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German Parliament Approves Quota for Female Directors

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In this June 4, 2014 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister for Family Affairs Manuela Schwesig, from left, attend a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Germany’s Parliament has approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe’s biggest economy to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting next year. Lawmakers from Merkel’s governing coalition backed the legislation Friday, March 6, 2015, while opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn’t go far enough abstained. (AP Photo/dpa, Maurizio Gambarini, File)

In this June 4, 2014 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister for Family Affairs Manuela Schwesig, from left, attend a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Germany’’s Parliament has approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe’s biggest economy to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting next year. Lawmakers from Merkel’’s governing coalition backed the legislation Friday, March 6, 2015, while opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn’t go far enough abstained. (AP Photo/dpa, Maurizio Gambarini, File)

GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Parliament on Friday approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe’s biggest economy to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting next year.

The quota will apply to the directors of more than 100 listed companies, though not to their management boards. Another 3,500 firms will be required to set targets of their choosing to raise the number of female directors and women in other leadership positions.

“If there are no equal opportunities at the top of companies, there are none in other areas either,” Manuela Schwesig, the minister for women and families, told ZDF television.

Lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats backed the legislation Friday. Opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn’t go far enough abstained.

“A real quota for women must apply to all companies,” said Caren Lay, a lawmaker with the opposition Left Party.

The new quota won’t apply to public-sector employees, though officials are pledging to increase the number of women in public-sector leadership jobs.

A study by the German Institute for Economic Research found that, last year, women accounted for 18.6 percent of the supervisory board members — the German equivalent of directors — at the country’s biggest 100 companies.

Germany’s biggest companies, the 30 listed in Frankfurt’s benchmark DAX index, were closest to fulfilling the new quota, with 24.7 percent female directors.

The Federation of German Industries criticized the 30 percent quota as a “purely symbolic policy” and complained that the legislation foresees punishment for private companies but not for the public sector.

The new legislation will be applied as vacancies arise, and it is unclear how many posts will be affected in 2016. Starting next year, companies that haven’t met the quota would either have to appoint a woman to fill a supervisory board vacancy, or leave the seat empty.

Schwesig said that is an effective measure because it would affect the balance of power on supervisory boards. In Germany, those boards normally contain equal numbers of employer and employee representatives.

The management boards of the biggest companies contain even fewer women than their supervisory boards. Women accounted for only 4.1 percent of executives at Germany’s biggest 100 companies last year.

Germany follows Norway, Spain and France and others in imposing quota requirements.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 8 – 14, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 8 – 14, 2024

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To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Mayor Breed Proposes Waiving City Fees for Night Markets, Block Parties, Farmers’ Markets, Other Outdoor Community Events

Mayor London N. Breed introduced legislation on April 26 to encourage and expand outdoor community events. The first will waive City fees for certain events, making them less costly to produce. The second will simplify the health permitting for special event food vendors through the creation of an annual permit. Both pieces of legislation are part of the Mayor’s broader initiative to bring vibrancy and entertainment to San Francisco’s public right of ways and spaces.

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Outdoor community events are integral to San Francisco’s vibrant culture and sense of community. iStock image.
Outdoor community events are integral to San Francisco’s vibrant culture and sense of community. iStock image.

Mayor’s Press Office

Mayor London N. Breed introduced legislation on April 26 to encourage and expand outdoor community events.

The first will waive City fees for certain events, making them less costly to produce. The second will simplify the health permitting for special event food vendors through the creation of an annual permit. Both pieces of legislation are part of the Mayor’s broader initiative to bring vibrancy and entertainment to San Francisco’s public right of ways and spaces.

Outdoor community events are integral to San Francisco’s vibrant culture and sense of community. These events include night markets, neighborhood block parties and farmers markets, and bolster the City’s economy by supporting local businesses and attracting tourists eager to experience San Francisco’s unique charm and food scene.

