Racial and Gender Diversity in State DOTs and Transit Agencies (2007)

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10 State Departments of Transportation SDOTs are the state counterparts to USDOT. Unlike transit agencies, which can be public or private, SDOTs are govern- ment agencies “responsible for owning, planning, designing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and repairing major components of each state’s transportation system” (3). Origi- nally established in the early 20th century as agencies to plan, design, build, and maintain state and federal highway networks, today SDOTs’ responsibilities include aviation, highways, public transportation, waterways, and intermodal programs. This expanded mission has brought about a change in the composition of the SDOT workforce. When SDOTs were focused on highway construction and maintenance, their ranks were filled with engineers and technicians. Today they employ a broad range of specialists, including planners, architects, environmental scientists, economists, and lawyers (3). A bench- marking study prepared for the Indiana DOT found that, on average, 44% of employees are administrators, managers, or professionals; 32% are technical or craft certified; and 27% are clerical or unskilled (3). In addition to trying to recruit for a broader range of disciplines, SDOTs also face the challenge of an aging work- force. About 50% of the SDOT workforce will be eligible to retire within the next 10 years, leaving many vacant positions to be filled (3). The pool of prospective employees is more diverse than ever, and SDOTs must think of ways to recruit and retain a workforce that will reflect demographic trends. Findings Compliance Compliance with EEO guidelines can effectively be pro- moted through communication and enforcement of regula- tions, as well as through the communication and enforcement of agency-wide goals addressing diversity. SDOTs are making efforts to employ a diverse workforce, as evidenced by their high level of compliance with EEO laws and their submittals of EEO-4 reports. SDOTs have a twofold responsibility—first, to not exclude women and minorities, and second, to take steps to attract and retain women and minorities. This latter responsibility involves implementing an affirmative action plan and com- pleting an EEO-4 report. The EEO reporting requirements for SDOTs are set forth in Subpart C of the Equal Employment Opportunity on Federal and Federal-Aid Construction Contracts regulation (17). The purpose of the regulation is to “set forth Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Federal-aid policy and FHWA and State responsibilities relative to a State highway agency’s in- ternal equal employment opportunity program and for as- suring compliance with the equal employment opportunity requirements of federally assisted highway construction contracts.” The regulation goes on to state: Each State highway agency shall prepare and submit an updated equal employment opportunity program, one year from the date of approval of the preceding program by the Federal Highway Administrator, over the signature of the head of the State highway agency, to the Federal Highway Administrator through the FHWA Division Administrator. (16) FHWA provided the research team with files containing affirmative action plans and EEO-4 reports submitted by the SDOTs. The EEO-4 report (Form 164) provides information on employees of state and local governments by job category, race, and salary range (17). SDOTs are instructed to use the form to report employment data, and the data are to “reflect only State departments of transportation/State highway department employment” (16). Form FHWA-1392, Federal- Aid Highway Construction Summary of Employment Data, is supposed to “reflect the total employment on all Federal- Aid Highway Projects in the state as of July 31st” (16). C H A P T E R 3 Findings and Applications

11 A review of the files provided by FHWA found that not all SDOTs had submitted an EEO-4 report. After follow-up phone calls were made to those agencies that had not submit- ted a report, the research team had a full set of EEO-4 reports for the SDOTs. The team decided, however, not to include this second batch of reports in the analysis in the belief that estab- lishing a baseline should involve not only an analysis of the data, but also an analysis of the process for collecting and reporting the data. SDOTs are required to submit their affir- mative action plans and EEO-4 forms to FHWA annually (16). If FHWA does not have an SDOT’s EEO-4 report on file, that indicates a process issue (e.g., the SDOT did not submit the form, or the form was submitted but not properly filed). Comprehensiveness The federal regulations governing the development of EEO programs instruct SDOTs to produce a comprehensive report. The scope of an EEO program and an AAP [affirmative action plan] must be comprehensive, covering all elements of the agency’s personnel management policies and practices. The major part of an AAP must be recognition and removal of any barriers to equal employment opportunity, identification of problem areas and of persons unfairly excluded or held back and action enabling them to compete for jobs on an equal basis. An effective AAP not only benefits those who have been denied equal employment opportunity but will also greatly benefit the organization which often has overlooked, screened out or under- utilized the great reservoir of untapped human resources and skills, especially among women and minority groups. (16) More specifically, the regulations state that an affirmative action plan should include the following components: • A strong agency policy statement of commitment to EEO. • Assignment of responsibility and authority for the pro- gram to a qualified individual. • A survey of the labor market area in terms of population makeup, skills, and availability for employment. • An analysis of the current workforce to identify jobs, departments, and units where minorities and women are underutilized. • Specific, measurable, attainable hiring and promotion goals, with target dates, in each area of underutilization. • Managers and supervisors who are responsible and accountable for meeting these goals. • Reevaluation of job descriptions and hiring criteria to en- sure they reflect actual job needs. • Identification of minorities and women who are qualified or qualifiable to fill jobs. • A strategy to get minorities and women into upward mobility and relevant training programs to which they have not previously had access. • Systems to regularly monitor and measure progress, and if the results are not satisfactory, to determine why and make necessary changes. • A procedure that allows employees and applicants to sub- mit allegations of discrimination to an impartial body, without fear of reprisal. The research team was primarily interested in the number of women and minorities employed in SDOTs and transit agencies in relation to their availability in the labor market; hence, the team specifically sought information on the uti- lization and availability of women and minorities. A review of the SDOT files found that 30 of the 52 SDOTs provided a comprehensive report that included both incumbency numbers (utilization numbers) and availability numbers; this means that an availability analysis, which is a required ele- ment of the annual affirmative action plan, was conducted by 58% of the SDOTs. According to the regulations, SDOTs should, as a mini- mum, report data for • The total population in the state; • The total labor market in the state, with a breakdown by racial/ethnic identification and gender; and • An analysis of the total population and total labor market in connection with the availability of personnel and jobs within the SDOT. An availability analysis serves as the basis for determining where there is an underutilization or a concentration of a particular race/ethnic group or gender. It is what allows an agency to establish a legally defensible hiring goal. In conducting an availability analysis, it is important to col- lect availability information not only on the total number of minorities, but also on each racial/gender group. For example, a finding that women overall are not underutilized or under- represented in a particular occupation could be misleading if one group is skewing the results; White women could be over- represented in that category, while Black or Hispanic women are underrepresented—facts that will be obscured when the data are looked at only in the aggregate. A comprehensive report will, in addition to providing avail- ability information, also include targeted goals for women and minorities in specific occupational categories. When asked if they set goals or targets for minorities and women, • Eighty-nine percent of the SDOTs said they have goals or targets for the percentage of women in their workforce; 72% stated that these goals are linked to particular job clas- sifications; • More than 67% of the SDOTs that have targets for women in particular job classifications have a clear policy of

