San Mateo County Grand Jury
• 2020-2021
Diversity and Racial Equity – How Can San Mateo County Change “talk the Talk” to “walk the Walk”?
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 12 findings
F1
In 2020, the Board of Supervisors and the County Manager’s Office made public commitments to racial equity in San Mateo County.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The Department of Human Resources maintains data on the racial, ethnic, and gender identity of SMC government employees, through a robust online enterprise human resources management platform, to report on the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of employees in all job categories and departments of San Mateo County government.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
The Department of Human Resources has reported significant underrepresentation of specific racial, ethnic, and gender categories of employees at management levels within the San Mateo County government workforce, relative to the San Mateo County government workforce overall, and the causes of these variances should be analyzed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Board of Supervisors should direct the County Manager’s Office to create, and annually present, a report detailing the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of management and leadership positions within the San Mateo County government workforce, change from prior years, and the effectiveness of specific programs to remediate any gaps,
F4
The Department of Human Resources reports significant underrepresentation of various racial, ethnic, and gender categories of employees for different job categories within the San Mateo County government workforce, relative to the available San Mateo County workforce, and the causes of these variances should be analyzed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Board of Supervisors should direct the County Manager’s Office to create, and annually present, a report detailing the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of management and leadership positions within the San Mateo County government workforce, change from prior years, and the effectiveness of specific programs to remediate any gaps,
F5
San Mateo County’s Equal Employment Opportunity Plan, published every four years, is outdated and does not communicate sufficient timely information to the public, lacks clear, measurable goals, and lacks accountability mechanisms.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2
The Board of Supervisors should direct the County Manager’s Office to require an annual report from each department of San Mateo County government (including performance measures, and accountability), detailing the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of that department’s workforce and the efficacy of its programs to remediate any gaps,
R3
The Board of Supervisors should direct the County Manager’s Office to create, and annually present, a report recommending potential improvements to San Mateo County’s current practice of reporting to the public on the status of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the San Mateo County government workforce, and associated performance goals, by January 31, 2022. Racial Equity-Related Recommendations
F6
The Department of Human Resources’ work related to diversity and inclusion is focused on legal compliance and recruiting and training for other departments, and the Department of Human Resources depends on other departments and San Mateo County government leadership for guidance on racial equity initiatives.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Board of Supervisors should direct the County Manager’s Office to develop a set of recommendations, such as a model racial equity action plan, to help departments accomplish organizational change promoting racial equity in their work,
F7
The Health Department’s experience implementing cultural competency, organizational change, and services delivery utilizing a racial equity lens provides examples of organizational best practices that could be used as models by other San Mateo County government departments.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Board of Supervisors should discuss, in an open public meeting, the advisability and practicality of the measures identified as best practices in the Discussion section of this report,
F8
The training in racial equity that Health Department personnel began in 2017, and currently continue, has been a valuable step for the Health Department to help build capacity and expand its racial equity activities.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Health Department personnel have specific training, institutional knowledge, and experience with racial equity planning and administration that could be adapted by other departments for their racial equity objectives.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
The Health Department’s Cultural Competence Plan and annual strategy updates effectively demonstrate how a department can monitor and administer ongoing efforts to achieve racial equity objectives.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
The Health Department’s Racial Equity Action Plan is a useful example of how a department can plan for organizational change while incorporating measurable performance indicators and organizational accountability.
No recommendations for this finding
F12
The Health Department’s Health Equity Initiatives are designed to promote racial equity in the delivery of services to communities being served.
No recommendations for this finding
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office