www.portseattle.org
THE PORT OF SEATTLE
OFFICE OF EQUITY, DIVERSITY,
AND INCLUSION 2022 REPORT
Nearly four years ago, the Port of Seattle became the rst port authority in the country to establish an oce of
equity. In doing so, our organization committed time and resources to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion
into the fabric of the organization. Also, by creating the Oce of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI), the Port
acknowledged that for too long it has beneted from white-dominant culture and comfortably operated in an
unjust, racist society. By failing to acknowledge these inequities, the organization realized that it was playing a role
in perpetuating them.
While the Port has committed to becoming an equitable, anti-racist organization, racial equity doesn’t happen
overnight. It takes time, commitment, and perseverance. In many ways, racial equity is both a process and an
outcome. It is about transforming our relationships, culture, and institutions. At times, ghting for racial equity can
feel like we’re falling uncontrollably, battling the bias, discrimination, and injustice that is deeply imbedded in so
many aspects of our lives. Against these forces, we can struggle to nd our grip and footing.
It is critical that we take time to celebrate our achievements and victories. Let’s take a
moment to nd our footing, so that we can continue to work toward a more equitable,
just future — a future where we prioritize the outcomes and well-being of all people.
In this 2022 annual report, we share highlights of our eorts to partner with communities,
to build a culture of belonging and inclusion within the Port, and to transforms policies
and practices to advance equity.
Bookda Gheisar, Senior Director, Oce of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Item No
11a_Attach 2
Meeting Date
February 14, 2023
A YEAR IN REVIEW:
OFFICE OF EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION HIGHLIGHTS
1
OEDI and a steering committee of employees nalized the Women
of Color Assessment, which focused on the experiences, treatment,
compensation, and advancement of women of color at the Port.
The results of this assessment were presented to Port sta and
shared publicly in March 2022. This work produced 11 recommended
changes, which align with the recommendations from the 2021 Equity
Assessment, and are aimed at addressing the specic barriers that
women of color face in order to create a more inclusive and equitable
Port.
6
In October 2022, the Port received the American Association of Port
Authorities’ (AAPA) Lighthouse Award in Information Technology
for the creation and use of the Port’s Equity Index. This is the
second year in a row that the Port has received an AAPA Award for
OEDI’s work. In 2021, we received an Award of Excellence in the
Communications category for the Black Lives Matter Caucusing
Series that engaged more than 250 Port employees in the wake of
the deeply racialized and tragic killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna
Taylor, and George Floyd.
2
In March 2022, the Port of Seattle’s Workforce Development team
hosted a job and resource fair for newly arriving Afghan refugees.
More than 250 people attended, and there were 28 employers,
six community-based organizations, and three city governments
represented at the event. This event engaged Afghan refugees and the
greater community in employment and relocation eorts.
7
In November 2022, the Port Commission approved a $4.75 million-
dollar, multi-year authorization to continue construction worker
training. Funding will be used to support pre-apprenticeship training
and retention services, youth career launch programming in the trades,
and leadership development for women and people of color.
3
OEDI and Human Resources partnered to institute new requirements
to the Port’s hiring process. The changes were recommendations from
the 2021 Equity and Women of Color Assessments and are aimed at
creating more fairness and less bias within the hiring processes. The
following are part of the implemented changes: including the Port’s
vision for equity on all job postings; diversity of race and gender on
all hiring panels; watching and discussing an anti-bias video prior to
conducting interviews; removing unnecessary minimum qualications
from a position prior to posting it; and providing direct feedback from
the hiring manager to internal candidates who did not get the position.
8
For the rst time in the Port’s history, all non-represented
employees, including leadership and supervisors, were required
to have an annual performance goal measuring their work to
advance equity, diversity, and inclusion. This requirement is part
of recommendations from the 2021 Equity and Women of Color
Assessments, and the goals were tailored for employees based on
their role — supervisor, front-line or individual contributor, and
Change Team member.
4
OEDI and the Change Team worked with departments to identify
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to their team’s
ability to advance EDI in their work. The information gathered from
that process was used to create department-specic EDI goals, which
beginning in 2023 are an annual requirement for all departments. The
status and progress of these goals will be publicly shared annually to
improve transparency and accountability inside and outside of our
organization.