They offer residents, workers and visitors, opportunities to engage with local artists, musicians, and food vendors while enjoying the San Francisco’s stunning outdoor spaces and commercial corridors.

The legislation will allow for more and new community gatherings and for local food vendors to benefit from the City’s revitalization.

“San Francisco is alive when our streets are filled with festivals, markets, and community events,” said Breed. “As a city we can cut fees and streamline rules so our communities can bring joy and excitement into our streets and help revitalize San Francisco.”

Fee Waiver Legislation

The events that can take advantage of the new fee waivers are those that are free and open to the public, occupy three or fewer city blocks, take place between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and have the appropriate permitting from the ISCOTT and the Entertainment Commission.

The applicant must be a San Francisco based non-profit, small business, Community Benefit District, Business Improvement District, or a neighborhood or merchant association. Fees eligible for waiver include any application, permit, and inspection/staffing fees from San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Department of Public Health, Fire Department, Entertainment Commission, and Police Department.

Currently, it can cost roughly anywhere between $500-$10,000 to obtain permits for organized events or fairs, depending on its size and scope. Organizations and businesses are limited to a maximum of 12 events in one calendar year for which they can receive these fee waivers.

Food Vendor Streamlining Legislation

The second piece of legislation introduced will help special event food vendors easily participate in multiple events throughout the year with a new, cost-effective annual food permit. Food vendors who participate in multiple events at multiple locations throughout the year will no longer need to obtain a separate permit for each event. Instead, special event food vendors will be able to apply and pay for a single annual permit all at once.

“Many successful food businesses either begin as pop-up vendors or participate in special events to grow their business,” says Katy Tang, Director of the Office of Small Business. “Giving them the option for an annual special event food permit saves them time and money.”

Currently, food vendors are required to get a Temporary Food Facility (TFF) permit from the Department of Public Health (DPH) in order to participate in a special event, among permits from other departments.

Currently, each special event requires a new permit from DPH ranging from $124-$244, depending on the type of food being prepared and sold. Last year, DPH issued over 1,500 individual TFF permits. With the new annual permit, food vendors selling at more than four to six events each year will benefit from hundreds of dollars in savings and time saved from fewer bureaucratic processes.

“This legislation is a step in the right direction to make it easier for food vendors like me to participate in citywide events,” said Dontaye Ball, owner of Gumbo Social. “It saves on time, money and makes it more effective. It also creates a level of equity.”

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Bay Area

Faces Around the Bay: Sidney Carey

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland. Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

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Courtesy of Sidney Lane.
Courtesy of Sidney Lane.

By Barbara Fluhrer

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland.

Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

He graduated from McClymonds High with a scholarship in cosmetology and was the first African American to complete a nine-month course at the first Black Beauty School in Oakland: Charm Beauty College.

He earned his License, and then attended U.C., earning a secondary teaching credential. With his Instructors License, he went on to teach at Laney College, San Mateo College, Skyline and Universal Beauty College in Pinole, among others.

Carey was the first African American hair stylist at Joseph and I. Magnin department store in Oakland and in San Francisco, where he managed the hair stylist department, Shear Heaven.

In 2009, he quit teaching and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure.  He was 60 and “too old for a heart transplant”.  His doctors at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) went to court and fought successfully for his right to receive a transplant.  One day, he received a call from CPMC, “Be here in one hour.”  He underwent a transplant with a heart from a 25-year- old man in Vienna, Austria

Two years later, Carey resumed teaching at Laney College, finally retiring in 2012.

Now, he’s slowed down and comfortable in a Senior Residence in Berkeley, but still manages to fit his 6/4” frame in his 2002 Toyota and drive to family gatherings in Oakland and San Leandro and an occasional Four Seasons Arts concert.

He does his own shopping and cooking and uses Para Transit to keep constant doctor appointments while keeping up with anti-rejection meds. He often travels with doctors as a model of a successful heart-transplant plant recipient: 14 years.

