Bloomberg Celebrates Women in New York

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed an audience of students, faculty, trustees, and city officials over breakfast yesterday at an event commemorating Women's History Month at Barnard College.

The breakfast, which was held in Barnard Hall, was hosted by the New York City Commission on Women's Issues in association with Barnard.

The event highlighted the commission's current project: a study surveying the top 50 companies in New York on issues particularly relevant to women--namely health care, child care, and promotion policies. The project, which was initiated by the commission last fall, receives funding from Barnard and will be continued by the College after the inaugural year of supervision by the commission.
Yesterday's event also served as a forum for commentary on the role of women in New York and how Barnard fits into that role.

In his remarks, Bloomberg praised the city for what he sees as the unique opportunities it provides to women. "New York City has been the city where women can fulfill their professional aspirations and their personal aspirations simultaneously," he said.

Barnard College President Judith Shapiro and Anne Sutherland Fuchs, the chair of the Commission on Women's Issues, also addressed that theme and elaborated on the goals of the commission's study.

"Barnard is very excited about its newly developed partnership with the commission," Shapiro said in her introductory remarks. "Enhancing the status of working women in New York City is truly one of our priorities, and we're honored to have the opportunity to join with the Bloomberg administration in setting this goal. There is much to be learned from this important project."

Shapiro also emphasized Barnard's relationship with the city as a whole. "We like to think of ourselves not just as a New York City women's college," she said, "but a college for New York City women, a college where all women of our city can explore issues of importance to women's progress."

Fuchs praised Barnard as "an institution rich in history and at the same time one that represents our future."

Fuchs, who worked at numerous media companies including Vogue, Elle, and The New York Times prior to her appointment to the commission under Bloomberg, noted the "substantial contribution to the well-being of women in this city" made by the commission since it was first established in 1975 by a mayoral executive order as the Commission on the Status of Women.

"The goal of our Commission on Women's Issues is to brand New York City as the city of choice for women to prosper in," she said.

"The idea [of the study] is to find out the best practices," added Suzanne Trimel, Barnard's vice president of Public Affairs. "[The study looks at] what works to keep women employed in New York City and to advance them."

Bloomberg also took the opportunity yesterday to speak on crime in New York. Citing a recent study of crime rates in the 200 largest cities in the United States, which ranked New York's among the lowest at 197th, Bloomberg lauded his administration--and that of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani--for their accomplishments in reducing crime in the city.

While on the subject, Bloomberg paused to pay his respects to the two New York Police Department detectives who were shot on Staten Island Monday night while on an undercover gun investigation, the first double homicide of police officers in the city in 13 years.

Aside from his comments about New York's improvements in crime and education, Bloomberg's speech was generally self-effacing and primarily dedicated to highlighting the women who serve in his administration.

"Because the theme of this year's Women's History Month is 'Women Pioneering the Future,' I thought it might be interesting to call attention to the women who are pioneering the future in this administration," Bloomberg said. Among those whose work Bloomberg singled out were Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol Robles-Roman, Deputy Mayor for Administration Patricia Harris, and Commissioner of Buildings Patricia Lancaster.

Many members of the Bloomberg administration attended the breakfast, including most members of the Commission on Women's Issues. Among the Barnard affiliates present were members of the faculty, Board of Trustees, and Student Government Association.

Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields was also in attendance. Fields praised the commission's survey.

"I'm glad to see that they have undertaken one," she said, "because I think it will help us to identify where women are not, the lack of women in key positions and in key areas, and hopefully provide an impetus to move more women into the workplace in specific areas and specific positions."

"I find that diversity, as [it] relates to gender as well as race, helps to make decisions so much better, because [then] you've got people at the table, people whose voices need to be heard," Fields added.