Daly City Women’s Commission formalizes retreat goals, plans speaker series and eyes equal-pay proclamation

The Daly City Women’s Commission on April 22 reviewed materials from its Nov. 9 retreat, confirmed three priority goals and directed subcommittees to return with timelines and proposals for public programming and policy outreach.

Staff member Natalie summarized the retreat packet and told commissioners that “the following three goals were agreed upon: engagement; research and report on the status of women in Daly City; and impact policy.” Commissioners assigned subcommittees for each goal and discussed next steps for outreach and data collection.

Why it matters: the commission is positioning itself to both raise public awareness through events and to produce a locally grounded status report that could support city-level policy actions. Commissioners emphasized two linked aims: use public programming to engage residents and gather information that can justify formal recommendations to the City Council.

Key details

- Goals and subcommittees: Commissioners affirmed three workstreams: (1) engagement — led by Gabby Maxman and Adrienne Tissier, focusing on events, speaker series and outreach; (2) researching and reporting on the status of women in Daly City — a data and listening effort assigned to Natasha and Dr. Valerie Francisco Manavez; and (3) impacting policy — actions such as proclamations or policy proposals, tracked by the Gabby/Adrienne subcommittee. Staff said subcommittees will refine objectives, partners and timelines and report back to the full commission.

- New or expanded priorities: Commissioners proposed adding specific topic emphases — domestic violence, senior abuse and human trafficking — to the workplan. Several members recommended inviting Daly City Police or county law-enforcement partners to brief the commission on local data and service gaps before the commission develops policy recommendations.

- Speaker series and events: The commission coalesced around launching a biannual speaker series as a principal engagement tool. Members suggested an October event focused on domestic violence, senior abuse and trafficking as a first topic cluster, with other months reserved for women's health and financial literacy. Commissioners discussed venue options (city facilities), outreach, and a timeline to identify and reserve speakers.

- Awards and public programming lessons: Commissioners reviewed the recent Women’s History Month event and discussed refining award criteria, adding youth categories, and using a nomination process (possibly adjudicated by external judges) to broaden participation and reduce reliance on commissioners' personal networks.

- Equal-pay proclamation: Commissioners discussed supporting the county’s equal-pay initiative and agreed any request to the City Council should be backed by subcommittee research. The commission noted that to ask the council for a proclamation it must first agendaize the request, vote at a commission meeting and then forward the item to council staff.

- Other business: Staff said HIP Housing (programs for people 62+) has requested a short presentation; commissioners agreed to invite them to a future meeting. There were no public comments. The meeting adjourned after a brief staff check-in.

Next steps and timeline: Subcommittees will meet with staff to produce a skeleton workplan and proposed dates; commissioners expect subcommittee updates and concrete recommendations at the next commission meeting, and possible requests to agendaize proclamations or council referrals only after the commission votes to do so.