Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of November 12, 2019
Title
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HERMOSA
BEACH, CALIFORNIA, FOR THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH
TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUITY THROUGH ITS WORKFORCE,
OPERATIONS AND SERVICES
(City Manager Suja Lowenthal)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution for the City of Hermosa Beach to achieve gender equity through its workforce, operations and services.
Body
Executive Summary:
By adopting the attached resolution (Attachment 1), the City of Hermosa Beach would take the next step towards achieving gender equity in its workforce, operations and services. While women are currently well represented among City leadership positions, the total full-time workforce is 38% women. A further assessment encompassing City operations and services through a gender-focused lens would assist in developing feasible next steps to help the City better tailor its management practices to improve equal access to opportunities and services for the public, City staff, and key stakeholders.
Background:
On October 22, 2019, the City Council directed staff to return to Council with a resolution supporting the City’s efforts to achieve gender equity through its workforce, operations and services.
A number of cities have adopted gender equity resolutions or incorporated gender equity into their workforce, operations and services, including Cincinnati, San Antonio and Los Angeles. Los Angeles has established a gender equity website (Attachment 2) and toolkit and was one of the first cities to adopt CEDAW, the international Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, a human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1979 mandating adoptees ensure equality for women and girls in civil, political, economic, social, and cultural arenas.
The City of Los Angeles’ gender equity toolkit indicates, “Gender equity looks to create fairness in order to ensure that all people have equal access to opportunities and services, regardless of their gender. Gender equity is not about treating people of all genders the same; it is about intentionally looking to understand where one gender may need different services or care than the status quo, and working to address these issues in order to create a level playing field.”
Discussion:
A brief evaluation of the City of Hermosa Beach’s workforce and leadership indicates significant gender equity progress in key areas, with other aspects meriting further study, evaluation and/or attention.
City Workforce / Women’s Leadership
• City Council-two of five members (40%) are women including the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem; however, no women ran for the two City Council seats available in the November 5, 2019 election. Since 1980, there have been 11 (31%) women Councilmembers of 36 total.
• Elected Officials-City Clerk and City Treasurer - both officials (100%) are women.
• Boards & Commissions-11 of 25 appointed board members and commissioners (44%) are women. Excluding the Building Board of Appeals which meets on an as-needed basis, 10 of 20 (50%) serving on the remaining four advisory bodies (Civil Service Board, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission and Public Works Commission) are women with one chairperson (25%).
• Appointed Officials-City Manager, City Attorney and City Prosecutor - two of three (67%) are women.
• City Department Heads-with the recent retirement of Police Chief Sharon Papa, four of six (67%) are women including Community Resources, Finance, Human Resources and Public Works.
• City Staff (full-time)-45 of 120 (38%) are women. According to the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity statistics for full-time staff reported to the federal government (table below), as of October 15, 2019, men make up the majority of employees in the Protective Service (Police) and Skilled Craft (Public Works crews) categories, while women predominate in the Administrative Support category. While significant differences in certain categories may merit further study, it should be noted that a large difference may not necessarily indicate a lack of equity. For instance, according to FBI statistics, the percentage of female police officers is 12% nationwide.
Overall, women are well represented in leadership positions, but a further evaluation of the composition of the City’s overall workforce may be warranted. Additional areas of focus could include an assessment of mid-level management positions and the cultivation of Hermosa Beach’s next generation of leaders, including encouragement and facilitation of women running for elected office.
Operations & Services
Further study and analysis of City operations and services through a gender-focused lens would be of benefit as a first step towards evaluating gender equity with respect to the public, staff, and City vendors/contractors. The City of Los Angeles has engaged in a multi-year effort involving all City departments and key stakeholders to achieve gender equity by focusing first on a needs assessment to establish baselines, identify areas of opportunity and define the program’s governance, followed by additional planning and execution steps including:
• Defining a vision and mission
• Identifying key performance indicators and tracking method(s)
• Mobilizing a change network
• Developing action plans
• Managing, measuring and sustaining
If approved by Council, the City could similarly engage in a further assessment of its workforce, operations and services as a first step to achieve gender equity as well as evaluate and recommend feasible next steps given the City’s staffing and resources.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. The resolution for the City of Hermosa Beach to achieve gender equity through its workforce, operations and services would assist in fulfilling the following goals:
Governance Element
1.7 Diversity of representation. Strive to reflect a comprehensive cross-section of the community in appointments to Commissions and Advisory Committees.
Parks + Open Space Element
2.1 Diverse programs and facilities. Offer diverse recreational programs and facilities to meet the needs of all residents.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no current fiscal impact to the City associated with adoption of this resolution.
Attachments:
1. Gender Equity Resolution Draft
2. Link to Los Angeles gender equity website
Respectfully Submitted by: Kevin Nagata, Management Analyst
Concur: Vanessa Godinez, Human Resources Manager
Concur: Nico De Anda-Scaia, Assistant to the City Manager
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Charlotte Newkirk, Accounting Manager
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager