Women who power San Francisco

I don’t intend to detonate the old boy’s clubs in politics, business or media, nor fight for full equality for women since the average educated Filipinas are quite self-assured of the power they wield in their different fields. The Philippines, thank God, is a matriarchal society nurtured by our colorful history of “three hundred years in a Spanish convent and seventy years in Hollywood.” We can however learn much from “the sisterhood of influence” and involvement of women in America.

The privilege of dwelling in the progressive seat of power, that is the Bay Area of San Francisco and its surrounding districts, have hewn various women in different stimulating fields like US Representative Nancy Pelosi, transgender icon Theresa Sparks, organizers for the homeless, business owners employing convicts, activists for black justice, etc.

Sisterhood of influence

Starting with big-name Bay Area women, each chooses one or more peers whose work inspires their own: Alice Water, owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant & Café and founder of The Edible Schoolyard Project says of Barbara Lee, US Representative of California’s 13th Congressional District, “I admire Barbara Lee because she votes with her conscience.”

San Francisco Fire Department Chief Jaonne Hayes-White admires Rita R. Semel, Past Chair and Founder of the San Francisco Interfaith Council: “Rita is in a league of her own and has an incredible ability to unify people.”

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf admires California Senator Dianne Feinstein: “Dianne is a tough, affective elected leader and fellow female mayor.” Another inspiration for Libby is Arabella Martinez, interim CEO of the Latino Community Foundation. She describes her as “a champion community developer.” Shirley Nelson, chairperson and CEO of Summit Bank, also looks up to Senator Feinstein: “Dianne leads with dignity and respect and has the courage and strength to continue it for another six years.”

Artistic Director of A.C.T. Carrey Perloff says of her exemplar, “Wanda Holland Greene, head of The Hamlin School, is re-imaging education for girls and is open and alive to all possibilities.” Wanda, on the other hand, looks up to Musumbi Kanyoro, president and CEO of Global Fund for Women: “Musumbi and her team are responsible for over $100 million of grant-making to women around the world.” Both Freada Kapor Klein, founder of Level Playing Field Institute, and Kara Swisher, executive editor of Re/Code, are inspired by Erica Baker, a senior engineer of Build and Release. Kara describes Erica as someone who says what needs to be said; while Freada says, “Erica’s writing about colorless diversity is so clearly and powerfully described; it should be read by everyone who works in tech.”

Meredith White, deputy managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, looks up to Laura Esserman, director of UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center: “Laura has had a profound impact on probably thousands of women, including me.”

Jennifer Palka, founder and executive director of Code for America, chose Tiffani Bell, founder and executive director of the Detroit Water Project as her work inspiration: “As a black woman engineer and entrepreneur, Tiffani defies all stereotypes of Silicon Valley. I’m inspired by her persistence and her passion to help others.”

The enduring power of Pelosi

For three decades, Nancy Pelosi has existed at the nexus of Washington politics and San Francisco values, inspiring more loyalty, admiration and awe than anyone in office. During her 28 years as Representative of San Francisco’s 12th Congressional District, Pelosi has been “a progressive backbencher, the Minority Whip, the Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and now, the Minority Leader again.” San Francisco editor-in-chief Jon Steinberg noted that Pelosi has been criticized harshly by the Republican right as the devil with a blue pantsuit who espouses “middle-class economics” while living high as one of the 15 richest members of Congress.

Silicon Valley congressperson Anna Eshoo, a Pelosi family friend since the 70s, says, “Congressional Republicans are aware in a very raw sense of what she accomplished when she was Speaker. Nancy Pelosi never took a bill to the floor that she lost. Capital letters: NEVER!” She persuaded her Democratic colleagues to march behind President Barack Obama as he pushed his landmark nuclear deal with Iran. Obama quite simply, could not have succeeded in confirming the Affordable Care Act without her.

