Practically speaking, the bill—introduced last February and sent to the Mayor’s council on Wednesday—extends the same protections given other “protected classes” (gender, sexual orientation, disability, citizenship status, etc) under New York City Human Rights law. Which means that if you’re a parent with a sick kid, you can’t be fired for taking them to the doctor, should Mayor Bill de Blasio sign the measure into law. Which, even more practically, means that the new law would crack down on gender discrimination in the workplace. According to the Huffington Post, the new legislation builds on the city’s “relatively new law mandating paid sick leave for employees who work more than 80 hours a year, regardless of whether they work full- or part-time.” It’s certainly a step in the right direction.