12 hiring women in high-skill jobs (officials and administrators, 67%; professionals, 72%; and technicians, 78%); • Seventy-eight percent of the respondents said their agency has goals for the percentage of minorities they seek to em- ploy, with 67% stating that these goals are linked to partic- ular job classifications; and • Seventy-one percent of the SDOTs that have targets for minorities in particular job classifications have a clear policy of hiring minorities in high-skill jobs (officials and adminis- trators, 72%; professionals, 86%; and technicians, 86%). It is important that agencies have specific, rather than general, hiring goals. It is not enough for an agency to state that it wants to increase the percentage of women or minorities in its employ, as this could simply mean hiring more women and minorities in lower level positions. Affirmative action is not just about increasing the number of women and minorities in the workforce; it is also about expanding the opportunities for advancement. An affirmative action program that yields an increase in the numbers of women and minorities employed at an agency, but the women are concentrated in clerical positions and the minorities in service jobs, should not be considered a success. Success means having a diverse work- force throughout the organization, from the top to the bottom; one way to achieve this is to have a comprehensive affirmative action plan with targeted goals that are based on a thorough availability and utilization analysis. Consistency To allow meaningful comparisons, data must be presented in a consistent format. In reviewing SDOT and transit agency files, the research team found inconsistencies in the way the data were reported (among SDOTs, among transit agencies, and between SDOTs and transit agencies). The inconsisten- cies centered around the following issues: • Date of the availability data. While most agencies used data from the 2000 U.S. Census, four SDOTs used data from the 1990 U.S. Census. • Source of the availability data. Some agencies used data from the Census, while others used data from state employment agencies. • Measures of underrepresentation and adverse impact. The SDOTs that provided a workforce analysis used different measures to determine underrepresentation or adverse im- pact. The measures included employment parity, eco- nomic parity, and the four-fifths rule, which states that a selection rate for any racial/ethnic or gender group that is more than four-fifths of the rate for the group with the highest selection rate will generally not be regarded as evi- dence of adverse impact (4). • Geographic and organizational units to assess representa- tion. Some SDOTs determine representation status or ad- verse impact at the district level, while others do so at the state or agency level. • Racial/ethnic categories used to report employment counts. Some agencies do not distinguish between Hispanic and non-Hispanic; others report numbers for women and minorities, but not for individual racial/ethnic groups. The data that agencies use for the availability analysis should not only be the most recent, accurate, and relevant data available, but it should also be cross-classified by race and gender to “ascertain the extent to which minority-group women or minority-group men may be underutilized” (15). Just over half of the SDOTs that reported availability data dis- aggregated their data in a consistent manner (i.e., by race and gender). Availability numbers are used to calculate underutiliza- tion, or disproportionality. The research team used Census data to independently calculate availability rates and then compared the rates with those reported by the SDOTs; any discrepancies might be the result of different sources for availability numbers (i.e., Census data, state employment agency data, other sources). Confidence The web survey asked each SDOT to indicate its level of confidence in the accuracy of its utilization and availability analysis. • Fifty-eight percent of the survey respondents indicated that they are extremely confident in the accuracy of their agency’s EEO reports. • Forty-two percent indicated that they are somewhat confident. For an agency to have confidence in its data, the data should be updated regularly, and agencies should have com- puter systems that will allow them to easily track applicants, new hires, and promotions. The web survey found that 65% of respondents update their affirmative action plans annually; 15% update their plans “as needed,” 10% update biannually, 5% update quarterly, and 5% update monthly. Some states reported making substantial changes to their plan after each Census. Establishing the Baseline To determine the baseline for diversity in SDOTs, the research team sought answers to the following questions:

