Attachment 7c OEDI Strategic Plan Memo for Regular Meeting held Feb 11, 2020 12:00pm at Pier 69

7c OEDI Strategic Plan Memo

COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 7c
BRIEFING ITEM Date of Meeting February 11, 2020
DATE: January 14, 2020
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Bookda Gheisar, Senior Director, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
SUBJECT: 2020 Strategic Plan for the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
In 2019, the Port of Seattle created its first Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI),
charged with ensuring that equity goals are incorporated throughout Port operations and
providing strategic and policy direction on equity issues.
As one of the first activities of OEDI, in the summer and fall of 2019, OEDI leadership developed
a Strategic Plan to guide the office's work on equity. The purpose of this memo is to present an
update on the new Strategic Plan for the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) and
related work to date.
1. DEVELOPING THE STRATEGIC PLAN
Development of the draft OEDI Strategic Plan began in summer 2019, led by OEDI Senior
Director Bookda Gheisar. Potential strategies were identified through input from existing staff
and review of relevant background documents related to issues of equity at the Port. The work
also included review of past and current equity efforts.
From August through September 2019, the draft plan was shared for internal and external
feedback. Internal feedback came from two rounds of review: an initial review by a targeted
group of staff who had provided input during development of the plan, resulting in comments
from eleven staff; and a second phase of review by staff-at-large via internal meetings open to
any employees, with 53 participating. External review and feedback came from six community
roundtables conducted in September 2019. A total of 100 community members attended those
meetings. After completion of the initial feedback process, OEDI revised the draft Strategic
Plan, included in Appendix A.
Since then, OEDI has continued to solicit internal and external feedback. These have included
regular meetings between OEDI leadership and employees (total 200 to date) and with
community members (totaling 92 to date), in advance of presenting the final draft Strategic
Plan to the Commission.

Template revised April 12, 2018.

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
The following two tables summarize input from the internal and external meetings. The full
summaries along with selected comments are in Appendices B and C. A list of organizations that
participated in the external meetings is in Appendix D.

Employee Meetings on OEDI and Equity Work
Summary of Comments of employees' perception of Port of Seattle:
Organizational culture
Historically white, male, sexist culture; there are "in" groups that are favored
Lack of tolerance for diversity, including diverse perspectives, need to be more inclusive
Employees who are actively against increasing diversity, tolerance and inclusion

Job mobility, promotions and compensation
Gender disparities in both promotions and pay
Racial disparities in both promotions and pay
Bias against hiring and promoting internally

Structural and system change
Need systemic change
Need long-term commitment
Risk of tokenism or short-term lip service
Need leadership and change from the top
Need to integrate equity in everyday practices and operations
Need to dialog about whether equity frame is primarily focus on race, or multiple forms of
inequity

WMBE/Diversity in Contracting
Barriers for small businesses
Needs to be more accessible, less complicated

Community outreach, communication, and partnerships
Port needs more visibility in and engagement with communities
Partner with communities and community organizations
Used to have more opportunities (airport tours, informal meet and greets, employee
attendance at community events) that have stopped
Opportunity for Port to have greater community impact by expanding its charter

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
Community Meetings on OEDI and Equity Work
Summary of Comments
Small business access and capacity building
Simplify contracting process
Contracting barriers (unbundle contracts, bonding requirements)
Share information widely/to small businesses
Information gap on bidding and market opportunities

Jobs, career pathways and workforce development
Increase job opportunities and improve access to them
Provide career pathways and upward mobility
Reduce complexity/barriers to programs such as Priority Hire

Community outreach, communication, and partnerships
More visibility of Port in communities, especially near airport
Understand diverse communities and reach out in culturally appropriate ways
Partner with communities and community organizations

Structural and system change and accountability
Ensure OEDI work is prioritized and resourced to have impact
Equity efforts should be different, not just business as usual
Opportunity for communities of color to organize both to support the equity work and to
hold Port accountable
Ensure accountability (performance metrics, community commission)

Inequities for communities and businesses of color
Cuts across all the issue areas above
Barriers to job access and career mobility
Smaller businesses are disproportionately businesses of color
Scarcity mindset