9
OEDI Senior Director and sta were invited to participate in
nearly 20 conferences, forums, and community events as
presenters, panelists, or keynotes. The events covered a variety
of topics (e.g., workforce development, sta engagement in EDI
work, communications) and engaged a diversity of people and
professionals (e.g., port employees, lawyers, small businesses,
community members seeking jobs in port-related industries).
These were welcome opportunities to highlight the Port’s EDI
work, share best practices and successes, and build partnerships to
advance racial equity.
5
Building off the success of the 2022 Equity in Budgeting Playbook,
members of the Port’s Change Team and the Finance and Budget
department created a 2023 version of the playbook, which is a tool
that assisted departments in applying an equity lens to their 2023
budgets. As departments submitted budgets for approval, they
were required to demonstrate how they utilized the playbook to
guide equity considerations in their budget.
10
OEDI participated in and organized local and national racial equity
eorts, including coordinating an ongoing West Coast Port Partners
Meeting to discuss equitable strategies pertaining to community
and sta engagement, budgeting tools, and best practices for
advancing racial equity within port authorities.
FEATURED PROGRAMS
YOUTH MARITIME CAREER LAUNCH
Created in 2022, YMCL is a pilot program that partners with community organizations
and maritime industry employees to train and develop young people between the
ages of 16-24. Youth participants are placed in internships that may lead to full-time
employment in entry-level maritime roles. The program is approved for $4.1 million
over the next three years and places an emphasis on training young women and
youth of color.
SOUTH KING COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND
In 2022, the Port invested $1.6 million in 30 non-prots and community-based
organizations that are serving South King County communities to address economic
recovery, job training in port-related industries, environmental sustainability and
restoration, and capacity-building support for minority-owned business enterprises.
Additionally in 2022, the Port reduced barriers for organizations to participate in this
program by creating options for multi-year funding, streamlining the application process,
and increasing outreach and technical support. The Port has pledged $10 million dollars
in funding between 2020 and 2024.
THE PORT OF SEATTLE CHANGE TEAM
Two years ago, OEDI created the Port of Seattle’s Change Team to operationalize our
values of equity and anti-racism. The Change Team includes representatives from every
Port department who lead eorts to implement equity principles and practices. During
2022, the Change Team split into eight committees to developed best practices and
guidance on many of the recommendations from the 2021 Equity and Women of Color
Assessments. In early 2023, OEDI and the Change Team will release an equity handbook,
providing tools, guidance, and support for advancing EDI in several areas including
budgeting, hiring, data, and community engagement.
RACIAL EQUITY TRAINING
In 2020, the Port Commission mandated that all Port employees fulll an annual racial
equity training requirement. For this requirement, employees must complete the Port’s
foundation racial equity training, and there are two tracks — one for supervisors and one
for front-line employees/individual contributors. In 2022, OEDI, with facilitation support
from members of the Change Team, conducted 37 foundational racial equity trainings
(ve of them were specically designed for supervisors). More than 850 employees,
including 237 supervisors, completed at least one of these workshops.
STAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR PORT
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BY THE NUMBERS
$8.85M
Of multi-year funding to provide
low-income youth and youth of
color with training, experience,
and a potential entry-level job
in maritime through the Youth
Maritime Career Launch and
Construction Worker training and
support
1,000+
Employees participated in
OEDI’s racial equity training,
workshops, and learning events
30
Community-based organizations
received funding, totaling $1.6
million, to support South King
County residents with economic
recovery, job training, and
environmental sustainability
1
For the rst time in the Port’s
history, all departments are
required to set annual goals for
advancing EDI in their work
1,219
People hired into jobs through
the SEA Employment Center
63
Robust, comprehensive
recommendations for creating
a more equitable, anti-racist
Port as part of the Port’s rst-
ever Equity and Women of Color
Assessments
100+
Community members secured
jobs in the construction
industry after graduating
from Port-funded construction
training programs
125
Employees made up the
inaugural cohort of the Port’s
Change Team, championing EDI
efforts across the Port
