Racial Equity and Social Justice

Summary of objective implementation status (achievements or progress over last year; significant delays or issues, etc.)

In Calendar Year 2024, efforts related to these goals were focused in the following areas:

• The Workforce Development Unit:
  • Added three race equity and belonging courses for individual contributor level employees (in the Tier 2 level of the County’s four tier training program) and three race equity and belonging training courses for supervisors and managers (in the Tier 3 level). The training curriculums include courses intended to develop employees’ skills and knowledge to become more effective, ethical, and compassionate professionals who can engage in creative approaches to meet diverse individual, community, and societal needs. Courses also explore the impacts of institutional racism and employees’ responsibilities as public servants.
• Launched LEAD (Leaders Engaged in Authentic Development), an executive leadership program (Tier 4). LEAD is for executive leaders who are committed to continuous improvement and people-centered leadership. The program focuses on understanding of racial equity and accountability principles and practices; demonstrating empathetic leadership; building a workplace culture of belonging and trust; incorporating change management skills; and developing political and organizational acumen. LEAD provides critical training opportunities for the County’s diverse workforce to be successful when competing for County promotional opportunities. LEAD thereby increases diversity at all levels of the organization to impact government practices, workforce equity, and leadership development. The first LEAD cohort consisted of the Office of Equity’s Core Team 2.0. members to uphold the Racial Equity Action Plan work. LEAD began December 2024 and runs through May 2025. The second LEAD cohort will be announced County-wide in Spring 2025. Individuals will be able to self-nominate to be considered for participation in future cohorts.

• The Recruitment and Classification Unit:
  • Reviewed and proposed revisions to 25 classifications specifications to remove artificial barriers upon entry. Edits included the removal of unnecessary certifications and/or licensure, outdated citizenship and background requirements, and re-evaluations of degrees where combinations of education and experience, or equivalent experience, could satisfy knowledge, skill, and ability requirements (final adoption pending completion of applicable meet and confer processes and Civil Service Commission and/or Board of Supervisors approval).
  • Reviewed and proposed revisions to job classifications to utilize gender neutral and person first language (final adoption pending completion of the meet and confer process and Civil Service Commission approval).
  • Reviewed and proposed revisions to the Civil Service Rules to utilize gender neutral language (final adoption pending completion of the meet and confer process and Civil Service Commission approval).
  • Evaluated the Civil Service Rules and recruitment examination processes to identify artificial barriers to employment and practices that perpetuate bias. The next step in this process is engaging with the Office of Equity and key stakeholders to share HR’s findings and implement actionable steps to resolve identified areas of concern, including edits to the Civil Service Rules and the modification of current practices.
  • Educated over 466 members of the public on the County’s recruitment and hiring process through “Start Here!” a two hour-virtual instructor-led training. 1,339 individuals have participated in the training since it was launched in 2018.
  • Increased attendance at in-person career fairs and community events. Events attended include career events at SSU, SRJC, USF, and UC Berkeley, Sonoma County Pride, Santa Rosa’s Wednesday Night Market, the Roseland Cinco de Mayo Festival, Fiesta de Independenica, Farmworkers Resource Fair, Second Chance Career Fair in the Main Adult Detention Facility, and the Homeless and At-Risk Job and Resource Fair, to name a few.

• In December 2024, Human Resources released a significant update to the Employee Demographic Dashboard. The latest update displays race/ethnicity and gender demographics of the County’s workforce categorized by pay scale, of those individuals hired by calendar year, and by years of service, as well as the race/ethnicity and gender demographics of individuals applying for County jobs. The information can be viewed in aggregate or by department. This data makes the County’s efforts to advance racial equity more transparent and easier to track, thereby, holding us accountable to this work. The Employee Demographic Dashboard can be accessed here: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources/employee-demographic-dashboard

• Human Resources continues to monitor industry best practices, update internal guidance documents, and educate departments on recruitment and selection processes that are specifically focused on identifying and eliminating barriers in recruitment and hiring processes.

Key milestone update (include relevant metrics, if applicable)

There are two types of data that Human Resources is utilizing to evaluate the County’s progress towards achieving a workforce that is reflective of the demographics of the community: 1) Applicant Data and 2) Employee Data. This data is compared against the Community’s available labor force, which is defined as individuals between 20-64 years of age.

The following report shows the total population number and corresponding percentage of Sonoma County’s available labor force in each demographic category as collected in the US Census.

Community Available Labor Force (20-64 years old) 2024 data

Race/Ethnicity data that is collected by the County from applicants and employees is in alignment with the demographics we are required to collect and report to the EEOC on a biannual basis. These categories include Hispanic, White, African American/Black, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, Multiple Races, and Decline to State. As a result, the County does not collect and report out data regarding individuals who identify in the Census category of “some other population,” which creates inconsistency when trying to align data between various reports. Therefore, for purposes of evaluating the County’s success in making the workforce more reflective of the Community’s local labor force, comparisons can only be made in relation to the data the County collects.

The following table shows the race/ethnicity of individuals who applied for positions through the County’s applicant tracking system in calendar year 2020 compared to those who applied in 2024 (01/01/24-10/22/24). The 2024 data indicates that 50% of the County’s applicants are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), which represents a 7% increase over the number of BIPOC applicants in 2020 (43%). The number of Hispanic applicants for County positions has increased 6%, from 22% to 28%, during the last four years.

Applicant Data

A review of employee data shows that the number of BIPOC employees has increased 6% over the past four years from 28% to 34%. The number of Hispanic County employees has increased 5%, from 20% to 25%, while most other BIPOC demographic categories have remained relatively flat. In looking across all races/ethnicities, the demographics of the County’s overall workforce is largely reflective of the available labor force of our community.