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020

2. WHAT'S IN THE PLAN
The purpose of the Plan is to guide and describe OEDI's mission and work from its inception. It
is a "hybrid" strategic plan/workplan that includes broad strategies that will be relevant over
several years, while also laying out concrete actions for the first year.
The Plan is guided by three concepts:
Evolutionary: Build on previous Port-wide equity work where possible, identify new
opportunities to improve, and knit these pieces together to deepen equity practices and
catalyze organization-wide and systemic change.
Revolutionary: Integrate range of implementation activities that Normalize, Organize,
and Operationalize equity in order to achieve comprehensive system change (from
Government Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE).
Transformative: Include both Transactional and Transformative activities and recognize
that when there are specific transactional activities, the intent is that taken together,
they result in transformative change.
The Plan includes Strategies, Objectives and Key Results. Each is defined below.
Strategies: Three overarching strategies are longer-term goals.
o one focused on internal transformation
o one encompassing external or public-facing goals, and
o one describing strategies to build OEDI's capacity to lead Port-wide equity work
and to reach longer term vision for equity.
Objectives: Medium-term goals that taken together will achieve the Strategy under
which they are grouped.
Key Results: Specific, concrete actions in the first year, to achieve an associated
Objective.
Below are the three Strategies and associated Objectives under each. Key Results for each
Objective are in the full plan, included in Appendix A.

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STRATEGY 1
Transform Port of Seattle by infusing equity principles and practices into all aspects of
organizational structure, programs, policies, and processes.
Objective 1. Equity work is normalized throughout the enterprise, from leadership including
Port Commission and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to staff at all levels in all Divisions
and
Objective 2. Ensure equitable internal policies, programs, operations, and structures.
Objective 3. Port leadership, including Commission, Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and
leadership of Departments and Divisions, model equity-mindedness in the work, and
actively support and promote Port-wide equity work.
Objective 4. The Port is an equitable, inclusive and welcoming place to work.
STRATEGY 2
In carrying out its mission to create economic opportunity and living wage jobs, provide
equitable and tangible benefits to impacted communities of color, and immigrant and
refugee communities. This strategy can be interpreted as an external strategy.
Objective 1. Ensure equity in public-facing programs and activities, especially access to Port
economic benefits including contracting opportunities and workforce development (WFD)
programs.
Objective 2. Implement equitable communications, public outreach and engagement
strategies that are conducted in service to equitable community impact.
Objective 3. Public accountability is visible, and communities of color view the Port as an
equitable organization to work for and do business with.
STRATEGY 3
Build an EDI Office to capably lead and manage work across the Port that will result in
fulfilling Strategies 1 and 2 and manage engagement with communities impacted by
operations of the Port to receive input on an on-going basis.
Objective 1. Clarify/delineate key functions of EDI Office and fully empower Office to carry
out those functions.
Objective 2. Ensure a staff cadre in OEDI who can implement, manage and lead Port's equity
work.

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
3. EARLY IMPLEMENTATION
Parallel to developing the plan, OEDI has also carried out a number of early implementation
tasks:
foundational activities to lay the groundwork for implementation, and
providing equity analysis responding to current or ongoing Port work.
A synopsis of each activity is described below.
Building out office structure. OEDI carried out a set of critical initial tasks to set up the office.
These included:
Conducting national research on best practices in institutionalizing equity from which
organizational structure for the office was created (see Organizational Chart in Appendix
E). This work was done as a member of Government Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE).
We met with several other governments to learn from them and to implement their
recommendations in our future work.
A cohort of Port employees went through a 9-month training program with Government
Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE).
Secured staffing positions, and developed job descriptions, resulting in adding four new
positions to the office which are currently being recruited for.
Workforce development. In October 2019, the Executive Director made a decision to transfer
Workforce Development (WFD) programs from EDD to OEDI. To align with the timing of this
transition, OEDI engaged in several tasks including: analyzing existing WFD programs and
national best practices in integrating equity into workforce development, and beginning a
process to update the current WFD strategic plan that will end in 2020. That planning process is
underway and will be completed in March 2020.
The best practices research looked at several key questions:
Do other ports have an EDI focus (could be an office, staff, functions, policy and/or
other)? If so, what are its primary activities, and how is it structured and staffed?
Do other ports have a WFD program? If so, what are its primary activities, how is it
placed or structured within the organization and how is it staffed?
For ports that have both, are there any links between WFD and equity work?
Key findings of the research included:
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is an emerging area of effort. Among the ports
analyzed, five have EDI-oriented functions or activities. Four of those five are
activity- or project-specific. Only one port - Portland has a comprehensive equity
action plan that takes a systemic approach, much like that of Port of Seattle's OEDI.
In this regard, Seattle is among the vanguard of EDI work.
At ports that have both EDI *and* WFD activities, WFD is always housed within
and/or reports to the EDI Office or Office of Social Responsibility office and/or EDI

