Committee on Women and Gender Equity meeting
February 27, 2026, 1:00 PM
The committee held an oversight hearing on the state of gender equity in New York City and heard three items: Int 0296-2026 (increasing access to gender equity data), Res 0069-2026 (opposing a presidential executive order restricting protections for transgender students), and Res 0322-2026 (urging state legislation on gender pay equity reporting).
What was discussed
- Chair Farías opens the oversight hearing on the state of gender equity Council Member Amanda Farías gaveled in the hearing on the state of gender equity in New York City, laying out data on domestic and gender-based violence, the gender pay gap, maternal mortality, and threats to reproductive and transgender health care. She read a statement from Council Member Farah
- ENDGBV on its survivor services and expanding prevention work Commissioner Saloni Sethi of the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence testified that the office runs the five borough Family Justice Centers, the HOPE Hotline, and the Crime Victims Assistance Program, and has grown its prevention portfolio including the RAPP school program
- NYC Her Future on its first two years advancing girls and young women Founding Executive Director Nathifa Forde described NYC Her Future, the city's first office focused on the economic mobility and leadership of young women and girls of color, housed in the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice. She said its roughly $2.5 million portfolio of seven programs has
- Commission on Gender Equity on pay equity, task forces, and its 2026 agenda Executive Director Priya Nair of the Commission on Gender Equity described the commission's advisory role and its three focus areas of economic justice, health, and safety. She said projected pay-parity timelines remain generations away, cited the Street Harassment Prevention Advisory Board finding
- What are CGE's priorities under the new administration, and when will the Marshall Plan for Moms report be published? Executive Director Priya Nair told Chair Farías that economic justice—the city-workforce and private-employer pay-equity studies and the Marshall Plan for Moms report—is the commission's top priority given the administration's affordability focus. She said the Marshall Plan for Moms report is in
- What trainings and outreach does ENDGBV run, and what did the street harassment survey change? Deputy Commissioner Edward Hill said ENDGBV offers seven agency trainings, roughly half virtual, with pre- and post-surveys on a subset, and Commissioner Saloni Sethi added that open provider trainings now draw 200-250 attendees. On outreach, Sethi described a rebrand, a weekly newsletter, and an
- What concerns does the administration have about Intro. 296's gender-based-violence data mandate? Commissioner Saloni Sethi told Chair Farías the office supports better data but cited feasibility concerns around internal and cross-agency capacity, differing state reporting mandates at ACS and DSS, and access to private-hospital data under HIPAA. Deputy Commissioner Edward Hill said his primary
- How does ENDGBV read the trends in Family Justice Center visits and violence data? Deputy Commissioner Edward Hill told Chair Farías that stable client counts alongside about 3,500 more Family Justice Center visits reflect existing clients returning more often, and attributed declines in intimate-partner homicides and HOPE Hotline calls partly to a post-COVID return to baseline
- What are the agencies' current budgets, headcounts, and vacancy rates? Commissioner Saloni Sethi told Chair Farías that ENDGBV's FY26 budget is about $65 million including public-private partnerships, with a budgeted headcount of 80, a staff of 59, and a roughly 26 percent vacancy rate, and said the FY27 figure is slightly higher. Priya Nair (CGE) again deferred
- How is NYC Her Future tracking its programs and working with the Young Men's Initiative? Executive Director Nathifa Forde told Chair Farías that NYC Her Future builds KPIs with its agency partners and tracks attendance, retention, and completion through regular reporting, citing the CUNY-based doula program serving about 100 participants. Asked about engaging young people on toxic
- Violence Intervention Program on why coordinated data protects survivors Adio Motayne, Data Manager at the Violence Intervention Program and a member of The Collective of culturally specific organizations, testified in support of Intro. 296, which the group helped draft with Council Member Farah Louis. He argued that missing or inconsistent data renders survivors
- Bottomless Closet on the economic toll of gender-based violence Melissa Norden, Executive Director of Bottomless Closet, testified in support of the Intro. 296 reporting requirements, describing a renewed 'she-cession' with over half a million U.S. women leaving the workforce in 2025 and NYC unemployment near 10 percent for women of color. She said gender-based
- Safe Horizon urges investment in preventing gender-based violence upstream Liz Roberts, CEO of Safe Horizon, testified that gender-based violence blocks gender equity and urged the Council to sustain discretionary funding and initiatives such as Dove, SAVE, and the sexual-assault and sex-trade programs. She called for a comprehensive citywide prevention plan that
- Korean American Family Service Center on survivors who go uncounted EunJi Byun of the Korean American Family Service Center, a member of The Collective, testified in support of Intro. 296, describing immigrant survivors who never file police reports out of language barriers and immigration fears and are therefore missing from official data. She shared the story of a
- Girls for Gender Equity requests a new Council initiative amid funding cuts Eman Gad, Manager of Policy and Advocacy at Girls for Gender Equity, testified about serving Black girls and gender-expansive youth of color amid federal hostility and shrinking philanthropic support, noting the organization cut seven positions and projects a roughly $1 million deficit. She
Agenda
4 items
- T2026-1008 Oversight - The State of Gender Equity in NYC. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0296-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to increasing access to data around gender-based violence Hearing Held by Committee
- Res 0069-2026 Resolution unequivocally opposing President Trump’s executive order restricting protections for transgender students and calling on the New York State Department of Education to ensure that all schools in New York City continue to uphold policies that protect the rights and dignity of transgender Hearing Held by Committee
- Res 0322-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1532/A.4576, to require school districts to establish policies and procedures regarding the treatment of transgender or gender non-conforming students Hearing Held by Committee