Carey says, “I’m blessed” and, to the youth, “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

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German Parliament Approves Quota for Female Directors

Published

on

In this June 4, 2014 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister for Family Affairs Manuela Schwesig, from left, attend a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Germany’s Parliament has approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe’s biggest economy to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting next year. Lawmakers from Merkel’s governing coalition backed the legislation Friday, March 6, 2015, while opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn’t go far enough abstained. (AP Photo/dpa, Maurizio Gambarini, File)

In this June 4, 2014 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister for Family Affairs Manuela Schwesig, from left, attend a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Germany’’s Parliament has approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe’s biggest economy to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting next year. Lawmakers from Merkel’’s governing coalition backed the legislation Friday, March 6, 2015, while opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn’t go far enough abstained. (AP Photo/dpa, Maurizio Gambarini, File)

GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Parliament on Friday approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe’s biggest economy to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting next year.

The quota will apply to the directors of more than 100 listed companies, though not to their management boards. Another 3,500 firms will be required to set targets of their choosing to raise the number of female directors and women in other leadership positions.

“If there are no equal opportunities at the top of companies, there are none in other areas either,” Manuela Schwesig, the minister for women and families, told ZDF television.

Lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats backed the legislation Friday. Opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn’t go far enough abstained.

“A real quota for women must apply to all companies,” said Caren Lay, a lawmaker with the opposition Left Party.

The new quota won’t apply to public-sector employees, though officials are pledging to increase the number of women in public-sector leadership jobs.

A study by the German Institute for Economic Research found that, last year, women accounted for 18.6 percent of the supervisory board members — the German equivalent of directors — at the country’s biggest 100 companies.

Germany’s biggest companies, the 30 listed in Frankfurt’s benchmark DAX index, were closest to fulfilling the new quota, with 24.7 percent female directors.

The Federation of German Industries criticized the 30 percent quota as a “purely symbolic policy” and complained that the legislation foresees punishment for private companies but not for the public sector.

The new legislation will be applied as vacancies arise, and it is unclear how many posts will be affected in 2016. Starting next year, companies that haven’t met the quota would either have to appoint a woman to fill a supervisory board vacancy, or leave the seat empty.

Schwesig said that is an effective measure because it would affect the balance of power on supervisory boards. In Germany, those boards normally contain equal numbers of employer and employee representatives.

The management boards of the biggest companies contain even fewer women than their supervisory boards. Women accounted for only 4.1 percent of executives at Germany’s biggest 100 companies last year.

Germany follows Norway, Spain and France and others in imposing quota requirements.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Click to comment

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 8 – 14, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 8 – 14, 2024

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Bay Area

Mayor Breed Proposes Waiving City Fees for Night Markets, Block Parties, Farmers’ Markets, Other Outdoor Community Events

Mayor London N. Breed introduced legislation on April 26 to encourage and expand outdoor community events. The first will waive City fees for certain events, making them less costly to produce. The second will simplify the health permitting for special event food vendors through the creation of an annual permit. Both pieces of legislation are part of the Mayor’s broader initiative to bring vibrancy and entertainment to San Francisco’s public right of ways and spaces.

Published

on

Outdoor community events are integral to San Francisco’s vibrant culture and sense of community. iStock image.
Outdoor community events are integral to San Francisco’s vibrant culture and sense of community. iStock image.

Mayor’s Press Office

Mayor London N. Breed introduced legislation on April 26 to encourage and expand outdoor community events.

The first will waive City fees for certain events, making them less costly to produce. The second will simplify the health permitting for special event food vendors through the creation of an annual permit. Both pieces of legislation are part of the Mayor’s broader initiative to bring vibrancy and entertainment to San Francisco’s public right of ways and spaces.

Outdoor community events are integral to San Francisco’s vibrant culture and sense of community. These events include night markets, neighborhood block parties and farmers markets, and bolster the City’s economy by supporting local businesses and attracting tourists eager to experience San Francisco’s unique charm and food scene.

