said this is planned for the fall. 36 Commissioner Price said she does not see why other issues could not be addressed 37 further down the road. 38 Commissioner Pelissier said as she understands it the Board does not have to give any 39 direction and can just accept the report. She said a pay study has been proposed, but she 40 would agree that this is not the best way to address this. She likes the approach of Diversity 41 Matters and looking at all of the different groups where there may be issues. She said the 42 work plan will come to the Board early next year and this can be approved and direction given 43 as needed at that time. 44 Commissioner Rich said she agrees with Commissioner Dorosin, and she feels the 45 focus should be on more than one issue. She does not feel this is the most important issue for 46 women right now. She said she talked with the Durham Human Rights Commission (HRC) 47 about how they handle their women's division. She said Durham does not have a women's 48 commission, and everyone is involved in the conversations. She said this group is in their 7th 49 year of producing a Women's Forum in March and there are all kinds of issues addressed here. 50 She said it is a very successful all day event, and there are public and private partnerships.