Initiatives: Economic Mobility & Opportunity

Dell’s Women Entrepreneur Cities Index names New York “The Best City in the World for Women Entrepreneurs.”

Launching WE Master Leadership, a business and leadership program for low-income and immigrant women entrepreneurs. The program is expected to serve an additional 500 women annually, while the overall WE NYC initiative is on track to serve over 5,000 women by 2019.

Expanding paid sick leave to many of the lowest paid industries that employ a disproportionate number of women.

Framing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as a woman's issue and encouraging low-income women and mothers to take advantage of more than 200 NYC Free Tax Prep sites and the EITC.

Starting a national conversation about gender pricing disparities between goods with the release of From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer.

The historic roll-out of Universal Pre-K, with 51.6 percent of pre-K students being girls, with 70,00 students enrolled for 15-16 school year.

Signing legislation to provide six weeks of fully paid parental leave to City employees.

Increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour for all City government employees and employees who provide contracted work for the City at social service organizations.

Collective bargaining increases of eight percent in female-dominated fields like teaching and health care; 10 percent raise for all civilian unions, resulting in an 18 percent raise for employees like teachers and nurses.

Setting new goals and improving upon MWBE policies and practices to make contracting opportunities more accessible for businesses owned by women, with 471 new women owned businesses certified in FY15, bringing the total number of WBE firms to 2,004, and $128,254,114 City contracts awarded to WBEs in FY15.

Researched the landscape of women entrepreneurs and launched a responsive suite of new programs and resources to support women entrepreneurs in New York City.

Expanded the protections of the New York City Human Rights Law to include “caregiver status” as an additional protected category for which employment discrimination is prohibited. The protections, went into effect May 4, 2016 and prohibit employment discrimination against employees caring for a minor child or an individual with a disability.

Expanded the New York City Human Rights Law to add to Pregnancy and Employment Rights - NYC Human Rights Law requiring that employers disseminate or conspicuously post a written notice developed by the Commission on the rights of pregnant workers to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.

Exercising the full enforcement power of the Commission on Human Rights, by levying the first $250,000 penalty in the Commission's history, Cardenas v. Automatic Meter Reading Corp. The case displayed an employer’s longstanding pattern of sexually harassing a female employee, and the ultimate judgment affirmed the City's Human Rights Law as a powerful protection for women and other minorities in the workplace.

Establishing a new Division of Paid Care within the Department of Consumer Affairs' Office of Labor Policy and Standards to focus on the needs of paid caregivers, such as domestic workers and home health aides, who are often women and immigrants, and in need of a trusted resource with specialized education efforts. The Division is responsible for assisting the Director of the Office of Labor Standards with developing policies and programs that apply to paid care workers; conducting public outreach and information campaigns for paid care workers, employers, and care recipients; engaging in and promoting research on the paid care industry; and coordinating with appropriate stakeholders to provide development programming and training. This expanded upon the Administration’s labor policy and enforcement work and will, for the first time ever, establish a dedicated City resource to addressing the specific needs of paid caregivers, who are among the most vulnerable members of New York City’s labor force.

Providing outreach and education on consumer protection issues that affect women. The Department of Consumer (DCA) Affairs will provide information regarding short- and long-term financial planning, including planning for retirement and the navigation of public benefits programs. Additionally, the agency would provide information about the prevalence of gender-based pricing, how to avoid deceptive business practices and predatory consumer and financial products, as well as the availability of counseling services at DCA’s Financial Empowerment Centers.