13 • What is the disproportionality rate (underutilization or overutilization) of women and minorities within each of the EEO-4 occupational categories? • What percentage of agencies have an underutilization or overutilization of women and minorities within each of the EEO-4 occupational categories? The following steps were taken to calculate disproportion- ality rates: 1. Review the EEO-4 reports and affirmative action plans that the SDOTs submitted to FHWA. 2. Enter the incumbency numbers (number of employees for each racial/gender category) reported by each SDOT into a database. 3. Calculate the utilization rates for women and minorities by dividing the incumbency numbers by the total number of employees. For example, if an SDOT had 10 White female employees and 50 total employees, the utilization rate for White women would be 20%. The utilization rate is calcu- lated separately for Black men and women, Hispanic men and women, Asian men and women, American Indian men and women, and White women. 4. Access the Census Bureau’s database to collect the EEO-1 employment counts for women and minorities in each of the seven EEO-4 job categories (an eighth category—para- professionals—is not included in this analysis as compar- ison data are not available from the Census Bureau); these counts will be used to calculate availability rates when an SDOT has not done so. 5. Collect the availability numbers for women and minorities for each of the EEO job categories (officials and adminis- trators, professionals, technicians, protective service workers, administrative support, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance). 6. Calculate the availability rate for women and minorities by dividing the number of women and minorities by the total number of available workers for each job category. 7. Calculate the disproportionality (underutilization or overutilization) by dividing the utilization rate by the availability rate. For example, if an SDOT’s utilization rate for White women in professional and administrative occupations is 20% and the availability rate for White women in those occupations in the general labor market, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, is 40%, then the disproportionality is 50% (20/40). There is no disparity if the ratio is at least 80%. In this example, however, the ratio is less than 80%, so there is a disparity. The closer the ratio is to 80%, the smaller the disparity. 8. Identify the job categories and racial/ethnic groups that account for the highest disparity based on the percentage of SDOTs that had a disparity and on the average disparity ratio across the SDOTs, using the four-fifths rule. Accord- ing to the four-fifths rule, a selection rate for any race or gender that is more than 80% of the rate for the group with the highest selection rate will generally not be regarded as evidence of adverse impact (4). Overall Findings The overall disproportionality rates for women and minor- ity employees in SDOTs are shown in Table 2. On average, • White men are overutilized in all seven occupational cate- gories except protective services and administrative sup- port categories; • Black men are overutilized in all seven occupational categories; • White women are underutilized in five of the seven occupational categories (officials and administrators, pro- fessionals, technicians, protective service workers, and service-maintenance); • Black women are underutilized in four occupational categories (professionals, technicians, protective service workers, and service-maintenance); • Hispanic men are underutilized in five occupational categories (officials and administrators, protective service workers, administrative support, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance); • Hispanic women are underutilized in four categories (officials and administrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance); • Asian men are overutilized in all categories except for tech- nicians and service-maintenance; • Asian women are underutilized in all occupational cate- gories except for administrative support; • American Indian men are overutilized in all categories except protective service workers and administrative support; and • American Indian women are underutilized in four cate- gories (officials and administrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance). The regional disproportionality analyses for women and minority employees in SDOTs are shown in Tables 3–6. SDOT Disproportionality Analysis by Race Ethnicity and Gender On average, White men • Are overutilized in all occupational categories except pro- tective services and administrative support; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in protective serv- ice workers and in the administrative support categories and overutilized in all other categories except skilled craft;

14 Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) White Males 125 166 120 64 76 89 205 White Females 36 31 35 22 81 58 13 Black Males 24 130 211 1275 39 72 132 Black Females 120 40 172 0 113 27 17 Hispanic Males 59 46 23 10 19 32 50 Hispanic Females 22 20 17 0 64 8 18 Asian Males 26 219 4 0 24 77 28 Asian Females 17 30 17 0 28 0 0 American Indian Males 0 521 312 0 33 76 198 American Indian Females 0 62 34 0 69 47 0 NOTE: >100% = overutilization; 80% = parity; <80% = underutilization Source: SDOT Utilization Data and U.S. Census Bureau Northeast Region = Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Table 3. Disproportionality Analysis for State DOTs—Northeast Region. Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) White Males 130 169 111 98 83 102 205 White Females 41 39 55 65 88 87 21 Black Males 122 141 166 273 138 295 156 Black Females 345 49 74 42 110 92 27 Hispanic Males 73 159 140 65 48 44 74 Hispanic Females 21 38 80 80 84 27 9 Asian Males 100 149 36 117 102 134 28 Asian Females 30 70 28 13 83 12 9 American Indian Males 182 344 317 68 51 118 249 American Indian Females 18 68 298 612 126 74 14 NOTE: > 100% = overutilization; 80% = parity; < 80% = underutilization Source: SDOT Utilization Data and U.S. Census Bureau Table 2. Overall Disproportionality Rates for Women and Minorities in SDOTs.

