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

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24 1 She would like to see this on a broader scale, and she thinks it should be under the Diversity 2 Matters committee. She said some issues discovered with women's issues will be true across 3 the board for other groups. 4 Commissioner Gordon said it seems that the HRC may not do anything in particular 5 about women's issues unless they are given more money. She said this concerns her, as it 6 seems like the resources of the Diversity Matters group could be focused on women's issues. 7 She feels that pay equity is important, because if women were paid equally a lot of other issues 8 would fall into place. She said she still thinks there should be a focus on women's issues. She 9 would like to see Diversity Matters have a focus on women to determine the concerns and 10 issues for women in Orange County. 11 Commissioner Rich said it is already known that women are paid less than men, and 12 she does not understand what the goal is in researching this and putting it on paper. She 13 asked if this is a proposal to come up with a solution. She said the County cannot tell private 14 companies to pay women more. 15 Chair Jacobs said the manager is asking the Board to provide feedback to staff on next 16 steps. He said the Board feels there are several issues of interest that could be pursued, and 17 the HRC has heard these issues. He said the goal now is to have them look at the gamut of 18 issues and how they impact women in Orange County and then report back to the Board of 19 County Commissioners before going out too far on a limb. He asked about a timetable for this 20 report. He suggested there be a specific time line for deliberation, discussion, investigation and 21 reporting 22 Chair Jacobs said the HRC used to do an annual day-long symposium, and then it 23 stopped. He said this may be a fruitful area for the creation of this type of event. 24 Commissioner Price said the point of this was just to get the ball rolling. She said the 25 HRC has a forum every January, and she understands that women may be the focus of this 26 event in 2015. 27 28 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to 29 accept the report, inclusive of the points raised in this discussion and the articulated timeline. 30 31 Michael Talbert said he feels the Board is on the right track. He said feedback has been 32 given and James Davis will take this back to the HRC for further discussion. He suggested that 33 the HRC bring back a plan in late fall as to how these issues will be addressed. 34 Commissioner Dorosin said the Board needs to have a discussion about how priorities 35 are set for advisory boards. He said this should be discussed and voted on. He is not saying 36 this is not an important issue, but he has talked to a lot of women in the community who have 37 different sets of issues that are priorities. He does not think the Board had agreed that pay 38 equity is the highest priority. He feels the Board should provide clearer and broader direction 39 when setting priorities. 40 Commissioner Pelissier asked why the Board would ask the HRC to come back in the 41 fall since they submit their work plan in January for review. She referred to Commissioner 42 Dorosin's point and said the plans of all of the advisory boards are approved by the 43 Commissioners and there can be direction given regarding priorities. She feels that the report 44 from the HRC should just wait until January. 45 Chair Jacobs said it would be nice to receive a report in the fall if there is potentially 46 going to be a forum in January, so that the Board can address the priorities of this event. 47 James Davis said the forum in January is proposed to be an acknowledgement of the 48 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voter's Rights Act, combined with the anniversary of the 19th 49 amendment, which granted women the right to vote.