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
lead staff. This was the case at six ports in this analysis: Port of Portland, San
Francisco Airport, Port of Oakland, Boston/Massport, Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and
Houston Airports. At the ports with only WFD and no EDI focus, WFD tends to be
either housed with business compliance functions, or as part of external
relations/community engagement.
A full summary report of the findings is in Appendix G.
Communications materials. OEDI hired a communications consulting firm to develop
foundational communications materials about equity. This work included developing a message
framework that was shared internally for feedback. This piece will be a basis for defining equity
at the Port and associated vision and values and a theory of change. Taken together, these
products will help convey key messages, create shared vocabulary and language, and promote
internal alignment regarding equity work.
Training of Staff. November 2019 Feb 2020, OEDI organized eight internal workshops with
expert presenters as initial learning opportunities for staff. Additional trainings will be ongoing.
350 staff have attended these trainings.
Community Advisory Board. OEDI has developed a draft concept paper for creation of a
Community Advisory Board as a way for external stakeholders to engage with the Port on
equity work. Commission will be able to review and provide input by April 2020.
Employee Equity Survey. Also as a foundational activity, OEDI partnered with the Port's Link-
Leadership Together team to conduct an equity survey of Port employees. The purpose was to
gain an understanding of how employees view and define equity both personally and at the Port
and to collect data that can serve as a baseline to inform equity activities going forward. The
survey yielded 451 responses, a 21 percent response rate across all Port employees.
Themes frequently cited in responses included: equal treatment, fairness, equal opportunity,
recognizing inequities, equal outcomes, diversity and representation, and being valued and
respected. A full summary report of the findings is in Appendix H.
Data analysis used an inductive process, whereby prevalent themes or key concepts were
identified as they emerged from data review, rather than applying a predetermined structure
by which the data was organized.
The tables below summarize the most frequently cited themes. Yellow cells indicate the most
prevalent themes. Blue responses in question 2 indicate themes that emerged in response to
that question that did not surface in responses to question 1.

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Question 1. How do you personally define Equity?
Valued,
Equal Equal Recognize Equal Diversity, respected, Reaching
Treatment Fairness Opportunity Inequities Outcomes Inclusion Representation safe Potential Other
Count 190 184 121 64 13 9 7 7 3 31
Question 2. How do you define Equity in relation to the Port of Seattle as an organization?
Equal Valued,
Equal Opportunit Specific Recognize External, respected, Diversity, Equal
Treatment y Fairness Problems Merit Inequities Community safe Pay Representation Favoritism Inclusion Outcomes Equity Other
Count 94 92 90 75 44 40 40 37 30 27 27 15 6 4 44

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The tables below include a summary of themes respondents frequently commented on.
Across Both Questions
By far, respondents view equity as fairness, equal treatment and/or equal opportunity.
Many comments recognized historic inequities for specific communities, that people have
different starting points, and that equity is about leveling an unequal playing field.
Other prevalent themes across both questions included equity as equal outcomes,
diversity, and representation, being valued and respected, and inclusion.
Two themes: equity as being valued and respected and diversity and representation were
notably more prevalent in responses to question 2.
Many respondents talked about equity in terms of ownership, such as equity in a house,
or investment in a business, rather than equity in a social justice frame.
Some responses also indicated different understandings or meanings for the same terms
(e.g. equity, fairness), including some seeming contradictions.
Question 1. How do you personally define Equity?
Responses to question 1 tended to be more abstract or generalized, whereas responses to
question 2 were much more specific.
Even though question 1 asked for personal definitions about equity, a fair number of
responses to it were about equity in the workplace and/or at the Port.
Question 2. How do you define Equity in relation to the Port of Seattle as an organization?
Respondents interpreted this question in two ways. Many described how they would
ideally like to see equity at the Port, while others described how they see or experience it
today. The latter included many comments identifying problems or challenges with issues
of equity at the Port. These tended to be quite specific, and are detailed further below.
Many respondents expressed opposing views about what it means to address inequities.
Many who recognized historic inequities commented that equity is about correcting for
those inequities while others saw the same actions as favoritism or reverse discrimination
and said all should be treated equally in a "colorblind" way. Some of those were opposed
to the idea of actions that advantage protected classes.
Answers to question 2 revealed additional themes not prevalent in question 1, including
the idea of equity as external or community impact, equal pay, and favoritism.
Responses to question 2 described workplace equity issues as both internal and external.
External equity issues were often described in terms of engaging communities and
constituencies, supporting communities disproportionately impacted by Port activities,
promoting equitable economic development and having a diverse workforce.
Internal equity issues were often described in terms of hiring, pay, advancement, career
growth, work environment, and professional development resources.
A frequent sentiment was that workplace decisions should be based on merit and work
performance (e.g. "equal pay for equal work") and not favoritism or "in groups" which
many responses commented on. This tied into many comments that equity is seen as
employees being valued and respected for their contributions.

