2023 analysis of the demographic composition of boards and commissions in San Francisco
The 2023 report offers important insights into the current make-up and diversity of
San Francisco’s policy bodies. Overall, policy bodies have a larger percentage of women,
members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and veterans than the general San Francisco
population. The rate of women of color and people with disabilities appointed to policy
bodies is nearly equal to the general population. Fiscal year 2022-2023 saw the highest
representation of women on policy bodies since the Department on the Status of Women
started collecting data in 2009. Women of color have the highest representation of
appointees to date.
Black and African American women and men are notably well-represented on San
Francisco policy bodies. Black women are nine percent of appointees compared to two
percent of the general San Francisco population. Black men are five percent of appointees
compared to three percent of the general San Francisco population. Additionally, almost 1-in-4 appointees who responded to the survey question identify as same-gender loving, bi-sexual, or some other sexual orientation than heterosexual.
While San Francisco continues to make strides in diversity, there is still work to do to
achieve parity of representation for Latinx and Asian groups in appointed positions overall,
as well as people of color and women of color on commissions overseeing the largest
budgets.