On his first day in office in 2016, Mayor Kenney signed Executive Order No. 1-16—appointing the City’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and creating the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion was charged with providing transparency and accountability across government, as well as training for employees to help make the City of Philadelphia a more inclusive place to work.
In the second term, Mayor Kenney has committed to assessing where disparities are most pervasive and developing strategies that better support communities of color in Philadelphia. That is why he signed Executive Order No. 1-20 to expand the City’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion and formalize the creation of the City’s Racial Equity Initiative.
What is in the Executive Order?
Executive Order No. 1-20 has five key areas:
- Renaming the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to include “Equity” — now the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Establishing formal oversight of the Office of LGBT Affairs and Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
- Launching a City-wide Employment Diversity and Inclusion Initiative
- Introducing the City-wide Racial Equity Initiative
- Mandating diversity, equity, and inclusion training for managers and supervisors
What is the overarching goal?
By expanding the mandate of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and establishing additional directives for all City departments, the Kenney Administration aims to create a city where race does not predict outcomes for its residents and diversity is recognized as one of our greatest assets. The Executive Order is an acknowledgement of local government’s important relationship to the conditions that perpetuate racial inequity, and serves as the framework that will guide the Administration’s efforts to implement sustainable change aimed at addressing inequities in all major indicators of success, including: health, criminal justice, education, jobs, housing, and beyond.
What will change for City departments?
Ongoing efforts will include making improvements to internal operations, shifting organizational culture, developing bold policies, and engaging Philadelphia’s community.
Departments and their staff will be required to take certain steps under Executive Order No. 1-20:
- All departments must do Racial Equity Assessments
- All departments must create Racial Equity Action Plans by the end of 2023
- Beginning in 2020, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will work with departments on annual Employment Diversity and Inclusion Plans
- All City supervisors and managers must complete mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion training every three years
