CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
title
A RESOLUTION supporting Executive Order 2015-02: Workforce Equity Initiative, which addresses gender and race/ethnic wage equity for City employees; and requesting the development of metrics and reporting processes to track the achievement of objectives listed in the Executive Order.
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WHEREAS, in May 2014, Resolution 31523 affirmed The City of Seattle's (City) commitment to gender equity and the implementation of comprehensive measures to achieve equity at the City and throughout our community; and
WHEREAS, a report by the 2013 National Partnership for Women and Families found that the Seattle metropolitan area had the largest pay gap in the nation with women earning 73 cents for every dollar men earned; and
WHEREAS, in 2013 the Gender Equity in Pay Taskforce (Taskforce) was convened to examine pay disparities and examine the causes of gender wage disparity at the City; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Department of Human Resources (SDHR), formerly the Personnel Department, did an initial review of city wages and found that women working for the City earn 90.5 cents for every dollar a man earns with that number dropping when race is analyzed along with gender; and
WHEREAS, the Taskforce recommended and the City agreed that a deeper analysis of citywide race and gender wage data was needed; and
WHEREAS, the City Council provided funding in 2014 for positions in SDHR and the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) to analyze data on both a citywide basis and at the department level to identify potential sources of gender inequality pertaining to a range of employment issues; and
WHEREAS, the SDHR and SOCR hired staff to address gender equity issues; and
WHEREAS, the SDHR hired DCI Consulting Group (DCI), an independent consulting firm, to conduct a deeper analysis and complete a workforce pay equity and utilization analysis of City employees; and
WHEREAS, the analysis by DCI was to determine whether in City employment: 1) there are differences in salary by gender and race/ethnicity, after controlling for experience, occupation, and time on the job, 2) there are differences in higher-paid vs. lower-paid occupations by gender and race/ethnicity, 3) there are differences in starting salaries by gender and race/ethnicity, and 4) employment, hiring, and promotion rates for women and ethnic minorities are at, below, or exceeding these populations' proportional representation within the available labor pool in the Seattle Metropolitan Area; and
WHEREAS, DCI's overall conclusions were that: 1) the city is paying similarly-situated employees at similar rates regardless of gender or race/ethnicity, 2) the City is recruiting, hiring, and employing women and minorities at levels generally above their availability in the Seattle Metropolitan Area labor pool, and 3) observed salary differences between males and females and between whites and minorities are likely a result of differences in occupational distribution by gender and race/ethnicity rather than discriminatory City policies and practices; and
WHEREAS, as a result of this occupational distribution, there are disparities in the number of women and minorities in higher paying jobs and departments; and
WHEREAS, the City is committed to equity in its human resources policies and practices through a variety of strategies including workforce development programs, targeted employee training and development offerings, efforts to align human resources practices, and the development of a community Gender Justice Project; and
WHEREAS, in April 2015, the Mayor issued an Executive Order outlining a series of actions executive departments will undertake, under the leadership of SDHR and SOCR, to expand the scope and reach of the City's efforts toward achieving wage equity; and
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. The City Council supports the Executive's actions and strategies outlined in Executive Order 2015-02: Workforce Equity Initiative, attached as Attachment A to this Resolution, and requests the Executive develop metrics to measure the City's progress in implementing these actions and strategies and their effectiveness in strengthening gender and race/ethnic wage equity for City of Seattle employees. An annual report should be submitted to the City Council's Chair of the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries and Gender Pay Equity, or the successor committee with oversight of Gender Pay Equity, beginning July 1, 2016.
Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2015, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day
of ______________________, 2015.
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President ___________of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the _____ day of _______________________, 2015.
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Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2015.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
Attachment A: Executive Order 2015-02: Workforce Equity Initiative