A survey of city employees found that Madison’s city hall is an unwelcoming, at times hostile, environment for people of color.
The report, released to Isthmus Tuesday, found that 60% of African American employees felt they were treated differently by co-workers because of their race. That’s compared to 6% of white city workers. Nearly a third of Hispanic employees also felt race affected how they were treated.
“I witness harassment on a daily basis,” one employee wrote in the anonymous survey. “People including myself have brought it to management’s attention and it either falls on deaf ears or is swept under the rug. Eventually you just accept that this is how you’re going to be treated daily.”
White employees also noticed a disparity in treatment: “Just for the record, I am a white male and I feel like this is to my advantage in my position,” one wrote.
The city’s Multicultural Affairs Committee prepared the report in order to evaluate “culture and climate, particularly in areas of concern to employees of color.” The survey was distributed in the summer of 2015 to all city of Madison employees (there are roughly 2,638 permanent full-time employees); 708 responded.
According to the report, 44% of black employees said they had witnessed an incident based on race that was instigated by a co-worker. More than half of black respondents felt there were “negative consequences” for reporting unfair treatment at work. When asked to share experiences with reporting incidents, one employee said, “I have genuinely suffered horribly for speaking up.”
Of those who participated in the workplace survey, 82% were white, 6% black, 5% Latino, 2% Native American, 3% Asian, and less than 1% Middle Eastern. The demographic makeup of survey respondents “fell largely in line with the that of all City employees,” according to the report. “There was slightly less representation by white, Asian, and Black employees (6% of respondents vs. 8% of all employees) and slightly more by Hispanic, Native American, and multiracial employees.”
One employee described the homogeneous workforce this way: “We've got two kinds of city employees: German and Scandinavian.”
Some employees felt that supervisors had no interest in creating an environment free from bias.
“I would tell any person who works for the city and values their career (and their quality of life) to keep quiet no matter what,” the person wrote. “The city is concerned about how it is perceived and will stomp complainants into submission.”
Others reported that there was no effort to try to make the workplace more diverse. “Talk about hiring people other than white is usually brushed aside with claims that we want to hire the best people for the job,” an employee wrote. “We'd welcome people of color who wanted to fit into our ‘culture.’ We wouldn't want to adapt to their ‘culture.’”
Some employees expressed resentment at the city’s focus on diversity. “White males are overlooked in an attempt to force diversity,” an employee wrote. “Promotions are made to create a rainbow of people vs. promoting those that are qualified and experienced.”
Another employee says he has to apologize for his “white privilege” and that it would be better if he “were a woman or person of color.”
An analysis by the Multicultural Affairs Committee highlights several areas of concern. The committee says a significant number of employees are “afraid to report incidents of harassment and discrimination.” They also say too many city departments lack racial diversity and many employees of color feel “marginalized due to this lack of diversity.”
The committee also says employees across all cultures show “weak signs of faith” in their direct supervisor or department to effectively implement policies furthering “racial equity or foster a culture of inclusion.”
In response to the workplace survey, the Multicultural Affairs Committee is requesting immediate action by city officials.
The committee recommends implementing a comprehensive “Workplace Diversity and Inclusivity” plan. The plan includes: “communication, cooperation and synergy” between different arms of city bureaucracy; comprehensive training and education for management and eventually employees on all levels; more mechanism for accountability; and better protection from retaliation for city employees who do speak up.
Mayor Paul Soglin could not be immediately reached for comment.
Gloria Reyes, deputy mayor for public safety, civil rights and community services, is “not really surprised” by the report’s findings. She says governments and companies all over the country are dealing with similar issues, but Madison is well positioned to address racial disparities.
“We are implementing strategies of how to combat the racial disparities that we’re seeing,” she says. “We are tackling it straight on and talking about the challenges internally within the city. I think this is a good first step.”
“Are we facing some challenges? Yes,” Reyes adds. “I hope [city employees] see that this is a positive move.”
Reyes says Soglin “will definitely support any initiative that the Multicultural Affairs Committee feels like [the city] needs to incorporate moving forward.”
Editor's note: This article was updated to include comments from deputy mayor Gloria Reyes.