To determine how successful efforts have been at ensuring there is diverse representation across all levels of the County workforce and that representation at each level is aligned with the demographics of our community, we also evaluate the demographics of the County’s workforce by job classification level (Individual Contributor, Supervisor, Manager, and Executive).

As seen in the following chart, 2024 data at the “Individual Contributor” level indicates that the diversity of the County’s workforce has either increased or remained relatively flat (at this level) across all demographic categories, except White employees, since July 2020. When comparing this data against the available labor force of our community, the demographics of the County’s individual contributor workforce mirrors or exceeds the percentage of Asian, Black of African American, Hispanic or Latin, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population makeup of Sonoma County’s available workforce. The percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native employees at the County, which has slightly increased since 2020, still remains under the percentage of the available labor force. The percentage of White employees, 55.90%, exceeds the percentage of White individuals in the labor force (43%). The number of individuals who haven’t specified their race/ethnicity has increased by almost 4% since 2020.

When looking at “Supervisor” level staff, the data indicates there have been decreases in the American Indian/Alaska Native, Black or African American, and White demographics, and increases in the Asian, Hispanic or Latin, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races demographic categories. In comparison to the available labor force, the percentage of the Black or African American workforce slightly exceeds the percentage of the population in the community; however, the percentage of the County workforce in the American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Two or More/Multiple Races, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander demographic areas is less than the available labor force. The number of supervisory Hispanic or Latin employees has increased by 3.55% over the last three years, to 22.43%, but remains less represented than the demographic population in available labor force (25%).

When comparing changes at the “Manager” level from 2020 to 2024, the data indicates small increases across all demographic areas, except White, which decreased 6.45%. The number of Black or African American and Asian employees slightly exceeds the percentage of individuals in the labor force in those specific demographic groups. The percentage of American Indians/Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders are less represented in the workforce than the community. While the Hispanic population makes up 25% of the available workforce, currently 11.11% of managers at the County identify as Hispanic or Latin. HR  continues to evaluate policies and procedures and provide racial equity training opportunities in an effort to remove barriers to hiring/advancement at all levels.

Data for the highest job classification level, “Executive,” is not representative of the community. HR will continue to evaluate policies and procedures and provide racial equity training opportunities in an effort to remove barriers to hiring/advancement at the executive level.

While the County has a goal of ensuring the workforce is reflective of the community served, it is also imperative that our recruitment and selection processes comply with the constitutional prohibition against discrimination and “preferential treatment” effectuated by California Proposition 209, which voters passed in 1996.  Prop. 209, amended the California Constitution to read:

• “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”

Although discrimination against protected classes was unlawful before the passage of Prop. 209, the additional prohibition against “preferential treatment” has been broadly interpreted by the California Supreme Court to prohibit any consideration of protected status by a public agency in a hiring decision. This includes any practices that give special consideration to a protected group for the purpose of correcting an identified underrepresentation of that group.

To ensure compliance with Prop. 209, Human Resources provides tools and guidance to employees involved in the hiring and selection processes to ensure they are trained, aware, and understand the legal parameters that surround hiring, as well as the various proactive strategies that can be utilized within this legal framework. Implementing lawful strategies to recruit a diverse workforce requires an understanding of what diverse/equitable hiring is, and what it is not. Diverse/equitable hiring is not about lowering standards in order to get a more diverse group of applicants to the table.  Rather, diverse/equitable hiring is about eliminating the artificial barriers to employment or false predictors of performance that cause qualified candidates to be excluded from consideration.  By following these practices, the County can begin to improve workforce diversity by building highly diverse and qualified applicant pools and using objective processes to select the most qualified candidates without consideration given to protected status.

Coordination and partnership update

This strategic plan goal has a direct nexus with the organizational Excellence Pillar, Goal 3, Objective 1-3:

Organizational Excellence: Goal 3 – Become an employer of choice with a diverse workforce that reflects our community, and an employer with a positive work culture that results in engaged and developed employees.

• Objective 1 – Implement programs and identify opportunities to support employee work-life balance and a positive work environment, including a Telework Policy.
• Objective 2 – Conduct an employee engagement survey by mid-2022, and based on survey data, develop and implement strategies to incorporate survey outcomes into future operational planning.
• Objective 3 – Support employee professional growth and retention by investing in high quality training, development, and leadership programs.

As HR is the primary and/or co-leads for these objectives, work on both pillars is being completed in tandem by department staff.

Community, equity and climate update

Human Resources will continue to evaluate policies and procedures using disaggregated County data in an effort to remove barriers to hiring/advancement and increase equitable employment in local government.

If this objective received Strategic Plan funding, please provide amount spent to date for non-position related funding.

Human Resources requested and received $50,000 in funding related to this strategic plan goal to develop the Employee Demographic Dashboard. As of November 2024, a portion of that funding has been used to purchase software (2022), renew the license for the software (2023 and 2024), and to hire an extra-help employee to first develop, launch, and then to intermittently update to the dashboard. The project is well within cost and additional funding is not being requested.

To date, of the $50,000 one-time funding that was approved for SP Employee Demographic Dashboard, $15,000 has been spent/earmarked, leaving $35,000 remaining. In 2025, Human Resources submitted a request to reallocate the remaining $35,000 to Workforce Development Program Code 16S37 associated with the Organizational Excellence 3.3 Strategic Plan pillar work.  With this funding, an additional 5-7 classes County-wide DEIB instructor-led trainings can be scheduled that are aligned with meeting the goals and objectives associated with the Organizational Excellence and Racial Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan pillars.