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Inclusivics report: Metro workforce grew but shows deep racial and gender pay gaps, Hispanic underrepresentation
Summary
Dr. Jan Muhammad presented the Inclusivics analysis showing a 22% increase in Metro employees (2015–2024), persistent pay gaps (women ~86–87¢ to the dollar; Black employees ~80¢ to white employees), occupational segregation, and a notable underrepresentation of Hispanic employees in Metro’s workforce.
Dr. Jan Muhammad presented the Inclusivics workforce analysis to the commission, summarizing a decade of Metro employment data and highlighting disparities in representation, pay and residency.
The report found Metro’s workforce grew from 8,887 employees in 2015 to 10,847 in 2024 (a 22 percent increase). Comparing Metro employment to Davidson County demographics, Dr. Muhammad said white and Black employees are overrepresented while Hispanic and certain other groups are underrepresented. “Hispanic population is severely underrepresented by 71%,” she said, citing a comparison of the workforce share (about 4%) to the county share (about 14%).
Dr. Muhammad also highlighted persistent pay disparities: over the 2015–2024 period women earned roughly 86–87 cents for every dollar earned by full-time male colleagues, and Black or African‑American employees earned about 80 cents for every dollar a white full-time employee earned in 2024. The report showed occupational segregation, with higher‑paying executive and administrative categories disproportionately white and lower‑paid paraprofessional roles disproportionately non‑white.
The analysis included county‑residency trends: the share of Metro employees living in Davidson County declined from about 59% (2016) to roughly 50% in 2024, and employees living outside the county tended to have higher median salaries. Dr. Muhammad noted some departments (airport, MNPS, convention center) operate payroll outside Metro HR and were excluded from the dataset.
Staff said the full Inclusivics report will be published and interactive dashboards will go live on May 5; the commission plans follow‑up briefings for caucuses and department heads in April.
“Those patterns — representation, pay gaps and occupational segregation — are persistent and provide a basis for targeted policy conversations,” Director Tucker said to commissioners.
