"Ask the DiverCity Guy"

Q: Assume a citizen approached you on the street and asked you…"How does the City of Eugene value Diversity?"...How would you answer this? - Wanting To Know

A:

Dear Wanting,
I would say that Diversity is a core value of our City. We see this in the City Council Priorities (Homelessness & Race Relations), City Manager Dennis Taylor's Five Core Values (Democracy, Public Service, Public Ethics, Professionalism, and Diversity), within our operating principles, and interagency agreements such as the Memorandum of Understanding on Diversity and Human Rights we signed with LCC, UO, Lane County, City of Springfield, LTD, Springfield School District, Bethel School District, 4J School District, and others . Also, we are one of the very few municipalities to have a Human Rights Program as well as an internal Diversity Consultant. For me personally, it gives me great hope and inspiration that our Mayor, City Council, City Manager, Assistant City Manager, and our executive leadership personally and professionally support diversity in their respective roles.

Also, the new rough draft of our new Diversity Statement outlines a vision of the future of our City:

Our DiverCity Vision
Diversity is a core value of the City of Eugene. We are committed to working with our community to make Eugene a safe, dynamic and livable place, where all people are afforded dignity and respect. As a municipal government, we recognize our position of power and privilege. Therefore, we take seriously our responsibility to ensure equitable outcomes in our decision-making, policies, and service delivery. We work hard to ensure that our workforce is reflective of the community we serve and has the skills to deliver culturally competent services. We envision a City where diversity and human rights are integral parts of all city programs.

What do we mean by "diversity"?
The City of Eugene is dedicated to equity, social justice and human rights for everyone, across the breadth of human difference. This includes, but is not limited to, differences and similarities in race, color, ethnicity, sex, age, national origin, dis/Ability, sexual orientation, language, socio-economic status, gender, religion, culture, veteran, marital, or family status. This definition is broad and inclusive of all. While we do our best to address as many issues as possible, we understand that we need to prioritize based upon greatest need and our available resources.

The Importance of Diversity for a Municipal Government: A Business Case

• Reinforces systems of inclusive democratic processes by involving a broad range of employees and citizens.
• Keeps us focused on outcomes for the community by focusing on equity and human rights for all.
• Maintains public trust by having multiple systems of accountability in place to ensure ethical and participatory decision-making.
• Better and more effective communication both externally and internally.
• Help us meet the organizational mission, vision, and goals having an organization better able to deliver services that meet the needs of an ever changing and diverse population.
• Diversity initiatives and successful results attract quality employees who are motivated, flexible, and multi-talented.
• Diversity initiatives positively affect the quality of an organization's workforce and therefore the services a City provides.
• Varied perspectives inform and enrich organizational decision making.
• Successful diversity initiatives protect the bottom line and minimize risk to an organization.
• Fewer conflicts and interruptions in the workplace means higher productivity and higher retention rates.
• Better training and buy-in means less negative press.
• Ultimately, diversity makes Eugene a more livable and sustainable city.
  

As you can see, diversity for a municipal government is the lifeblood of a truly democratic process because it is about including all people. To that end, we as a City have a multitude of ways we express this commitment. For example, just recently we reorganized our Assistant City Manager position to include a portfolio with Diversity and Human Rights as a core strategy for the organization. That is a strong statement of commitment from our top leadership. While we understand that we are in no way perfect around diversity issues, we take to heart that diversity is a continuous process of learning, education, and advocacy. While some may consider us to be further along than many other municipalities, there is still much work to do. We can and must do better.