Fresno’s city workforce is still dominated by men. Here’s what leaders are doing about it
The city of Fresno’s workforce of 3,600 employees remains dominated and led by men since The Bee’s 2019 analysis, but several efforts are underway to boost women in employee ranks.
Men still account for about 74% of the city’s workforce, according to March employee demographic data the city provided to The Bee. Furthermore, white men make up nearly 30% of the entire workforce.
Most department heads are white men as well.
Overall, city employees are nearly 42% Hispanic, 38% white, nearly 7% Black, and 6.6% Asian. About 6% are characterized as “other,” which includes American Indian, Pacific Islander, and employees for whom no race or ethnicity was specified.
The gender disparity is highest in the fire department, public works, and public utilities.
Creating a more inclusive workforce can be more difficult for government agencies than private-sector employers, said Kathryn Forbes, chair of Fresno State’s women’s, gender, and sexuality studies department.
“Government workforces can be especially difficult to diversify because there often are lower turnover rates,” Forbes said. “Past hiring and promotion practices that favored white men affect a workplace for years because there is little turnover. Union rules, too, can hinder efforts as they privilege seniority in advancement.”
The city does have an equal employment opportunity plan and policy, which includes analyzing the city’s workforce by gender and race, and/or ethnicity each year. The policy also directs hiring managers to target underrepresented groups for recruitment.
City leaders said they are committed to changing the disparity, so the workforce more closely reflects the city population — and they’re taking action.
For instance, mostly women work on Mayor Jerry Dyer’s staff. Many of them are women of color. The men in the mayor’s office also are mostly men of color.
During his first year in office, Dyer said he asked Deputy Mayor Matthew Grundy to “conduct a deep dive into the makeup of our workforce.” The data was presented to department directors, and the mayor’s office is working with the city’s personnel department on strategies to build an inclusive workplace, he said.
“I am deeply committed to ensuring the city of Fresno’s workforce is diverse to include gender and ethnicity and reflects the community we serve,” Dyer said in a statement. “I have tried to set the example with the appointment of three female assistant city managers, one of which since has been appointed to city manager. I have also appointed a Hispanic city manager, African American deputy mayor, and assistant city manager.
“Although we have made tremendous strides toward having a more reflective workforce, there is still plenty of room for progress,” Dyer said.
Last year, in response to anti-Asian hate heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dyer and Fresno City Councilmembers created the city’s Office of Community Affairs to connect underserved communities with resources. Dyer hired three liaisons to work in the office: an Asian woman, a Latina, and a Punjabi man. He later also hired Pastor B.T. Lewis, who is Black, of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, to join the team.
Fresno has slightly more women than men, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. Nearly half the population in the city is Hispanic or Latino, 26% is white, about 14% is Asian, 7% is Black, and 1% is Native American.
Forbes said the city’s employee demographic data merely provides a snapshot of the city workforce. To really understand whether the city’s diversity efforts are working requires data on new hires. The city was unable to provide that information to The Bee in a timely manner due to an outdated computer system set to be upgraded next year.
“A cursory glance at the data suggests that there may be progress in hiring given the youthfulness of employees,” Forbes said.
It’s also important to look at who gets promoted, Forbes said.
“Often, people work for a city for years, perhaps their entire careers. Is there a pipeline into management positions for employees of color and for women across races? Or are they clustered in jobs that provide little opportunity for advancement?” Forbes said.
Those questions also aren’t answered by the data.
“The greatest strides in racially diversifying industries have occurred when employers have targeted underrepresented groups for leadership and educational training opportunities,” Forbes said. “Such programs often challenge workplace cultures that don’t have traditions of moving up in the ranks.”
In the years since 2019 when The Bee last conducted this analysis, city leaders have taken multiple steps to do just that, particularly when it comes to hiring women.
Fire department sees progress
Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Donis, the city’s first woman fire chief, led the charge in recruiting more women firefighters.
It’s paid off.
When Donis first started the Girls Empowerment Camp in 2019, only six women worked as Fresno firefighters. Last year, the fire department hired seven more, thanks largely to the new camp and other outreach efforts.
