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Most city workers are white, male, figures show
Analysis of employment roster shows disparities in some departments
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Published: February 28, 2009
Winston-Salem's city government is overwhelmingly run by men and whites, according to an analysis of December employment figures given to the mayor and the Winston-Salem City Council this week.
The figures show that the almost three-quarters of the city's officials and administrators are men and that nearly two-thirds are white. The people who work in "protective services" -- police, fire or security -- are even more likely to be white and male.
The city's overall employment roster directly reflects the black population of the city: 34 percent of city employees and 34 percent of city residents are black. The city included data from the U.S. Census Bureau to show how the city's employment roster corresponds to Winston-Salem's demographics.
For instance, less than one-fifth of the people who work in protective services are black, but nearly four-fifths of maintenance employees are black.
Jimmy Boyd, the president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that the numbers are alarming.
"There's a great deal of disparity," Boyd said. "I think the city has a heck of a job to do to look at these areas that need to be addressed, not just sit around and talk about it, but to get things done."
Mayor Allen Joines said that the city has taken steps to improve diversity among its employees. "However, there are certainly areas we would like to continue to work on," he said.
The numbers reflected in the report do not include the mayor or members of the city council.
The council and mayor received the numbers Thursday as a precursor to data that the city will be required to report to the federal government this fall. The numbers represent a snapshot of employee demographics in December. The numbers that the city will report this fall to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will come from the employment rolls as they stand on June 30.
Assistant City Manager Martha Wheelock, who issued the report, said that the city submits employment figures to the federal government every other year. She said that the numbers typically do not change dramatically from year to year.
"I think, yes, clearly we have a preponderance of men," she said. "And why that is, of course, is a long and complex subject. But I think you have to look at it in a perspective of the workplace that used to be dominated by men. And it's just that it takes time to make change in those kinds of long-standing mores than attitudes that used to be in place. It's the classic: ‘Women have only been in the home.' And, of course, there has to be position vacancies to make those kinds of changes."
Joines said that the numbers that show a shortage of black police officers are particularly troubling. Nineteen percent of the city's protective-services employees are black. Ninety percent are male.
He said that the city has created programs to recruit black police officers, including one at Winston-Salem State University in which the city pays the tuition of a student who subsequently becomes a Winston-Salem police officer.
"What we would like is for the department to be as closely reflective of our overall population as we can," Joines said.
"I think it helps to build trust in the department, and I think it makes the department more effective going forward."
■ Laura Graff can be reached at 727-7279 or at lgraff@wsjournal.com.
Jobs by race and gender
As of December, the city of Winston-Salem had 2,329 employees. Here is a breakdown of the race of full-time employees in some key positions:
Job - Male - Female - White - Black - Hispanic - Total*
Administrators - 35 - 12 - 30 - 17 - 0 - 47
Professional - 237 - 121 - 242 - 105 - 5 - 358
Technicians - 318 - 127 - 339 - 93 - 9 - 445
Protective svcs - 605 - 68 - 520 - 127 - 18 - 673
Admin. support - 46 - 162 - 104 - 96 - 4 - 208
Service/maint. - 279 - 24 - 65 - 235 - 3 - 303
Source: City of Winston-Salem
* Totals include employees who identified themselves as "other."
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