Mayor Faulconer propose new committee to improve opportunities for women

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer proposed today the creation of a committee to advise local officials on how to improve opportunities and experiences for women.

Members of the Committee to Advance Women and Girls would be appointed by Faulconer and the City Council, and the panel would replace the defunct Commission on the Status of Women. According to Faulconer, the committee would focus on education, pay inequities, participation on local boards and commissions and support for working parents.

“San Diego is fortunate to have many women leaders who perform exceptional work on behalf of the residents we serve,” Faulconer said. “This new commission will focus on leveling the playing field so that women can realize their fullest potential.”

Faulconer noted that women make up a majority of the City Council, while the city also has its first female city attorney and 13 female department heads.

Faulconer’s office plans to further flesh out the committee’s guidelines and objectives before making changes to the city’s municipal code to establish the committee. Once created, Faulconer plans to ask each the City Council’s nine members for nominations to the panel.