We started collaborating with the Tampa Bay Chapter of UNA very early on in our work for CEDAW Sarasota. They were also interested in a Cities for CEDAW movement. The UNA/ Tampa Bay Chapter is large, diverse, well-organized, and well funded. Their approach to an ordinance movement is necessarily very different, but our long-term goals are the same.

See my short article in their most recent newsletter, below or here.

CEDAW Update

CEDAW – What is it and why should I care?
By: Elizabeth Scott Osborne. Esq., Chair – Cities for CEDAW, Gulf Coast Chapter – UN Women/USNC

CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This landmark international treaty, first created in 1979, has helped to advance gender equality throughout the globe. CEDAW’s 30 articles create norms for equal treatment of women and girls in all areas of life; in fact, it is the first UN treaty to fully address the equal rights of all women. Like other UN treaties, enforcement is voluntary and unique to each country.

Though signed by 196 nations, CEDAW has never been ratified by the United States – in fact, we are one of only six nations failing to enact CEDAW. The US Senate has never even voted on CEDAW, despite persistent lobbying in Washington. This failure handicaps us on the international stage and removes the weight of the United States on issues of global equality.

In recent years, activists in the US have begun a Cities for CEDAW movement. Now underway, this campaign helps cities and municipalities in the US enact their own versions of CEDAW, thus bringing equality provisions to widespread and diverse locales in the US. The US Conference of Mayors and over 200 civic organizations nationally have all endorsed this Cities for CEDAW campaign. We are confident that these local laws will help both the individual cities as well as create a grassroots push for CEDAW ratification in the US Senate.

Next month: What is Cities for CEDAW doing right here in Florida?