“Perhaps the general public thinks that a leader has to threaten and cajole to get people to follow her,” say Eshoo, “but that is not Nancy Pelosi at all.” Pelosi’s style of leadership is more neck massage than arm twist; the 75-year-old as “carrying a big stick – but with a cushion at the tip.” Pelosi believes in the power of consensus, encouraging her caucus members to make informed decisions that suit their district and their political priorities without fear of reprisal. Her respect for their intelligence, along with her we’re-all-in-this-together philosophy, fosters an environment of collegiality. During an hour-long conversation with Jon Steinberg, she took pains to sing the praises of tech companies and entrepreneurs that are increasingly setting the city’s agenda. She also called for a new wave of measures to shield San Francisco’s middle class from the upheavals unleashed by the latest tech boom.

Hiring convicts and minority workers

Cala is a Mexican restaurant with a superstar owner and a radical hiring policy. Here, ex-convicts are welcome. Opened in October on a dark stretch of Fell Street, Cala is the first restaurant in the US by Gabriela Cámara, the renowned owner of four Mexico City establishments. She is an extremely successful and open-minded restaurateur who is willing to build her staff primarily from people with prison records and no prior experience.

Cala’s staff hails from a long-respected halfway house program like the Delancey Street Foundation; while others come straight from their cells via programs like America Works and the Community Assessment & Services Center operated by San Francisco’s Adult Probation Department. “You can have technically perfect food, but that doesn’t make a good restaurant. It’s the people,” says Cámara. For her, these people are hardworking, motivated men and women who happened to have been incarcerated. Her members of staff are full-time band and front-of-house employees, all paid a living wage with full health benefits, a portion of pooled tips based on a point system (the restaurant prohibits tipping by customers), and a share of the restaurant’s profits. So for all of her idealism, Cámara is not running a charity.

Kate Sofis is the co-founder and executive director of SFMade, a nonprofit devoted to rehabilitating San Francisco’s formerly robust manufacturing sector through small, artisanal, locally grown companies instead of the massive old-school operations, like shipbuilding, that were its hallmark in the past. When she launched SFMade in 2010, the 12 original members included a 111-year old mattress manufacturer, a chocolatier and two guys who sold iPad cases made from hardcover books – “the Noah’s ark of what we had as manufacturing in S.F. back then,” Sofis laughs. Yet in just six years, she has transformed her powered-by-rubber-bands startup into a fuel-injected dynamo that’s a national model for revitalizing local manufacturing. Today, SFMade’s 600-member companies produce everything from corsets to beer, to furniture, and to t-shirts (rarely made domestically anymore). It is in the process of creating more than 5,000 manufacturing jobs, many for low-income and minority workers. “We provide education, consulting and assistance to help manufacturing companies grow. If they grow, they hire more people,” says Sofis.

Idealistic and fearless

Within the past five years, the Bay Area has become ground zero not only for pervasive local issues like discrimination in tech and housing abuses, but also for national causes. Though these movements encompass all genders, a greater number of those leading the charge are women. Throughout the ranks, there is a pervading sense of a common goal. There are the “37 soldiers of social change” in the Bay Area, each belonging to a group fighting for different causes. Spokespersons of some of these movements share: Housing & Tenant Protection – “Housing has become the absolute number one issue on everybody’s mind in this city. That stronger interest in the work we do means that we’re increasingly known as the force to be reckoned with. In the end, we’ll do whatever it takes to keep longtime San Franciscans from being forced out.” – Sara Shortt

Black Lives Matter – “There’s a spirit of rebellion and fearlessness to challenge oppression in the Bay Area that has not been seen anywhere else. That consciousness permeates everywhere. For many black people across the country, this is the first time they’ve been able to directly confront powers.” – Celeste Faison

Diversity in Tech – “Fifteen years ago, a trans person couldn’t walk around the city without being the object of ridicule, discrimination, or violence. That is different now. This year alone, San Francisco is contributing over $1.5 M to transgender programs.” – Theresa Sparks

In conclusion, let me quote Nancy Pelosi: “I always say when women succeed, America succeeds. That is a fact. It’s not a nice expression – it is an absolute fact.”

(Reference: San Francisco, The Women in Power Issue, December 2015)

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