PHILADELPHIA — Today, the City of Philadelphia, through its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), released the 2022 City of Philadelphia Workforce Diversity Profile and Annual Report. As in previous years, the report provides an in-depth summary of the demographic data of the City of Philadelphia’s municipal full-time workforce, including a more detailed examination of the exempt workforce. All data is for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) and is reflective as of June 30, 2022.

“Since the start of this administration, we have been committed to building and promoting a workforce that reflects the diversity of Philadelphia,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “We have made progress, but there is far more work to be done on this front. Together, we can and will continue to create a government that best represents the people of our city – one that makes all people feel welcomed, heard, and valued.”

The full-time, permanent exempt workforce—the segment of the City’s workforce hired outside of the civil service examination process—is the primary focus of the report. This report only evaluates the portions of the exempt workforce that are under the purview of the executive branch; it excludes information from independent offices and agencies including the City Commissioners, the City Controller’s Office, City Council, the District Attorney’s Office, the First Judicial District, the Register of Wills, and the Sheriff’s Office.

The analysis looks at the racial, ethnic, and gender breakdown of the workforce. Several distinct categories within the exempt workforce—including senior leadership, Cabinet members, and the executive exempt workforce (those exempt employees who make over $90,000 per year)—were also examined.

“This administration continues to make gains year to year in the overall diversity of the City’s workforce,” said newly appointed Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Josie B. H. Pickens. “As the City continues its recovery from the pandemic, we see improvement in the diversity of our workforce, specifically, almost a six percent increase in the number of racially and ethnically diverse employees in the exempt workforce. This is a critical step forward, and we are encouraged by the progress that we’ve made thus far but recognize that we still have work to do to build a fully representative workforce.”

Key findings of the 2022 report include:

• The overall municipal workforce—including exempt and civil service positions—is composed of a majority of people of color (approx 61 percent), with 48 percent of employees identifying as Black or African American.
• The majority of new hires are people of color; 55.6 percent are Black or African American, 8.7 percent are Hispanic/Latino/a/x, and 5.6 percent are Asian.
• Representation of women in executive exempt positions is slightly higher than the percentage of women in Philadelphia’s population, as are women in executive exempt positions; women comprise nearly 53 percent of Philadelphia’s population and 55.8 percent of the executive exempt workforce.
• Since FY16, racially and ethnically diverse employees in the exempt workforce have increased from 50 percent to 56 percent, and a nine percent increase in employees who earn $90,000 and above.  

This report does not measure changes in workforce diversity that have occurred between June 30, 2022, and the publication of this report. Beginning in January 2023, the City will launch a new workforce diversity dashboard, which will measure the City’s progress on a monthly basis.  

While this report shows improvement, the City’s long-term success as a workforce will depend on further building and supporting an inclusive and equitable organizational culture which means empowering employees to build and utilize their skills, strengthening service delivery, and ensuring that Philadelphians have access to opportunities regardless of their demographics.