15 Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) White Males 129 191 129 95 61 105 253 White Females 46 41 52 115 91 81 15 Black Males 140 141 132 53 142 638 112 Black Females 45 37 49 55 80 58 14 Hispanic Males 126 200 144 111 62 43 79 Hispanic Females 15 63 94 83 131 24 2 Asian Males 126 86 14 143 137 83 24 Asian Females 71 80 11 64 92 0 1 American Indian Males 502 372 420 88 12 161 257 American Indian Females 32 82 454 725 299 0 3 NOTE: >100% = overutilization; 80% = parity; <80% = underutilization Source: SDOT Utilization Data and U.S. Census Bureau Midwest Region = Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota Table 4. Disproportionality Analysis for SDOTs—Midwest Region. Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) White Males 136 169 115 107 84 110 180 White Females 41 41 47 41 89 94 25 Black Males 110 187 189 165 208 339 165 Black Females 46 52 64 66 116 124 27 Hispanic Males 27 106 68 37 31 27 32 Hispanic Females 7 29 47 23 35 14 6 Asian Males 58 115 29 28 90 116 11 Asian Females 8 62 9 0 73 18 15 American Indian Males 105 318 252 89 64 81 277 American Indian Females 16 72 315 577 67 90 26 NOTE: >100% = overutilization; 80% = parity; <80% = underutilization Source: SDOT Utilization Data and U.S. Census Bureau Southern Region = Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas Table 5. Disproportionality Analysis for SDOTs—Southern Region.

16 • In the Midwest region, are underutilized in the adminis- trative support category and overutilized in all other cate- gories except protective services; • In the Southern region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except administrative support; • In the Western region, are overutilized in all occupa- tional categories except the technicians and skilled craft categories. On average, White women • Are underutilized in five of the seven occupational categories (officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, protective service workers, and service- maintenance); • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except administrative support; • In the Midwest region, are underutilized in four categories (officials and administrators, professionals, technicians and service-maintenance); • In the Southern region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except administrative support and skilled craft workers; and • In the Western region, are underutilized in three cate- gories (officials/administrators, professionals, and service- maintenance). On average, Black men • Are overutilized in all occupational categories; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in the categories of officials and administrators, administrative support, and skilled craft workers; • In the Midwest region, are underrepresented in the pro- tective service workers category; • In the Southern region, are overrepresented in all occupa- tional categories; and • In the Western region, are underrepresented in the protec- tive services category. On average, Black women • Are underutilized in the professionals, technicians, protec- tive service workers, and service-maintenance occupational categories; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in the profes- sionals, protective service workers, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance categories; • In the Midwest region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except administrative support; • In the Southern region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except administrative support and skilled craft workers; and • In the Western region, are overutilized in the administra- tive support and skilled craft workers categories. On average, Hispanic men • Are underutilized in all occupational categories except professionals and technicians; Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) White Males 125 149 87 104 105 95 200 White Females 41 41 79 89 88 109 25 Black Males 176 84 135 60 92 89 191 Black Females 1110a 57 53 0 125 107 43 Hispanic Males 105 261 298 106 78 74 141 Hispanic Females 43 42 156 246 127 59 13 Asian Males 176 209 80 341 132 231 57 Asian Females 35 94 77 0 119 22 12 American Indian Males 139 262 325 49 72 155 233 American Indian Females 21 55 260 22 105 127 15 NOTE: >100% = overutilization; 80% = parity; <80% = underutilization Source: SDOT Utilization Data and U.S. Census Bureau Western Region = Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington Table 6. Disproportionality Analysis for SDOTs—Western Region.

17 • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories; • In the Midwest region, are overutilized in the officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, and pro- tective service workers categories and underutilized in the administrative support, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance categories; • In the Southern region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except professionals; and • In the Western region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except administrative support and skilled craft workers. On average, Hispanic women • Are underutilized in the categories of officials and administrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories; • In the Midwest region, are underutilized in the officials and administrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance categories; • In the Southern region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories; and • In the Western region, are underutilized in the categories of officials and administrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance. On average, Asian men • Are overutilized in all occupational categories except tech- nicians and service-maintenance; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except professionals; • In the Midwest region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except technicians and service-maintenance; • In the Southern region, are underutilized in the categories of officials and administrators, technicians, protective service workers, and service-maintenance; and • In the Western region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except service-maintenance. On average, Asian women • Are inderutilized in all occupational categories except technicians; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories; • In the Midwest region, are underutilized in all occupational categories except professionals and administrative support; • In the Southern region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories; and • In the Western region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories except professionals and administrative support. On average, American Indian men • Are overutilized in all occupational categories except pro- tective services workers and administrative support; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in the categories of officials and administrators, protective service workers, ad- ministrative support, and skilled craft workers; • In the Midwest region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except administrative support; • In the Southern region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except administrative support; and • In the Western region, are overutilized in all occupational categories except protective service workers and adminis- trative support. On average, American Indian women • Are underutilized in the officials and administrators, pro- fessionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance categories; • In the Northeast region, are underutilized in all occupa- tional categories; • In the Midwest region, are overutilized in the profession- als, technicians, protective service workers, and adminis- trative support categories; • In the Southern region, are underutilized in the officials and administrators, professionals, administrative support, and service-maintenance categories; and • In the Western region, are overutilized in the technicians, administrative support, and skilled craft workers categories and underutilized in the officials and administrators, professionals, protective service workers, and service- maintenance categories. SDOT Disproportionality Analysis by Region In the Northeast region, • All groups are underutilized in the skilled craft workers oc- cupational category except white men; • White women are underutilized in all occupational cate- gories except administrative support; • Black women are overutilized in the administrative sup- port category; • All groups of men are overutilized in the professionals cat- egory; and • All groups, except for Black women, are underutilized in the officials and administrators category. In the Midwest region, • All groups of men are overutilized in the officials and ad- ministrators and professionals categories; • All groups of women are underutilized in the officials and administrators and service-maintenance categories; and

