Template revised April 12, 2018.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
11c
BRIEFING ITEM
Date of Meeting
October 11, 2022
DATE: September 23, 2022
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Cynthia Alvarez, Sr. Manager Employee Relations, Human Resources
Sanders Mayo, Sr. Employee Relations Consultant, Human Resources
SUBJECT: 2022 Port of Seattle Affirmative Action Program
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this briefing is to present the Port Commission the key results of the Port of
Seattle’s 2022 Affirmative Action (AA) Program.
2022 Key Highlights:
• To meet the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) AA reporting
requirements, the Port creates annual AA plans for Women & Minorities (Executive Order
11246), Individuals with Disabilities (Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act) and Protected
Veterans (VEVRAA - The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act).
• Women at the Port of Seattle represent 34% of the workforce which is a 1% increase from
2021.
• Minorities at the Port of Seattle represent 35% of the workforce, which is a 1% increase
from 2021.
• In the 2021 AA Plan for Women & Minorities, 16% of employees did not self-identify race
in HCM. This number decreased to 13.3% in our 2022 AA Plan for Women & Minorities.
• The Port’s AA Plan for Individuals with Disabilities includes an aspirational goal of 7% set
by OFCCP for the representation of individuals with disabilities within each of the Port’s
17 EEO Job Group. The Port increased the overall representation of individuals with
disabilities to 7.94%, a 1.37% increase from last year. Twelve out of our 17 EEO Job Groups
align with the 7% aspirational goal, an increase from eleven in 2021.
• OFCCP set a 5.6% benchmark for the representation of VEVRAA-protected Veterans
within each EEO Job Group. Port-wide, the overall representation of VEVRAA-protected
Veterans is 9.52%, which is consistent with last year’s overall representation. Fifteen of
the Port’s 17 EEO Job Groups meet or exceed the 5.6% benchmark which is consistent
with representation in 2021.
• The Port resolved the underutilization of women in the Professionals 2 EEO Job Group in
the 2021 AA Plan for Women and Minorities.
• The 2022 AA Plan for Women and Minorities identified underutilization of women in the
Technicians and Non-Commissioned Protective Services – Command EEO Job Groups.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11c Page 2 of 4
Meeting Date: October 11, 2022
Template revised September 22, 2016.
Talent Acquisition and Emerging Talent will conduct targeted outreach and recruitment
of women for vacant positions within the Technicians and Non-Commissioned Protective
Service EEO Job Groups.
• The Port’s 2022 EEO Compensation Analysis showed salary differences of more than 7.5%
amongst some employees holding the same job. These differences impact employees
regardless of race and gender. Human Resources is currently working on finalizing the pay
equity methodology. Following the application of the pay equity analysis, we will
remediate discrepancies identified in the pay equity analysis.
• Rolled out Discrimination-Free Workplace training for managers.
• All Port job announcements now include a statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion
and Port Values. Additionally, all interviews include an equity, diversity, and inclusion
question.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
As a federal contractor, the Port of Seattle is required meet OFCCP’s AA reporting requirements,
which includes the following:
• Develop annual AA Plans for Women & Minorities, VEVRAA-Protected Veterans, and
Individuals with Disabilities.
• Conduct an annual EEO Compensation Analysis.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the Port’s AA Program on a continuing basis through the
development and implementation of an internal audit and reporting system that
measures the program effectiveness.
• Provide annual AA compliance training to employees involved in the recruitment,
selection, promotion, performance management and related processes to include review
of the three AA Plans, and their roles and responsibilities in its implementation to ensure
women and minorities, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans are treated in
a non-discriminatory manner in all employment practices and business decisions.
HOW RESULTS ARE MEASURED
In accordance with OFCCP guidelines, on October 31st of each year the Port extracts employee
data from our HRIS/Payroll system to compare the percentages of women and minorities in each
of our 17 EEO Job Groups to the percentages of qualified women and minorities within the Port’s
general recruitment area (King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, and Kitsap counties). This type of
review, comparing incumbency to availability (internal and external), is called a Utilization
Analysis, and is required for only the AA Plan for Women & Minorities.
An underutilization exists when the Utilization Analysis shows the percentage of women or
minorities within an EEO Job Group is less than would be reasonably expected given the
availability of qualified women and minorities within the employer’s workforce and externally
within the employer’s recruitment area. Placement goals are set when an employer has an
underutilization within an EEO Job Group. A placement goal serves as target, not a quota or set-
aside, that employers make good faith efforts to meet.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11c Page 3 of 4
Meeting Date: October 11, 2022
Template revised September 22, 2016.
MOVING FORWARD
The Port of Seattle’s Affirmative Action Program is aligned with our Port-wide Goals to
Demonstrate Strong Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Port and Across the
Region and to Operate as a Highly Effective Public Agency.
The Port of Seattle will continue to improve its AA Program by doing the following:
1. Continuing ask employee to self-identify race, gender, disability status, and veteran status
to reflect our workforce demographics more accurately within our 3 AA Plans.
2. Continue to partner with our colleagues in Talent Acquisition and Emerging Talent to
identify recruitments for positions within the Technicians and Non-Commissioned
Protective Service EEO Job Groups. Once identified, we will conduct targeted outreach
and recruitment of women to ensure diverse applicant pools.
3. Expand outreach and recruitment of individuals with disabilities.
4. Continuing the targeted recruitment of minorities, and Protected Veterans to ensure
diverse applicant pools by attending job fairs and community events, offering internships,
and evaluating job descriptions to remove requirements which create artificial barriers.
5. Continue with Human Resources’ Compensation Project to address and resolve systemic
pay equity issues.
6. Conduct annual audits of the 3 AA Plans to measures the program effectiveness.
7. Provide annual AA compliance training to employees to ensure women and minorities,
individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans are treated in a non-discriminatory
manner in all employment practices and business decisions.
8. Onboard new Affirmative Action Program Manager to administer the Port’s Affirmative
Action Program under the direction of the Senior Manager, Employee Relations.
9. Refresh Port-wide EEO compliance trainings, in consultation with ERGs and D&D Council,
to ensure they are current with all applicable laws and regulations.
10. Continue to update HR and Code of Conduct policies to include a review of policies
through an equity lens.
11. Complete Workplace Responsibility and Employee Relations process improvement work
currently underway with support from CPI Specialist.
Human Resources will continue to partner with Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI)
to address institutional oppression within the Port and to infuse equity in all our programs and
business practices. The important work underway with the Compensation Project and Human
Resources-related work stemming from the Equity Assessment and Women of Color Assessment
serves and supports the fundamental purpose of affirmative action, which is to attract, hire,
develop and retain a workforce that reflects the diversity of our community at all levels of the
Port.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11c Page 4 of 4
Meeting Date: October 11, 2022
Template revised September 22, 2016.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING
(1) Presentation slides
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
January 4, 2022 – 2021 AAP Commission Briefing
September 8, 2020 – 2020 AAP Commission Briefing
September 24, 2019 – 2019 AAP Commission Briefing
