The Santa Fe Women’s Commission made recommendations at last night’s City Council meeting to close the gap on reported gender disparities in the city workplace.
The Commission surveyed 314 city employees last year and found that 77 percent of respondents say they are satisfied working for the city of Santa Fe.
But in several areas, women report more negative feelings about their work experiences than men.
"Women in particular are less likely than men to rate the city positively regarding gender diversity, workplace culture, respect, work life balance and opportunities for advancement,” said Elais Ponton.
That’s Elais Ponton, chair of the Santa Fe Women’s Commission, speaking at last night’s council meeting. She and two colleagues presented data relating to several areas of concern.
For example, 46% of women report experiencing some form of workplace mistreatment, including harassment and bullying, a figure that’s twice as high as their male colleagues report.
In response to the statement, At the City of Santa Fe, women have the same opportunities as men, 74 percent of the male population strongly or somewhat agree while only 46 percent of females selected one of those two responses.
The Santa Fe Womens Commission, which was formed after it was a campaign promise of mayor Alan Webber, recommended three central new initiatives:
- A comprehensive harassment training and reporting program
- A mentorship program
- And a parental leave policy.
The current city policy requires employees in need of parental leave, to use their accrued time off for pay while they are away.
Commission members said they hope the City will decide to start granting 12 weeks of paid administrative parental leave without making employees use accrued time. The family medical leave act already in practice guarantees that workers going on parental leave will be permitted to return to their jobs.
Several councilors supported the idea of a paid parental leave policy as well as benefits for workers with young kids. Councilor Michael Garcia said the pandemic made those needs even more clear.
“Those employers that provide benefits to working parents are the employers where folks want to work," Garcia said.
"I definitely want the city to be an employer that supports working parents. And we shouldn't just simply stop at parental leave, We should also explore childcare benefits.”
The Women’s Commission will work with city departments to fine tune the plan will present its final recommendations in early 2025.
