PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia, through its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), launched Philadelphia’s Racial Equity Strategy Dashboard, a new accountability tool that will help the City track progress in achieving racial equity and provide a transparent, accessible way for residents to see the steps that are being taken to eliminate racial disparities in all areas of City government.
To date, 23 City departments have completed their initial racial equity action plans and by the end of 2023, all departmental racial equity action plans will be complete. This is an unprecedented commitment by City agencies, which has resulted in new programs and policies to improve city operations and services.
“We made a promise that racial equity would be at the center of everything this Administration does as a government. That commitment stands true today as we continue to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture for City employees and beyond,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “This dashboard is a crucial tool that will not only hold us accountable for identifying racialized inequities but also assist in the implementation of policies and practices to help correct existing racial disparities.”
In 2020, Mayor Kenney signed Executive Order No. 1-20, which mandated that City government embed racial equity as an explicit governing principle and established the City’s Racial Equity Strategy, requiring all departments to create an initial racial equity action plan by the end of 2023. This process requires every City department reporting to the mayor to go through a rigorous cohort process to identify policies and practices that contribute to inequities and develop an action plan to disrupt, mitigate, or eliminate those conditions.
“We appreciate the City departments and offices for their participation and commitment to improving diversity, equity, inclusion and access in our workforce and City services,” said Josie B. H. Pickens, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. “The dashboard will serve as a valuable tool to track the City’s progress in advancing racial equity and will give residents clarity into the department’s priority strategies to achieve this goal.”
Philadelphia is committed to identifying racialized inequities in city government and developing actionable solutions to address those inequities through policies, procedures, and initiatives. The Racial Equity Strategy Dashboard builds on the initial action plans by tracking the status of implementation of the plans and providing regular updates on departments’ racial equity strategies.
“The launch of the dashboard is possible because of years of ongoing effort to reduce disparities and advance equity in the City,” said Télyse Masaoay, Director of Racial Equity Policy & Practice. “It is important that we acknowledge and celebrate the culture shift in government and continue supporting the City’s progress on advancing racial equity.”
The dashboard will be updated on an annual basis, and as additional departments complete their racial equity action plans, they will be added to the dashboard.