AGENDA #5c
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Report on Numbers of Minority Supervisors
DATE: January 12, 2004
The purpose of this report is to provide an annual update on the numbers of minority supervisors in Town jobs.
BACKGROUND
In April 2002, the Council discussed the goal of increasing the number of minority supervisors in Town jobs. The Human Resources Department prepared a report for the Council on the make-up of the Town’s workforce over the past several years, including information about the number of minority employees occupying supervisory positions. The Council received this report in November 2002 and discussed it during the Council retreat in January 2003. A Council member asked that the report be submitted annually.
When this report was presented to the Council in 2002, we also presented a set of actions to be taken in the following year:
All of the above items were accomplished in 2003 with the exception of the local government survey. Staff turnover and a parental leave in the Human Resources Department prevented this from being completed. We will complete this work in 2004 and will continue the work program outlined above.
DISCUSSION
The materials attached provide information about the Town’s employee group organized by race and gender. The information is based on November 1, 2003, employment and is presented both in summary and for the four largest departments: Fire, Police, Public Works and Transportation.
The data on supervisory positions has been gathered with assistance from department heads. The definition of supervisor used is: “a position which has a significant level of authority in the hiring, training, evaluation, disciplinary actions and recommending for termination over one or more other regular positions.” This definition is consistent with the commonly understood meaning of the term.
Information about the Town’s workforce was compared to the race and gender distribution of the Town’s primary recruitment area. The primary recruitment area includes Orange County and four contiguous counties: Alamance, Chatham, Durham and Wake. This area was selected based on the distribution of the majority of the Town’s current employees and also reflects reasonable commuting distance. The recruitment area demographics cited are gathered from the State Demographics Unit.
Findings
The Town’s minority and female supervisory representation has remained relatively unchanged since the last report. The current rates are 30% and 30% respectively. In 2002 the rates were 31% and 32%. As part of normal attrition, the Town experienced some retirements and resignations; these were offset by hires and promotions. The supervisory rate for black employees has been consistent at 29% for both 2002 and 2003. The statistics on which the following discussion is based are found in the attachments to this report which contain details and graphs for each element presented below.
Race Distribution for the Region
In the five-county recruitment area, race demographics vary significantly as shown in the charts attached. The White population ranges from 67% in Durham County to 81% in Orange County. The Black population ranges from 16% in Orange County to 37% in Durham County. The Other category includes, as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic persons) and falls within a 1% to 3% range for the region. The demographics for the five county regions are: White population 74%, Black population 24% and Other population 2%.
Race Distribution for Town Employment
The Town employee group is 58% White, 39% Black and 3% Other. This demonstrates slightly greater diversity than the region. The Town Black employee population is proportionately larger than the Black population living in the region. Black citizens represent 24% of the local area as compared to a 39% representation in Town employment. When the Town supervisory group is examined, the numbers indicate that 69% are White, 30% are Black and 1% is Other. This is similar to the population demographics of the region.
Distribution of Supervisors Within Race Groups of Town Employees
The number of Black employees in the Town is 252; of that group, 42 (17%) are supervisors. The number of white employees in the Town is 375, of that group, 102 (27%) are supervisors. The number of employees of other races in the Town is 19; of that group, 2 (11%) are supervisors.
Race Distribution for Four Largest Departments
In the four largest departments in the Town, there are demographic variations, especially in those occupational groups, such as Fire and Police, which traditionally have been male-dominated. Details are presented below with graphic representation of these figures shown on the charts attached.
Gender Distribution for the Region and Town Employment
In the five-county recruitment area females represent 52% of the population. In Town employment women represent 29% of the workforce and hold 30% of all supervisory positions. This representation is consistent with last year’s reporting activity.
Gender Distribution for Departments
Out of 16 departments in the Town, six are headed by women representing 38% of all director positions available. In the four largest departments the rate of women supervisors meets or exceeds the rate of their total department representation with the exception of the Police Department. The employees in these four departments represent approximately 75% of all Town employees.
1. FIRE DEPARTMENT
Race
The Fire Department non-supervisory group is 84% White, 16% Black and 0%
Other. The supervisory group is 34% of the whole and is 80% White, 20% Black
and 0% Other.
Gender
The employee group is 93% Male and 7% Female. The supervisory group is 92% Male and 8% Female.
2. POLICE DEPARTMENT
Race
The Police Department non-supervisory group is 82% White, 17% Black and 1% Other with supervisors making up 22% of the whole. The supervisory group is 75% White, 25% Black, and 0% Other.
Gender
The employee group is 75% Male and 25% Female. The supervisory group is 82 % Male and 18% Female.
3. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Race
The non-supervisory group is comprised of 35% White, 61% Black and 4% Other. Supervisory positions represent 19% of the whole. Of the supervisory group, 65% are White, 35% are Black.
Gender
The small number of female employees, 5% of the department, is primarily located in the office and administrative functions of the department. Females represent 9% of the supervisory group.
4. TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
Race
The non-supervisory group is 30% White, 66% Black and 4% Other. The supervisory group represents 11% of the whole; 47% of the supervisory group is White and 53% are Black.
Gender
The employee group is 67% Male and 33% Female. The supervisory group is 53% Male and 47% Female.
CONCLUSIONS
The Town employee group exhibits a greater degree of diversity and racial balance than the working-age population of the five-county recruitment areas. There is variation among and within departments in terms of demographics of employee and supervisory groups.
The specific reasons for the variations among departments can be attributed to a number of variables including job characteristics, applicant preferences, training and experience requirements for specific positions and other elements. The choices applicants make in terms of job interest, physical demands, preferred work schedules and other working conditions, the turnover rate for each type of work, the volume and types of work required and positions budgeted serve as constraints which may prevent an absolute balance from being either attained or maintained over time.
NEXT STEPS
We will report to the Council again in January 2005.