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In CT government jobs, diversity and pay gaps remain, study finds
State government has reduced inequities in representation and pay among Black workers as its workforce experienced massive turnover, but the gaps have worsened for Hispanics and Asians, according to a new report from state Comptroller Sean Scanlon and the University of Connecticut’s School of Public Policy.
More than 5,420 people have entered state service in the last three years, many to replace the 4,146 that retired between January and July of 2022. That “retirement tsunami” — spurred on by new pension benefit restrictions and two times greater than any other such retirement surge over the past decade — offered state agencies “a potentially transformational moment,” the report states.
But Hispanics and Asians, who were underrepresented in state government’s workforce three years ago, continue to be, according to the latest study, which relied on U.S. Census figures and December 2023 data from Core-CT, the state’s human resources and payroll IT system.
While Hispanic males and females account for 12% of the state’s population, they represent 6% and 7% respectively of the state government’s workforce.
Asian males and females each are 3% of the Connecticut populace but are 2% and 2.3% respectively of the state employee pool.
Black males and females each account for 5% of the population but are 8% and 12% respectively of the government workforce.
Whites also are represented more in the public sector than in the general populace. The study found white males and females account for 29% and 31% respectively of the population and 32% and 31% of the workforce.
“My office is committed to transparency, even when the data may not showcase the progress we aspire to make,” Scanlon said. “These findings reinforce the fact that, as a state, we must continue to prioritize equity and diversity in our workforce. … This report signals that agencies, including my own, must look at their own data and policies to see how they can close pay gaps and increase diversity in hiring.”
Professor Mohamad Alkadry, director of UConn’s School of Public Policy, added that “A more equitable workforce has real implications for the ability of the public sector to design and implement policies that effectively address community needs. Better equity in the workforce results in better policies and improved outcomes.”
Neither the comptroller’s office nor the UConn school tried to diagnose the causes of these inequities.
“The authors of this report are not naïve to the fact that there are many factors that contribute to underrepresentation and that discrimination is just one of the possible reasons,” analysts wrote. “The hope is that underrepresentation would result in a diagnosis of the reasons that resulted in such state. Is it inadequate outreach to prospective employees? Is it a labor pool problem? Is it discrimination at the hiring stage? Is it a retention problem?”
But the analysis, which builds upon a review those entities conducted in 2021, does urge state hiring officials to develop new recruitment strategies; analyze the diversity of past hiring pools; expand databases on employee-related racial and gender information; and establish a statewide diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.
Recent hirings show a push toward diversity
But the diversity numbers have improved somewhat since the retirement tsunami, the study found.
During the past three years, 26.7% of new state government hires were Black, 14.2% were Hispanic and 4.5% were Asian.
And when it comes to the high-ranking administrative roles, the share of hirings of Black women and Asians during the past three years exceeded general population shares. Among Black men and Hispanics, though, they continue to hold a disproportionately low share of top leadership roles.
Scanlon said the hirings of more Hispanics is an obvious goal to target, but government still must look at all minorities that are underrepresented.
The chairman of the state’s Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity, Alan Tan of Rocky Hill, said the ongoing disparities, particularly those affecting Hispanics, “are not surprising to us. They reinforce the urgent need for targeted recruitment strategies to better reflect our diverse population.”
Melvette Hill, the commission’s executive director, added, “We are committed to using this data to inform our legislative efforts. We will recommend targeted recruitment strategies to enhance Hispanic representation in state government and celebrate the strides made in increasing representation among women and Asian-American employees.”
Wage gaps remain throughout CT government
Reform advocates also point to pay disparities as evidence that government still has considerable work to do.
Black men and women, on average, earn 84% and 91%, respectively, the salary of the average white male in state government, the report found. Hispanic men and women also earn 84% and 91%.
Asian men and women surpass the average white male employee’s salary, making 116% and 110% respectively.
White women in state government earn 103% of the average white male’s salary.
“This report reinforces the reasons why pay equity needs to be a priority for everyone in any leadership position, whether it’s in the private or public sector,” said David Bednarz, a spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont. “Gov. Lamont has appointed one of the most diverse cabinets of state agency leaders of any governor in Connecticut because he believes that state government, including those in leadership roles, must reflect the people it represents. This report and its findings will be a valuable tool in our efforts to identify areas for improvement and, more importantly, implement hiring policies that can result in meaningful change on pay equity.”
The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, which represents nearly all unionized state employees, said state government can take a big step toward closing racial and ethnic employment and earnings gaps by maintaining state jobs.
The public sector traditionally has maintained far smaller equity gaps than has the private sector. But the state government workforce here has, for the most part, been shrinking for decades as governors and legislators use attrition to balance budgets and mitigate tax hikes.
“State government is a key tool for us to address systemic inequities, both by providing good union jobs to Black and Brown families and through the critical services they provide our communities,” said Carl Chisem, president of Connecticut Employees Union Independent and co-chair of the SEBAC Racial Justice Committee. “This report shows that we’ve missed major opportunities to increase representation and pay equity and continued down the road to status quo. We must make serious and immediate changes to how we recruit, retain and promote our state workforce.”
Rob Baril, president of SEIU 1199 NE, the state’s largest health care workers union, added that “Connecticut has some of the worst racial and economic disparities in the nation, and both cuts to critical services and the loss of public sector jobs widens the racial and gender wage gap.”
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