Title
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Update
Description
This report provides the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee with an update on the creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as approved by the City Council in the 2021-22 budget, and the next steps in the recruitment process for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
As the City continues to become more diverse and grow in both population and demand for services, it is important the City fosters and promotes a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment to both live and work for residents and employees.
During the 2021-22 budget process, the City Council approved the City Manager’s Office to establish the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to ensure the City is a place to work and live which promotes equitable and respectful treatment of all people, and to make sure City services and programs are designed with equity, diversity, and inclusion in mind. The DEI Office will consist of an Assistant to the City Manager position to serve as the DEI Officer and an Administrative Assistant I position to provide administrative support. The new office will be charged with ensuring equitable distribution of City services throughout the entire City and serve as the champion of delivering racial equity programs for the community.
Background
As the City works to establish a DEI office, staff conducted outreach to 16 peer cities throughout the United States to learn about best practices and organizational structure for diversity, equity or inclusion management positions or offices. Peer cities contacted included:
- Los Angeles;
- Chicago;
- Philadelphia;
- San Antonio;
- San Diego;
- Dallas;
- San Jose;
- Seattle;
- Portland;
- Austin;
- Tucson;
- Charlotte;
- Long Beach;
- New York;
- Houston; and
- Kansas City.
Of the 16 cities contacted, 13 were confirmed to have an equity, diversity or inclusion management position or office. To best match the City’s organizational structure, a key focus of staff’s research was whether the cities contacted have both a DEI Office and an Equal Opportunity (EO) Office. Nine out of the 16 cities indicated they have both a DEI Office and an EO Office. According to the cities researched, the general function of a DEI Office is to advance social and racial equity through data collection and equity frameworks, as well as provide education, training, and support for city staff to better understand operational biases. A DEI Office also develops programs and resources to be used by the community that will help to break down barriers based on biases. While the general function of an EO Office is to defend protected groups from discrimination, enforce policies that protect those groups, and investigate reports of discrimination. The City of Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department is set up in the same way.
As the City establishes the DEI Office, the core function of the DEI Office will remain a part of the City Manager’s Office, with the Equal Opportunity Department supporting the DEI Office and its policies with educational materials and training sessions through its established programs and services.
Case Studies
Three of the contacted cities have implemented key tools and programs developed from within their DEI Offices. As the City prepares to move forward, staff will review best practices from other organizations and look to implement similar tools and programs within the City of Phoenix.
San Antonio
The City of San Antonio’s Office of Equity is a citywide office focused on advancing social equity and dismantling racism within city government, to help reduce and ultimately eliminate disparities experienced by the most marginalized San Antonio residents. To do this, the City of San Antonio developed a Budget Equity Tool, the Racial Equity Indicator’s Report, and Equity Matrix and Demographic Indicators Maps to provide city departments with technical assistance and training.
Austin
The City of Austin conducted an equity assessment of each department and visualized that data into a live Equity Dashboard. One example on this dashboard showed demographics within the Watershed Protection Department and identified areas of inequality with watershed planning and field operations.
Seattle
The City of Seattle created a Racial Equity Toolkit to guide city leaders in examining City policies, programs and budgets to identify whether those policies harmed minority communities. An example of Seattle’s use of this toolkit was in their Participatory Budgeting process.
Next Steps
The City will tentatively begin the recruitment process for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer in January 2022. This will be a national recruitment to fill the position with a tentative start date in April 2022. A draft timeline of this process is available in Attachment A.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer will be responsible for working with City Management, elected officials, and the community to integrate an equity and inclusion lens into citywide policies and decision-making processes. Key duties will include:
- Researching, developing, recommending creative strategies to foster the City’s DEI goals, and integrate equity objectives throughout the organization;
- Reviewing current practices and policies to assess and analyzing the extent to which they support or hinder the City’s DEI goals; and
- Act as a liaison and a coalition-builder with local boards and commission, community diversity groups, and other agencies concerning DEI initiatives.
As the office develops and evolves, the City Manager's Office will continue to evaluate and work with the Budget and Research Department to right-size the office as needed.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Inger Erickson and the City Manager’s Office.