The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) recently discussed new research on local governments managing workplace diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) programs. The study was conducted by the MissionSquare Research Institute and surveyed 353 local government and public K-12 human resources managers across the country and found that 56% of those surveyed identified DEI as a high priority for their organization.

You can find the full report here, and a related study and data here. ICMA also recorded a webinar on the report’s findings on July 12, which you can access here if you are an ICMA member.

Some highlights from the report include:

• 42% of those polled say their organization has formal DEI programs and policies in place to support their DEI goals, and 26% have informal programs or policies.
• K-12 employers and communities with a population higher than 25,000 are more likely to have DEI policies or have systems in place to measure results.
• Senior leadership is viewed as supportive of DEI efforts (69%), as are employees (65%).
• The most common focus of programs or policies was around equitable treatment of employees (52%), and that is also the area where respondents felt they had the most successful efforts (70%).
• The key barriers to implementing DEI programs include a lack of diverse job candidates in the local labor market (87%), difficulty attracting and retaining a diverse staff (85%), and general recruitment challenges related to COVID-19 and the Great Resignation (74%).

For specific DEI practices, the report also found:

• 47% promote gender equity via paid family leave or work flexibility for childcare.
• 43% recruit through diverse channels to maximize a broad spectrum of applicants.
• 29% encourage self-expression, such as via preferred pronouns or cultural/religious clothing or hairstyles.
• 21% redact names or other identifying details from initial applicant screening, with another 10% considering doing so.

AWC is actively engaged in helping all Washington cities and towns improve their DEI practices. As we wrote in June, AWC is currently hosting a quarterly roundtable of city equity officers, where city DEI staff can share about ideas, challenges, and network with each other. Contact AWC’s Communications Manager Emma Shepard if you or someone at your city is interested in joining the discussion.

Last year, AWC also produced the AWC Equity Resource Guide to provide an additional resource and examples to aid cities’ DEI efforts.