Sacramento city council unanimously adopt a mandatory diversity and equity training
Sacramento, CA (May 9, 2023) - The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously Tuesday May 2 to require all elected city officials, their staff, and direct reports to participate in at least four hours of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging training every two years.
“I believe this mandatory training is a must because we have to lead by example both for our communities and our employees,” said Mayor Pro Tem Mai Vang, who co-chairs the City’s Racial Equity Committee with Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “We too can have blind spots, and it’s really important that all of us have common knowledge and vocabulary to address this as a Council.”
The first stage of mandatory training will apply to the Mayor, Councilmembers, City Council staff and the appointed city officials who report directly to the Mayor and Council. Those appointed officers include:
City Manager
City Attorney
City Clerk
City Auditor
City Treasurer
Director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability (OPSA)
City of Sacramento’s Diversity and Equity Manager Aimée Zenzele Barnes presents to council on the training plan.
While the training will initially be mandatory only for city leadership, many city staff at all levels have already been participating voluntarily in this type of training as part of the City’s Race & Gender Equity Action Plan, which is led by the City’s Office of Diversity and Equity.
In a memo to colleagues, Steinberg and Vang made it clear that they are committed to expanding this mandatory training program to all employees citywide.
“Even if the implementation is staggered, stating the commitment to ensuring our broad city workforce has the benefit of this training is important,” said Mayor Steinberg. “It’s evident we all have room to grow in this area, and it’s important for leadership to take the first step in holding ourselves accountable in our commitment to advancing racial equity.”
Aimée Zenzele Barnes, the City’s Diversity and Equity Manager, told the Council that the initial training will be designed for elected City Council members and their staff, with a particular emphasis on anti-racism.
“This training will help develop a vocabulary, a shared understanding of core concepts, and skills necessary to manage change and transformation on an individual, council, and community level,” said Barnes.
A graphic that visually defines diversity, equity, and inclusion from the 2020-2025 Race & Gender Action Plan from the City of Sacramento.
Staff will work with the community through the city’s SCORE Initiative (Sacramento Centered On Racial Equity) to develop training and will report back to the Racial Equity Committee with a timeline and updates. The next Racial Equity Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, August 22 at 10:00 am.
