By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Black/African Women Affinity Group (BAWAG), a King County Affinity Group Cohort, has released a comprehensive report detailing the disparities faced by Black women employees at King County in career development, pay, and tenure. The report also offers recommendations for addressing these issues and improving the workplace environment.
The 61-page Black Women’s Experience Project Report is the result of a three-year effort, which included surveying employees of all racial groups, reviewing HR data, and gathering staff observations. The consulting firm Wright Resource Group (WRG) was hired to analyze and compile the data, leading to recommendations aimed at improving the experiences of Black women employees.
Despite King County’s ongoing efforts to reduce inequities in hiring, promotions, reclassifications, and retention, the report highlights persistent disparities based on race and gender. These challenges are not unique to King County but are also prevalent among other large employers and peer governments striving to address similar issues.
“The report definitely highlights that there are some disparities,” says Ebony Frazier, Equity. Inclusion and Belonging manager for the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention and co-founder of BAWAG. “I don’t know if there’s a safe space for Black women in the world, you know, we live in this world, we walk through this world and King County is no different from any other place in this country or employer. I imagine if some of the other employers or different jurisdictions did a similar report like we did, they would find similar things. So yes, there are still disparities and hopefully we can work towards implementing the recommendations of the report so that we can address them. There seems to be a lot of support for that in King County right now.”
“The most important thing I think our group stands for is service to our community and closing equity gaps for black women around King County,” says Co-founder of BAWAG, Miesha Vaughn, of the Office of Risk Management Services for King County. “Also, hopefully setting an example for other folks to take on that type of work for their marginalized communities as well. The most important thing for me that comes out of this work is that this report is a call to action from King County to promote more equity in workspaces and opportunities for black women to create safe spaces where other employees feel comfortable doing this type of work.”
King County is currently studying and exploring the workplace improvements recommended in the report, which highlights gaps in the effectiveness of King County’s Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) Initiative, particularly for Black women employees compared to their counterparts.
Natasha Jones, Director of Customer Service in the County Executive’s office, says that the report is important because it’s impact and recommendation will benefit more than just Black women who work for the county.
“What’s going to be the impact on other employees or why just focus on African American women? What we have found over decades of social justice work and community activism is that when we improve conditions for the most marginalized in our communities, there is benefit for other groups as well,” says Jones. “So, I think it is pretty familiar ground probably for a lot of African American women that the work that we do ends up making things better for a lot of other people.”
“Not just us,” Jones continues. “Because we are very community focused and are interested in not just doing things that will benefit us, but that will benefit the community as a whole. And that’s the one of the most important pieces of this work.”
King County Executive Dow Constantine expressed appreciation for the employees who undertook the research over three years during the pandemic and recognized the importance of incorporating the recommendations into the county’s Strategic Plan, which is currently being updated.
“Since taking office, one of my top goals has been making King County one of the best-run governments in the country and a great place to work and serve the public. I appreciate the work undertaken by our employees to develop this report and highlight where we can continuously improve,” said Constantine. “This report shows that we still have work to do to see the gains we’ve made extend equitably across our workforce. It also shows that we value uplifting hard truths. Only by acknowledging what’s not working can we improve for our employees and the public.”
The report outlines a series of recommendations aimed at improving the experience of Black women at King County. These recommendations include strategically enhancing hiring programs, policies, and leadership development initiatives.
“What we heard repeatedly from Black women in different departments who had never even met were similar stories of inequities in hiring, promotion, and pay,” said Vaughn. “They reported not being given reclassifications at the same rate as other employees and being passed over for promotions while others were recruited and hired from outside,” added Frazier. “They shared these experiences as part of community building and soliciting support. As a data analyst, I wanted to quantify these anecdotal experiences to address the consistent and cross-department problems being presented.”
One key aspect of the report is its focus on creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for Black women employees. By addressing the specific needs and challenges faced by these employees, the county hopes to foster a workplace where all employees can thrive.
The report also emphasizes the importance of community and collaboration in achieving these goals. By working together, employees and leadership can create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for everyone. The recommendations outlined in the report are not just about addressing immediate disparities but also about creating long-term, sustainable change within the county workforce.