18 Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service-Maintenance (%) Black Males 47 29 27 31 67 37 41 Black Females 86 82 69 51 41 65 98 Hispanic Males 73 37 55 43 78 84 69 Hispanic Females 92 90 63 53 61 90 98 Asian Males 61 29 90 49 71 59 92 Asian Females 88 61 82 49 53 90 98 American Indian Males 69 31 29 43 82 55 47 American Indian Females 94 69 41 49 65 71 94 White Females 90 96 78 39 22 53 94 NOTE: N = 48 SDOTs. SOURCE: SDOT EEO-4 reports and U.S. Census. Table 7. SDOTs with an Underutilization of Women and Minorities, by Employment Category. • American Indian men are overutilized in all categories except administrative support. In the Southern region, • White men are overutilized in all occupational categories except administrative support; • Black men are overutilized in all occupational categories; • Hispanic women are underutilized in all occupational cat- egories; • Asian women are underutilized in all occupational categories; • All groups of women are underutilized in the officials and administrators and the technicians categories; and • All groups of men are overutilized in the professionals occupational category. In the Western region, • White men are overutilized in all occupational categories except protective services and technicians; • Black men are overutilized in all occupational categories except protective services; • Hispanic women are underutilized in the officials and ad- ministrators and professionals categories; • White women are underutilized in the officials and administrators and professionals categories; and • American Indian women are underutilized in the officials and administrators and professionals categories. Underutilization of Women and Minorities in SDOTs Table 7 lists the percentages of SDOTs found to have an underutilization of women and minorities in each of the seven employment categories. The officials and administrators category has the highest underutilization of women and minorities. Women and minorities, with the exception of Black men, are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by at least 60% of SDOTs; Black men are underutilized by 47%. The officials and administrators category is the highest occupational level, encompassing positions in which administrative and manage- rial personnel “set broad policies, exercise overall responsibility for execution of these policies, or direct individual departments or special phases of the agency’s operations or provide special- ized consultation on a regional, district, or area basis”(17). Since this category represents the highest underutilization, agencies should develop succession plans and offer professional devel- opment opportunities that will lead to higher numbers of women and minorities in these positions. The occupational category with the smallest underutiliza- tion rate is the protective service workers category, with six of the eight racial/gender groups underutilized by fewer than half the SDOTs. Hispanic women were underutilized in all seven occupa- tional categories by more than half of the SDOTs. Black women were underutilized by more than half of the SDOTs

19 in all occupational categories but administrative support. White women were underutilized in five categories by more than half of the SDOTs. Men had the lowest underutilization in the professionals occupational category, with fewer than 40% of the SDOTs underutilizing Black, Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian men in this category. Women in all racial/ethnic groups evidence the highest underutilization. More than three-fourths of the SDOTs underutilize Black women in three categories—officials and administrators, professionals, and service-maintenance. More than three-fourths of the SDOTs underutilize White women in four categories—officials and administrators, pro- fessionals, technicians, and service-maintenance. Hispanic women have the highest level of underutilization by the SDOTs, with nearly all of the SDOTs (more than 90%) un- derutilizing Hispanic women in four categories—officials and administrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance. American Indian women and Asian women are underuti- lized by more than 90% of the SDOTs in two categories— American Indian women in the officials and administrators and service-maintenance categories, and Asian women in the skilled craft workers and service-maintenance categories. Nearly all of the SDOTs underutilized the following groups and categories: • Black women in the service-maintenance occupational cat- egory (98%) • Hispanic women in the officials and administrators cate- gory (92%) • Hispanic women in the professionals category (90%) • Hispanic women in the service-maintenance category (98%) • Asian men in the technicians category (90%) • Asian men in the service-maintenance category (92%) • American Indian women in the officials and administra- tors category (94%) • American Indian women in the service-maintenance cate- gory (94%) • White women in the officials and administrators category (90%) • White women in the professionals category (96%) • White women in the service-maintenance category (94%) Men (Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian) were underutilized in the administrative support category by at least two-thirds of the SDOTs. Black men were the least underutilized of the eight groups. Fewer than half the SDOTs underutilized Black men in six of the occupational categories (officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, protective service workers, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance); nearly two-thirds of the SDOTs underutilized Black men in the administrative support category. As a group, Black women experienced the highest underuti- lization in the service-maintenance occupational category, with almost all of the states (98%) underutilizing Black women in this occupation. Black women also experienced a high level of underutilization in the categories of officials and adminis- trators (86%), professionals (82%), and technicians (69%). Hispanic men are primarily underutilized in the adminis- trative support (78%), skilled craft workers (84%), and officials and administrators (73%) categories. Hispanic women have a high incidence of underutiliza- tion in all occupational categories. More than 90% of the SDOTs underutilize Hispanic women in the officials and ad- ministrators, professionals, skilled craft workers, and service- maintenance occupational categories. Hispanic women are underutilized in the protective services category by 53% of the SDOTs and by more than 60% of the SDOTs in the tech- nician and administrative support categories. As a group, Asian men are significantly underutilized in the service-maintenance (92%) and technicians (90%) categories. The highest occurrences of underutilization of Asian women are in the service-maintenance (98%), skilled craft workers (90%), officials and administrators (88%), and tech- nicians (82%) occupational categories. The highest incidence of underutilization for American Indian men occurs in the administrative support occupa- tional category (82%). American Indian women are primarily underutilized in the officials and administrators (94%) and service-maintenance (94%) occupational categories. White women are primarily underutilized in the profes- sionals (96%), service-maintenance (94%), officials and administrators (90%), and technicians (78%) categories. Baseline for SDOTs The research team has developed a preliminary baseline and proposed benchmarks based on the analysis of SDOT files (see Table 8). This proposed benchmark is a starting point; before a true benchmark for diversity in SDOTs can be established, the fol- lowing questions should be answered: • Should SDOTs focus on eliminating all disparities, or focus instead on one or more occupational categories? • Should SDOTs have a targeted goal? • Should the goal be to have more women and minorities in top-level positions (officials and administrators), or should the goal be to have more women and minorities throughout the organization?