Nationally, around 4% of firefighters are women, Donis said. At one point, that number was under 1% in the Fresno Fire Department, she said.
“You have to start somewhere and just start where you’re at,” Donis said. “You start planting those seeds and making those deposits in young girls and men, really, at a very early age, so they know that this is a career option. A lot of women didn’t even know that this was an option. I know I sure didn’t until I was like 28.”
In the first year, 50 girls attended the Girls Empowerment Camp. Last year 70 girls attended, and there was a waiting list. This year, the camp will be two days with 80 campers each. Plus, the age limit this year will be bumped up to 21, Donis said. Many of the girls who attended the Girls Empowerment Camp since have signed up to become Fresno Fire Explorers, too.
Firefighting is a male-dominated profession, and women who join the ranks must fight that stigma, Donis said. But, it’s a job that’s appealing to anyone who has mental toughness, including women.
Having women on any team is an asset, she said.
“They just think differently and have a different perspective and a different way to approach things that can be, in certain times, more effective,” Donis said. “I think it’s important to have a good team of a very diverse group of folks to help your team be the greatest it can be. I think having women in the mix of that at different levels in leadership is an absolute must in any organization, whether it be the fire department or business.”
Police efforts
Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama last month pledged to boost women in the police ranks to 30% by 2030.
As part of that commitment, the department is signing on with the 30X30 Pledge, which lays out a series of low- and no-cost actions police departments can take to identify and eliminate disparities and in recruitment, assessment, hiring, retention, promotion and agency culture.
By signing the pledge, the department also agrees to report back on its efforts, which will be compiled and shared as part of the national 30X30 Initiative.
Overall, women make up about 27% of police department employees, but many of those are civilian staff.
Just under 12% of the police department’s sworn officers are women, Lt. Bill Dooley said. That’s just a smidgen below the national average.
Dyer last year tasked Balderrama with aggressive recruitment efforts to boost the ranks of sworn officers. In 2021, the department added 62 sworn officers. Eight of those were women. So far this year, the department hired 29 new officers, including four women.
National research shows women officers use less excessive force than their male counterparts, Dooley said. Victims, particularly children, often feel more comfortable opening up to a woman officer.
Overall, Dooley said more people than in the past are seeing law enforcement as a realistic, long-term career opportunity. More diverse candidates are going through the academy.
“We have a very diverse community here in the city of Fresno,” he said. “So we’re happy to see that the candidates that we can draw from are becoming more stronger represented in the academy.”
“I applaud the police department for following national guidance and setting specific targets to increase the number of women employed,” Forbes said. “Specific targets hold employers accountable and lead employers to examine their hiring practices.”
Forbes encouraged the police department to also pay attention to the racial composition of the women they hire and the demographics of the department’s leadership.
Currently, Fresno Police Department also lags behind the national average for women in leadership roles, too, Dooley said.
“That’s not acceptable,” he said.
It’s important that the women in the department also see promoting into leadership roles as something appealing and doable, Dooley said. That can be done by giving people the opportunity to work in those roles temporarily to see if it’s a good fit.
Women’s commission
Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza in late March announced his office received a $25,000 grant from the state Commission on the Status of Women and Girls’ (CCSWG) Women’s Recovery Grant program. The grant money was made available to help with long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. That money will be used to create a new Women’s Commission for the city of Fresno, pending approval at the next city council meeting.
The goal is for the commission to formally advise the city council on issues that affect women and girls, Esparza said. Once the commission is approved and members selected, it will have public meetings subject to the Brown Act like other city commissions.
Esparza said he hopes the commission will be a launchpad for women leaders in the city.
For at least the past decade, the Fresno City Council has been male-dominated. Councilmember Esmeralda Soria has been the only woman during her entire tenure. She’s currently in the last year of her second term and running for state assembly.
“This is an opportunity for the council to be more intentional and make room for those voices and have those voices advising them in a formal capacity,” Esparza said.
“To me, it’s a big deal. It’s historic,” he said. “We don’t know where it’s going to go, but I think it’s a solid first step in the right direction. What we’re doing and creating is going to be empowering a group of women in the city to lead and help lead us in the right direction as a council and as a city.”