New Equity Office to Address Lack of Equal Representation

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The city of Austin, Texas (34.83% Latino population) is one of the country’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. In addition to being the state’s capital, it is also home to a thriving tech industry base, a large college town, and a growing center for the entertainment industry. Like many cities in Central and South Texas, it is also a majority-minority city. No demographic group is currently the majority Austin’s population.

When it comes to representation in the city government, Austin’s diversity has led to some considerable challenges. To address these long-standing concerns and feelings of inequality and representative inequity, the city has begun the creation of an Equity Office.

“We felt like there were not enough Latina women in positions at the very top,” said Jill Ramirez, chair of the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission for the city. “We felt like our demographics were not represented in city government.”

The department will be responsible for monitoring a broad range of citywide issues. One of the primary focuses of the new office will be hiring and the allocation of funds.

“Latinos right now are 36 percent, almost 40 percent of the population,” Ramirez said. “We wanted to know if funding is allocated in a way that reflects those demographics, because we have huge needs.”

In 2015, the Austin City Council approved $183,000 to be used to hire staff and set up the office. The new office will have a very broad mandate, examining issues of inequality not only in city government but across Austin.

“[The Equity Office staff is] going to be working everywhere from public safety to public health, employment issues, workplace issues, environmental issues,” said Acting Assistant City Manager Mark Washington. “We’re really looking for someone who has a good overall understanding of where there is disproportionality in the community.”

Equity offices have become a trend for city municipalities across the country. Seattle, Boston, and Portland all have offices and/or staff that deal with equity.

“Like anything else that’s new, there are going to be growing pains at some times,” Ramirez said. “But I think (the Equity Office staff) is working diligently, looking at what worked well in some places and what didn’t. So they’re going to get the best of what they learned from those other places.”

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