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OCII holds racial-equity workshop; staff to deliver Phase 1 draft after internal survey
Summary
OCII staff presented a Phase 1 racial equity action plan focused on internal practices—hiring, retention, performance management and culture—said the agency will run a staff survey and submit a Phase 1 draft for Office of Racial Equity review in January–February, and discussed next steps including mentorship and board/commission representation.
OCII staff presented a workshop on Dec. 31 outlining a Phase 1 racial equity action plan that will focus on internal personnel practices, including recruitment, retention, performance management, leadership development and organizational culture.
Monica Davisteen, OCII’s human-resources and administrative-services manager and the agency’s racial-equity lead, said the Office of Racial Equity — established by the Board of Supervisors in July 2019 — provides a citywide framework and that OCII is preparing a plan tailored to the agency’s workforce and history. Davisteen said OCII has about 46 staff (just under 50), with a majority identifying as white and the second-largest group identifying as Black. Staff will disaggregate those demographics by job classification to examine occupational segregation and leadership representation.
Davisteen said the agency has created a staff survey to establish a baseline on training, experiences of bias and sense of belonging; findings will inform the Phase 1 draft, which OCII plans to deliver to the Office of Racial Equity for review at the end of the year and through January–February. Phase 2 will focus on external, client-facing programs, including the Certificate of Preference program.
Commissioners praised the presentation, asked operational questions about recruitment (including blind-review steps and 'ban the box' practices), internships and mentorship, and requested that staff look into board and commission representation. Monica Davisteen said OCII is not bound by some civil-service constraints and can pilot flexible recruiting measures, blank out certain identifying factors on applications, and expand internships to build pipelines.
One public commenter described prior racial-equity training sessions where Black men felt discouraged to speak and urged facilitators to be responsive to participants. Commissioners and staff committed to studying mentorship and other supports as part of implementation. Because the item was a workshop, no action was taken.
