Diversity and Inclusion Workshop Review
Updated 10/23/2023:
On Tuesday, October 17th, the General Government & Planning (GGP) Committee heard a presentation on Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) workshops that HR has been offering.
The Racial Justice & Equality Commission recommended D&I trainings for Lexington police officers in 2020, and LFUCG decided to extend that offer to all City employees as well. 1,515 employees across all of LFUCG, including elected officials, participated in D&I trainings which were conducted by Millennium Learning Concepts in Spring 2022. You can read about the trainings, as well as feedback employees provided on the trainings, here.
Councilmembers spoke about opportunities to increase exposure to D&I materials and improve organizational culture. They expressed shock and disappointment at some of the feedback they received from the workplace climate survey. Many expressed a desire to make D&I trainings required for all LFUCG employees during onboarding.
No action was taken at this meeting.
On October 17th, the GGP Committee will hear a review of the goals and outcomes of LFUCG’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) trainings. These trainings came at the recommendation of the Racial Justice & Equality Commission in 2020, and were conducted by Millennium Learning Concepts in Spring 2022.
1,515 employees across all of LFUCG, including elected officials, participated in D&I trainings between March 17th and April 20th, 2022. Over 700 employees provided feedback on how they felt about the trainings, and LFUCG’s workplace culture at large, after completion.
Here’s some of what the feedback said:
43% of respondents feel that diversity is only for “political correctness or show.”
Employees aged 18-34 largely feel that diversity is an empty gesture.
When asked if LFUCG instituted equal pay across demographics, 35% of women said yes - compared to 64% of men. 28% of Black employees said yes - compared to 60% of white employees.
When asked if employees felt there were safe ways to voice grievances, 61% of men said yes - compared to 45% of women.
When asked if they felt comfortable being themselves, 60% of men claimed they did - compared to 47% of women.
The study recommends a variety of ways to improve the work culture of LFUCG, including a D&I workshop specifically for managerial employees, a comprehensive review of HR policies, including D&I statements across all divisions in LFUCG, and performing a workplace climate survey of employees every two years. Several of these recommendations have been implemented or are already in the works.
You can review both of the whole presentation here.
The General Government & Planning Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 17th at 1:00 pm in Council Chambers. You can attend this hearing in person or watch live on LexTV.