20 • Where do SDOTs have the greatest need? Do they need more administrators, engineers, planners, information technology specialists, office support workers, or maintenance workers, or is the need the same for all occupational categories? • Should an overall baseline be established for all SDOTs, or should separate baselines be established by region, by indi- vidual state, or by size of state? Transit Agencies Transit agencies provide public transportation services involving buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, monorail, passenger ferry boats, and trolleys. Unlike SDOTs, which are all state government agencies, transit agencies can be public or private and can have a local or regional focus. Table 8. Preliminary Baseline and Proposed Benchmarks for SDOTs. Black men are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by nearly 50% of SDOTs. Reduce the underutilization of Black men in the officials and administrators category. Black men are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by fewer than 25% of SDOTs. Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian men are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by more than 60% of SDOTs. Reduce the underutilization or Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian men in the officials and administrators category. Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian men are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by fewer than 50% of SDOTs. Hispanic and Asian men are underutilized by more than 50% of SDOTs in the technicians category. Reduce the underutilization of Hispanic and Asian men in the technicians category. Hispanic and Asian men are underutilized in the technicians category by fewer than 30% of SDOTs. Baseline Performance Indicator Benchmark Women in all racial groups are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by more than 80% of SDOTs. Reduce the underutilization of females in the officials and administrators category. Increase the number of women and minorities in the officials and administrators category. Women are underutilized in the officials and administrators category by fewer than than 50% of SDOTs. Women in all racial groups are underutilized in the professionals category by more than 50% of SDOTs. Reduce the underutilization of women in the professionals category. Women are underutilized in the professionals occupational category by fewer than 25% of the SDOTs. Women in all racial groups are underutilized in the service-maintenance category by more than 90% of SDOTs. Reduce the underutilization of women in the service-maintenance category. Women are underutilized in the service-maintenance category by less than 50% of SDOTs. Black, Hispanic, Asian, and White women are underutilized in the technicians category by more than 50% of SDOTs. Reduce the underutilization of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and White women in the technicians category Black, Hispanic, Asian, and White women are underutilized in the technicians category by fewer than 25% of SDOTs.

Like SDOTs, transit agencies employ professionals with bachelor’s degrees, such as engineers, planners, and informa- tion technology specialists; they also employ a large number of workers with high school degrees and with technical certifica- tions, such as entry-level bus operators and mechanics. “The transit workforce comprises approximately 225,000 employees. Of this total, about 58 percent are vehicle operators, 20 percent are assigned to vehicle maintenance, and 12 percent are as- signed to nonvehicle maintenance. The balance of the transit workforce is assigned to general administration” (3). The five key job categories that are the most difficult for transit agencies to recruit and retain workers for are bus and train operators, equipment maintenance staff, planners, engineers, and information technology specialists (18). Transit agencies, like SDOTs, receive funding from USDOT. In the case of transit agencies, these funds come in the form of grants from FTA, which are to be used for the development, improvement, maintenance, and operation of new or existing transit systems. FTA is responsible for ensur- ing the grantees comply with statutory and administrative requirements, and the grantees are responsible for managing their programs in accordance with federal requirements, including the requirement to have a DBE program. Findings Compliance FTA provides its grantees with very detailed and up-to-date guidance on how to develop a DBE program (12), but does not provide guidance on how to develop a legally defensible affirmative action plan. For the purposes of this report, a transit agency was consid- ered in compliance if it submitted an EEO-4 form. Twenty- nine of the 50 transit agencies studied produced some type of EEO-4 information, with 22 of those agencies actually com- pleting an EEO-4 report. Nine agencies either did not provide employment counts by race and gender, or provided data for the EEO categories in a document other than the EEO-4 form. An additional nine transit agencies provided a breakdown by race and gender for more than 50 job categories, but did not combine the data to fit the EEO-4 categories. Unlike SDOTs, which have a unambiguous requirement to submit an affirmative action plan and EEO-4 form annually, transit agencies have some flexibility and discretion with re- gard to the submittal of EEO data. “All designated State agen- cies will maintain and provide data and report to UMTA [FTA] as specified in Chapter III of this circular or at the dis- cretion of the UMTA Area Civil Rights Officer” (15). The Circular goes on to state, “Each applicant, recipient, or subrecipient meeting the EEO circular threshold require- ments shall submit to UMTA an updated EEO submission on 21 a triennial basis or as major changes occur in the work force or employment conditions. At the discretion of the UMTA Office of Civil Rights, less information may be requested where the recipient’s previously submitted EEO program has not changed significantly.” Failure to comply with the terms could result in a determination of noncompliance and the imposition of sanctions. Comprehensiveness A transit EEO program must include the following components: • Statement of policy • Dissemination mechanisms • Designation of responsibility to agency personnel • Utilization analysis • Goals and timetables • Assessment of employment practices to identify causes of underutilization • Monitoring and reporting systems (15) The utilization analysis should consist of a workforce analysis and an availability analysis (15). The workforce analysis requires a statistical breakdown of the grant recipi- ent’s workforce by each department, job category, grade/rank of employee, and job title, with the data cross-referenced by race, national origin, and gender. An availability analysis is a comparison of the participation rates of minorities and women at various levels in the work- force with their availability in relevant labor markets. A labor market has both geographic and occupational components. Different geographic areas and labor force data should be used for different job categories. Professional positions, for example, would likely have a regional or national recruiting area, whereas less skilled jobs would likely have a local recruiting area. FTA provides transit agencies with guidance on how to con- duct an availability analysis and suggests potential data sources. In determining availability for job categories not requiring special skills or abilities, general population or work force age data may be suitable. Community and area labor statistics by race, national origin, and sex can be obtained from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, and its publi- cations; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Women’s Bureau; State and local governments, espe- cially State employment services and MPOs. Detailed occupa- tional data by race, national origin and sex, in categories required for EEO reports ... is available in special affirmative action data packages from many State employment services.” (15) Availability data were provided by 16 of the transit agencies.

