PHILADELPHIA — Today, the City of Philadelphia, through its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), released the 2020 City of Philadelphia Workforce Diversity Profile and Annual Report. The report provides an in-depth summary of the demographic data of the City of Philadelphia’s municipal full-time workforce, including a more detailed examination of the exempt workforce. All data is for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) and is reflective as of June 30, 2020.

“Since I took office in 2016, our Administration has been keenly focused on promoting opportunities for historically marginalized Philadelphia residents in City employment,” said Mayor Kenney. “While we are proud of the progress made to date, we also know there is more work to do—particularly in continued efforts to increase diversity amongst our senior officials and reducing the pay disparity for employees of color. That is why we are doubling down on our Administration’s commitment to building a workforce that is more inclusive and representative of the people it serves.”

The full-time, permanent exempt workforce—the segment of the City workforce hired outside of the civil service examination process—is the primary focus of the report. This report only evaluates the portions of the exempt workforce that are under the purview of the executive branch; it excludes information from independent offices and agencies including the City Commissioners, the City Controller’s Office, City Council, the District Attorney’s Office, the First Judicial District, the Register of Wills, and the Sheriff’s Office.

The analysis looks at the racial, ethnic and gender breakdown of the workforce. Several distinct categories within the exempt workforce—including senior leadership, Cabinet members, and the executive exempt workforce (those exempt employees who make over $90,000 per year)—were also examined.

“Noticeable gains have been made in the overall diversity of the City’s workforce since Mayor Kenney’s first inauguration in 2016,” said Acting Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Nefertiri Sickout. “Compared to Fiscal Year 2016, we’ve seen a 3.67 percentage point increase in the number of non-white employees in the exempt workforce, and a 6.58 percentage point increase in the number of diverse employees earning over $90,000. We believe that the progress made so far is a positive sign for the future of City government, and we will continue implementing strategies to create a more equitable and inclusive work environment in order to attract new candidates and retain those who are already employed with the City.”

Key findings of the 2020 report include:

• The overall municipal workforce—including exempt and civil service positions—is composed of a majority of people of color (60.01 percent), with 48.24 percent of employees identifying as Black or African American.
• The majority of new hires are people of color (62.60 percent); 38.40 percent are Black or African American, 8.02 percent are Hispanic or Latino/x, and 6.17 are Asian.
• Black or African American and Asian employees are slightly overrepresented in separations from City employment in FY20; Black or African American employees comprise 48.24 percent of the overall municipal workforce but represent 49.32 percent of separations, and Asian employees comprise 3.72 percent of the overall municipal workforce but represent 4.08 percent of separations.
• Representation of women in exempt positions is slightly higher than the percentage of women in Philadelphia’s population and significantly higher than the percentage of women in the overall municipal workforce; women are 53 percent of Philadelphia’s population, 35.29 percent of the overall City workforce, and 54.24 percent of the exempt workforce.
• Compared to the start of the Kenney Administration in FY16, there has been a 3.67 percentage point increase in the number of diverse employees in the exempt workforce, with people of color comprising 50.29 percent of the exempt workforce in FY16 and 53.96 percent of the exempt workforce in FY20.
• Within the exempt workforce, the largest gains in diverse representation have been made by increasing the number of Asian and Hispanic or Latino/x employees.
• Compared to the start of the Kenney Administration in FY16, there has been a 6.58 percentage point increase in the number of diverse employees who earn $90,000 and above in the exempt workforce.
• The City’s Senior Leadership—defined by ODEI as heads, Commissioners, Deputy Managing Directors, and Cabinet members—is 58.70 percent Non-Hispanic White, 36.96 percent Black or African American, and 4.35 percent Hispanic or Latino/x; this portion of the workforce is 54.35 percent male and 45.65 percent female.
• The Mayor’s Cabinet is 73.33 percent Non-Hispanic White, 20 percent Black or African American, and 6.67 percent Hispanic or Latino/x; 47 percent of Cabinet members are male and 53 percent are female.

View the 2020 City of Philadelphia Workforce Diversity Profile and Annual Report.