They offer residents, workers and visitors, opportunities to engage with local artists, musicians, and food vendors while enjoying the San Francisco’s stunning outdoor spaces and commercial corridors.

The legislation will allow for more and new community gatherings and for local food vendors to benefit from the City’s revitalization.

“San Francisco is alive when our streets are filled with festivals, markets, and community events,” said Breed. “As a city we can cut fees and streamline rules so our communities can bring joy and excitement into our streets and help revitalize San Francisco.”

Fee Waiver Legislation

The events that can take advantage of the new fee waivers are those that are free and open to the public, occupy three or fewer city blocks, take place between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and have the appropriate permitting from the ISCOTT and the Entertainment Commission.

The applicant must be a San Francisco based non-profit, small business, Community Benefit District, Business Improvement District, or a neighborhood or merchant association. Fees eligible for waiver include any application, permit, and inspection/staffing fees from San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Department of Public Health, Fire Department, Entertainment Commission, and Police Department.

Currently, it can cost roughly anywhere between $500-$10,000 to obtain permits for organized events or fairs, depending on its size and scope. Organizations and businesses are limited to a maximum of 12 events in one calendar year for which they can receive these fee waivers.

Food Vendor Streamlining Legislation

The second piece of legislation introduced will help special event food vendors easily participate in multiple events throughout the year with a new, cost-effective annual food permit. Food vendors who participate in multiple events at multiple locations throughout the year will no longer need to obtain a separate permit for each event. Instead, special event food vendors will be able to apply and pay for a single annual permit all at once.

“Many successful food businesses either begin as pop-up vendors or participate in special events to grow their business,” says Katy Tang, Director of the Office of Small Business. “Giving them the option for an annual special event food permit saves them time and money.”

Currently, food vendors are required to get a Temporary Food Facility (TFF) permit from the Department of Public Health (DPH) in order to participate in a special event, among permits from other departments.

Currently, each special event requires a new permit from DPH ranging from $124-$244, depending on the type of food being prepared and sold. Last year, DPH issued over 1,500 individual TFF permits. With the new annual permit, food vendors selling at more than four to six events each year will benefit from hundreds of dollars in savings and time saved from fewer bureaucratic processes.

“This legislation is a step in the right direction to make it easier for food vendors like me to participate in citywide events,” said Dontaye Ball, owner of Gumbo Social. “It saves on time, money and makes it more effective. It also creates a level of equity.”

Continue Reading

Bay Area

Faces Around the Bay: Sidney Carey

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland. Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

Published

on

Courtesy of Sidney Lane.
Courtesy of Sidney Lane.

By Barbara Fluhrer

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland.

Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

He graduated from McClymonds High with a scholarship in cosmetology and was the first African American to complete a nine-month course at the first Black Beauty School in Oakland: Charm Beauty College.

He earned his License, and then attended U.C., earning a secondary teaching credential. With his Instructors License, he went on to teach at Laney College, San Mateo College, Skyline and Universal Beauty College in Pinole, among others.

Carey was the first African American hair stylist at Joseph and I. Magnin department store in Oakland and in San Francisco, where he managed the hair stylist department, Shear Heaven.

In 2009, he quit teaching and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure.  He was 60 and “too old for a heart transplant”.  His doctors at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) went to court and fought successfully for his right to receive a transplant.  One day, he received a call from CPMC, “Be here in one hour.”  He underwent a transplant with a heart from a 25-year- old man in Vienna, Austria

Two years later, Carey resumed teaching at Laney College, finally retiring in 2012.

Now, he’s slowed down and comfortable in a Senior Residence in Berkeley, but still manages to fit his 6/4” frame in his 2002 Toyota and drive to family gatherings in Oakland and San Leandro and an occasional Four Seasons Arts concert.

He does his own shopping and cooking and uses Para Transit to keep constant doctor appointments while keeping up with anti-rejection meds. He often travels with doctors as a model of a successful heart-transplant plant recipient: 14 years.

Carey says, “I’m blessed” and, to the youth, “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

Continue Reading

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