San Rafael, CA – It’s been four years since the County of Marin unveiled its first Racial Equity Action Plan. From the killing of George Floyd to the civil rights protests nationwide to the assaults against Asian American Pacific Islander residents in the Bay Area to the swastikas publicly posted in Marin, it’s clear that much work is needed to become an anti-racist community.
Equity is one of the Marin County Board of Supervisors’ top-priority “Four E’s” of ongoing focus along with Economy, Education, and Environment. County staff recently gave the Supervisors an update on its efforts and future plans related to equity during a recent meeting. A new Race Equity Planning Committee was formed in 2020 and conducted its first meeting in January 2021.
“We are very excited about the committee because the participants will help the County identify equity priorities in Marin,” said Angela Nicholson, Assistant County Administrator.
The diverse committee is a working group of 20 residents that will spend the next year discussing and evaluating policies throughout the County and provide recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on ways to build a more anti-racist and multicultural community.
The Marin County Human Resources (HR) Department is among the County departments making tangible headway with equity measures. Over the past five years, HR has evaluated its recruitment and staff retention practices to eliminate barriers in minimum qualifications for County positions and expand its recruitment outreach. It recently added Workforce Equity Champions in all 22 department to deepen the commitment to inclusion and belonging. By training employees at every level of the organization about equitable practices, the champions will help to ensure equitable programs and practices throughout the organization.
Finally, the HR staff is working to implement a new bias identification technology tool called BiasSync, a science-based solution designed to help organizations assess and manage unconscious bias in work environments.
Also on the technology front, the County is addressing what’s called the digital divide, the gap wherein underserved residents miss out on fair opportunities because of a lack of technological tools or skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital divide became very real for thousands of families when all classroom education was moved online, and many kids fell behind in distance learning. The County’s Department of Information Services and Technology (IST) is collaborating with other agencies on projects in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael, West Marin, and Marin City to ensure everyone in Marin has reliable and affordable high-speed internet. Learn more about some of those efforts on the Digital Marin website.
Public safety departments are focusing on equity as well. The Marin County Fire Department is creating a wildfire prevention workforce program that trains and develops underserved, underrepresented, and underfunded adults throughout the county. Recognizing traditional barriers to entering the fire service, the program will provide support in areas such as education, housing, and access to food.
“Our Office of Equity and the County Administrator’s Office is committed to addressing and rectifying longstanding biases, and to heal relationships with our most marginalized populations,” Nicholson said.
The County’s 5 Year Business Plan focused on equity and inclusion and much progress was made during its implementation. Since the plan was complete in 2020, the County will roll out the new version of that plan during the summer months of 2021. Diversity, inclusion and belonging will be a major focus of that plan.
For more about equity measures in Marin, watch the video from March 22 of a County presentation to the Board of Supervisors. Also, see the Board’s adopted a resolution in 2016 that affirmed equity priorities and took a stand against all forms of discrimination and intolerance, or check the County’s Equity Dashboard.