DCAS says pay-equity study under way, points to persistent underutilization of Black workers and women

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services told a New York City Council committee that it has engaged a vendor and is finalizing a contract to carry out a pay-equity analysis required by Local Law 27, part of a broader effort to address persistent underutilization of women and workers of color in the municipal workforce.

"Equity in the workforce is more than a goal, but an absolute critical mission," Katrina Porter, the department's chief human capital officer, said during the oversight hearing. Porter said the analysis will be a title-by-title study intended to identify disparities and produce recommendations.

The city agencies reported 223 instances of underutilization in 2024, the administration said, with Black employees the most underutilized group and women underrepresented in high-paying fields such as law enforcement and the trades. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) said revisions to minimum qualification requirements (MQRs) have been completed for 61 titles and affect "53,000 plus jobs," expanding pathways for applicants without college degrees into some titles.

Porter and other agency staff described a suite of recruitment and retention efforts. DCAS highlighted programs and platforms that it said aim to broaden candidate pools, including the Office of Citywide Recruitment and the Pathway program, the City Service Pathway fellowship, the Public Service Corps, Urban Fellows, and the agency's new training platform, NYC Learn. DCAS officials said a pay-equity contract is signed and awaiting final approvals and that the vendor work should be ready to begin within roughly three months.

DCAS declined to support Intro 6-75, legislation introduced to address gender pay disparities, asserting in its testimony that the proposed law would duplicate work already under way: "we respectfully do not support intro 6 75 as it duplicates work already underway by the administration to address this matter," Porter said. The administration said DCAS and the Commission on Gender Equity co-chair a pay equity cabinet that is leading the analysis.

Committee members pressed agencies on data and retention. Council members cited exit-interview results showing disproportionate departures: the testimony said Black employees made up 32% of the workforce in 2023 but accounted for 39% of separations in 2024. DCAS officials said exit interviews point to strong work-culture ratings but also a lack of awareness among departing employees about professional-development and career-advancement opportunities.

DCAS described training and compliance work tied to local laws and executive orders, including planned enhancements to equity and anti‑racism modules and an effort to translate notice-of-examination materials into many languages. The agency also said it completed review of 90 civil-service titles and revised 61 of them to expand minimum qualifications, citing staff-analyst as an example where a bachelor's-only requirement was supplemented with equivalent experience options.

The hearing included questions about mentorship and whether agencies track whether training leads to promotions. DCAS officials said some metrics remain at the agency level and that the city is expanding career-counseling and benchmarking tools to improve that tracking.

Why it matters: City officials said the work is intended to reduce barriers that contribute to pay gaps and job-group segregation. Council members emphasized that jobs in managerial and protective-service categories typically offer above-average salaries, so the underrepresentation of women and Black workers in those groups has implications for economic equity across the municipal workforce.

The committee did not take a vote on legislation during the hearing. DCAS said it will share pay-equity analysis results with the council when the vendor completes the study and that it expects to report further details to the council as the contract work proceeds.