22 Table 9. Overall Disproportionality Rates for Transit Agencies. Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) White Males 185 210 251 272 195 190 279 White Females 27 35 36 42 33 22 12 Black Males 185 210 251 272 195 190 279 Black Females 103 150 191 237 192 158 131 Hispanic Males 62 73 85 66 64 40 84 Hispanic Females 23 41 37 61 55 163 28 Asian Males 91 45 43 30 118 183 81 Asian Females 86 18 12 100 43 7 9 American Indian Males 16 103 55 0 101 67 120 American Indian Females 41 20 48 0 45 86 47 NOTES: N = 31 agencies. > 80% = overutilization; 80% = parity; < 80% = underutilization Consistency It is easier to require and enforce consistency when dealing with a homogenous group such as SDOTs, as opposed to a het- erogeneous group such as transit agencies. Unlike SDOTs, which are all state agencies, transit agencies can be local, state, or regional and public or private. As state agencies, SDOTs have their leaders appointed by the governor. Transit agencies, in contrast, “are usually governed by a board of directors or trustees comprising public citizens appointed by a governor, mayor, or other elected official. Sometimes approval of appointments is also required by a legislative body (the state leg- islature or the city council). Members typically represent spe- cific political jurisdictions.... The vast majority of transit boards avoid day-to-day operations and focus on policy issues” (3). There were inconsistencies in the data, both among transit agencies and between transit agencies and SDOTs. The inconsistencies involved the following issues: • Date the employment counts were collected. Because tran- sit agencies are required to submit affirmative action plans on a triennial basis, the dates of the EEO-4 ranged from 2000 to 2005. • Date of the availability data. While the majority of agencies used Census 2000 data, reports submitted prior to the availability of the 2000 Census data were based on data from the 1990 Census. • Job categories used to report employment counts. Not all agencies used the EEO-4 occupational categories. Nine transit agencies provided a breakdown by race and gender for over 50 job categories, but did not consolidate the data into the EEO-4 categories. Confidence Transit agencies were not included in the web survey; thus, the research team does not have any measure of how confi- dent those agencies are of their EEO data. Developing a Baseline Although the research team performed the same calcula- tion to establish a baseline for transit agencies as it did with SDOTs, there are major limitations in the transit analysis. While the availability pool for an SDOT is usually the entire state, transit agencies, which serve local, state, or regional areas, have different availability pools. If the appropriate pool is not properly identified, the disproportionality rates for transit agencies could be over- or underestimated. Overall Findings The overall disproportionality rates for transit agencies are shown in Table 9. On average, • White men are overutilized in all of the occupational cate- gories; • Black men are overutilized in all of the occupational categories;

