How diverse is the Massachusetts state government workforce?
The answer depends on which department, according to a new audit by state auditor Suzanne Bump.
Generally, the U.S. census sets benchmarks based on population for what percentage of a workforce should fit certain demographics.
According to Bump’s audit, the Massachusetts executive branch exceeds the census benchmarks for women (52 percent of the executive branch workforce) and minorities (30 percent), but does not meet the benchmarks for veterans (5 percent) or people with disabilities (3 percent).
Elsewhere in state government, different departments employee very different populations.
At the State Library, the Department of Early Education and Care, the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Department of Children and Families, and the Office for Refugees and Immigrants, more than 80 percent of employees are women. (Some of these agencies may be small enough that the statistics are not significant. For example, the Office for Refugees and Immigrants has only a dozen employees.)
On the other hand, at the Bureau of State Office Buildings, the Division of Standards, the Department of Correction, the State Police, and the military division of the Massachusetts National Guard, fewer than 25 percent of employees are women.
The departments that employ the most minorities are the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (50 percent) and the Office for Refugees and Immigrants (54.3 percent).
At the same time, at the Department of Fish and Game, the Developmental Disabilities Council, the Department of Fire Services, and the Municipal Police Training Committee, fewer than 5 percent of employees are minorities.
Unsurprisingly, the Department of Veterans’ Services employs by far the most veterans — 35 percent of the department are veterans themselves. The only other agencies where the percentage of employed veterans breaks into the double digits are the State Police, Department of Correction, Department of Fire Services and the military division of the Massachusetts National Guard.
The Commission for the Blind, the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Rehabilitation Commission all employ large numbers of people with disabilities, between 15 percent and 28 percent of workers. At the Department of Veterans Services and the Office for Refugees and Immigrants, at least 10 percent of employees have disabilities.
But for most state agencies, the percentage of workers who are either veterans or people with disabilities is in the low single digits.
At the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, which has been overseeing efforts to promote hiring of disadvantaged groups, the workforce is 60 percent female, 35 percent minority, 4 percent veterans and 10 percent people with disabilities.
Under state law, executive branch agencies are required to submit diversity plans and affirmative action plans to ensure that the agencies are inclusive and have employees of different genders, races, ethnicities and backgrounds.
Bump’s audit found that many agencies are not complying with this rule.
According to the audit, 65 executive branch agencies were required to submit diversity and affirmative action plans by September 2017. By May of 2018, 52 agencies had submitted diversity plans and 53 submitted affirmative action plans. Almost all were submitted late.
Agencies are also required to write progress reports on these plans. But in 2017, only 25 agencies submitted progress reports for their affirmative action plans, and 31 submitted progress reports for their diversity plans. The numbers were slightly higher — 33 and 35 — in 2016.
Of those who did submit progress reports, many had not met the two-year goals outlined in their plans; only 42 percent of those who submitted diversity plan progress reports in 2017 had met their goals, as did only 20 percent of those who submitted affirmative action plans.
The state human resources department did not take any action to get the agencies to comply.
“The workforce of state government should reflect the diversity and demographics of the residents of the Commonwealth,” Bump said in a statement. “To accomplish this goal, the Human Resources Division must do more to provide oversight of the Commonwealth’s diversity and affirmative action policies, and if necessary implement enforcement measures—including hiring freezes—to ensure agency compliance with these policies.”
The Human Resources Department, in response to the audit, acknowledged that many agencies submitted plans late. It said the department is currently reviewing its processes to ensure that agencies submit the plans in a more timely manner.
The department said the state does exceed benchmarks for employing women and minorities, though not for employing veterans and people with disabilities.