23 Officials/ Administrators (%) Professionals (%) Technicians (%) Protective Service Workers (%) Administrative Support (%) Skilled Craft Workers (%) Service- Maintenance (%) Black Males 47 41 38 34 44 41 38 Black Females 56 38 53 38 38 63 56 Hispanic Males 69 63 69 34 66 75 72 Hispanic Females 84 75 75 44 72 84 91 Asian Males 69 75 75 50 72 50 72 Asian Females 81 91 88 47 75 84 100 American Indian Males 91 81 88 53 81 75 56 American Indian Females 88 88 72 47 81 66 78 White Females 91 81 75 47 88 91 100 NOTE: N = 31. Table 10. Transit Agencies with an Underutilization of Women and Minorities, by Employment Category. • White women are underutilized in all of the occupational categories; • Black women are overutilized in all of the occupational cat- egories; • Hispanic men are underutilized in five of the seven occupational categories (officials and administrators, pro- fessionals, protective service workers, administrative sup- port, and skilled craft workers); • Hispanic women are underutilized in all of the occupa- tional categories except for skilled craft workers; • Asian men are overutilized in four occupational categories (officials and administrators, administrative support, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance); • Asian women are underutilized in all of the occupational categories except for officials and administrators and pro- tective service workers; • American Indian men are underutilized in officials and ad- ministrators, technicians, protective service workers, and skilled craft workers; and • American Indian women are underutilized in all of the oc- cupational categories except skilled craft workers. There is a disparity between the utilization and availability of women and minorities in most of the transit agencies included in this study. The occupational categories that have the highest underutilization of women and minorities are officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, and service-maintenance. More than half of the transit agencies in this study evidenced a disparity between utilization and avail- ability of all racial/gender groups, with the exception of Black men and women, in these occupational categories (Table 10). The smallest underutilization was found in the protective services category. At least half of the agencies underutilize Asian and American Indian men in all the occupational categories. White and Hispanic women were underutilized in six of the seven occupational categories by more than 70% of the transit agencies in the study. The least underutilized group appears to be Black men, with fewer than half of the transit agencies in this study reporting an underutilization of Black men. Nearly all of the transit agencies underutilized the follow- ing groups: • White women in the officials and administrators occupa- tional category (91%) • White women in the skilled craft workers category (91%) • White women in the service-maintenance category (100%) • Hispanic women in the service-maintenance category (91%) • Asian women in the professional category (91%) • Asian women in the service-maintenance occupational category (100%) • American Indian men in the officials and administrators category (91%) Although Black men are underutilized in transit agen- cies, relative to the other eight groups they were the least

24 White women are underutilized in six of the seven occupational categories by more than 75% of the top-50 transit agencies. Decrease the underutilization rate for White women. Increase the number of White females in the officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, administrative support, skilled craft workers, and service-maintenance occupational categories. White women are underutilized by fewer than 50% of the top-50 transit agencies. kramhcneB rotacidnI ecnamrofreP enilesaB Reduce the underutilization of minorities and women in the officials and administrators occupational category. Increase the number of women in minorities in the officials and administrators category. Minorities and women will be underutilized by fewer than 25% of the top-50 transit agencies. Hispanic and Asian women are underutilized in six of the seven occupational categories by more than 70% of the top-50 transit agencies. Reduce the underutilization of Hispanic and Asian women. Increase the number of Hispanic and Asian women in the officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, administrative support, skilled craft workers, and service- maintenance categories Hispanic and Asian women are underutilized by fewer than half of the top-50 transit agencies Asian men are underutilized in all seven occupational categories by 50% or more of the top-50 transit agencies. Reduce the underutilization of Asian men. Increase the number of Asian men in all seven occupational categories. Asian males are underutilized by less than 25% of the top-50 transit agencies American Indian men are underutilized by 75% or more of the top-50 transit agencies in five occupational categories (officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, administrative support, and skilled craft workers). Reduce the underutilization of American Indian men. Increase the number of American Indian men in the officials and administrators, professionals, technicians, administrative support, and skilled craft workers categories. American Indian men are underutilized by fewer than 50% of the top-50 transit agencies. All minority groups except Black men are underutilized in the officials and administra- tors occupational category by more than half of the top-50 transit agencies. Table 11. Preliminary Baseline and Proposed Benchmarks for Transit Agencies.

25 underutilized group; this was also the case in SDOTs. Black men were underutilized by less than half of the transit agen- cies, in all occupational categories. As a group, Black women experienced their highest level of underutilization in the skilled craft workers occupational cat- egory (63%), followed by the officials and administrators and service-maintenance categories (56% each). Sixty percent or more of the transit agencies in this study had an underutilization of Hispanic men in nearly all of the occu- pational categories—officials and administrators (69%), pro- fessionals (63%), technicians (69%), administrative support (66%), skilled craft workers (75%), and service-maintenance (72%). Seventy percent or more of the transit agencies had an underutilization of Hispanic women in all but one occupa- tional category (protective service workers). At least half of the transit agencies had an underutilization of Asian men in all the occupational categories—officials and ad- ministrators (69%), professionals (75%), technicians (75%), protective service workers (50%), administrative support (72%), skilled craft workers (50%), and service-maintenance (72%). Seventy-five percent or more of the transit agencies in the study had an underutilization of Asian women in nearly all the occupational categories—officials and administrators (81%), professionals (91%), technicians (88%), administra- tive support (75%), skilled craft workers (84%), and service- maintenance (100%). Seventy-five percent or more of the transit agencies in the study had an underutilization of American Indian males in the officials and administrators (91%), professionals (81%), technicians (88%), administrative support (81%), and skilled craft workers (75%) categories. Seventy percent or more of the transit agencies had an underutilization of American Indian women in the officials and administrators (88%), professionals (88%), technicians (72%), administrative support (81%), and service-maintenance (78%) categories. Seventy-five percent or more of the transit agencies had an underutilization of White women in nearly all occupa- tional categories—officials and administrators (91%), pro- fessionals (81%), technicians (75%), administrative support (88%), skilled craft (91%), and service-maintenance (100%). The average disparity ratio was used to develop the base- line shown in Table 11. Proposed benchmarks for transit agencies are also shown in Table 11.