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Specific Problems or Inequities at the Port Identified in Survey Responses
Interview panels should use a third-party professional firm, not the hiring department.
Class structures at TSA checkpoints.
Racial inequities exist in internal promotions, especially in leadership positions.
Hiring should not rely on only resume and the interview to fill positions.
Changes are made based on equality, not equity, for example Diversity in Contracting.
Grading using the same standards in PLink is not equitable.
The Port needs to engage craft workers more.
Pay grades should be consistent across departments.
One-time bonuses should include hourly employees.
ELT, senior, and middle management need to be more diverse.
There are inequities in upgrades to different facilities.
There are inequities in external hires being preferred over internal promotions.
Administrative assistants are underpaid and undervalued.
More support is needed for people of color to gain skills and step into leadership roles.
There is not enough awareness of the lack of equity in departments.
There is a perception that airport workers get paid more for less work; pay inequities.
There is a need for more transparent communication about pay and promotions
decisions.
The analysis results provide several implications for implementing equity practices at the Port.
Need for continued dialog, learning and capacity building internally. There is an opportunity
to continue the dialog, attempt to further align on what is meant by "equity," and build a
shared foundation for putting equity practices into place. The data reflected a wide and diverse
range in Port employees' view of equity. Some, such as those who defined equity in a real
estate or business sense, may have had little or no exposure to equity in a social justice frame.
Others have highly defined views about inequities and strong notions about what needs to be
done. This is an opportunity for shared learning and can inform future activities to normalize
equity at the Port, including, but not limited to training, peer support, and mentorship.
Working through opposing views. Across Port employees, there are opposing perspectives
about equity, in particular, the view among some that all people should be treated equally in a
"colorblind" way, vs. the view held by others that structural or historic inequities mean some
groups need to be treated differently to correct for those inequities. This is an opportunity for
candid dialog and collective growth.
Specific workplace inequities identified. Many employees see equity in terms of specific
workplace issues that directly affect them, such as pay and promotions. Many voiced very
specific concerns about problems in these areas. These are opportunities to identify and create
concrete equity improvements in Port operations.

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Equity in external and community impact. Many employees see equity as having external or
community dimensions as well as being an internal issue. This is an opportunity to strengthen
equity-based actions in the Port's public-facing work.
Equity analyses. In addition to foundational implementation activities, OEDI has also responded
to internal requests for bringing equity expertise and analyses to initiatives in other Port
divisions. OEDI has participated by engaging in meetings on various efforts, and/or providing
strategic analyses and recommendations.
This work has included reviewing and commenting on the Port's public art policy, reviewing and
commenting on the Port's 2020 legislative agenda, providing input on banking RFP, integrating
equity goals into Port-wide planning efforts including the Century Agenda, and leading the
development of an Equity Index to inform decision making throughout the Port including
funding decisions on the South King County Fund.

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING
(1) Presentation slides
(2) Appendix A. OEDI Strategic Plan 2019 - 2020
APPENDICES included with this MEMORANDUM
Appendix B. Summary of Comments - Employee Meetings
Appendix C. Summary of Comments - Community Meetings
Appendix D. List of Organizations Participating in Community Meetings
Appendix E. OEDI Organizational Chart
Appendix F. OEDI Budget
Appendix G. National Research on Equity Best Practices
Appendix H. Equity Survey Summary and Analysis
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
May 8, 2019 The Commission approved MOTION 2018-06: A motion of the Port of Seattle
Commission to develop and implement an equity pilot program.
April 24, 2018 The Commission was briefed on the Port's efforts to address equity issues
November 28, 2017 The Commission was briefed on the budget which included a full-time
employee (FTE) request for an equity manager

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Appendix A. OEDI Strategic Plan 2019-2020 (Provided as an attachment)

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Appendix B. Summary of Comments - Employee Meetings
Summary below is from four employee meetings held in August and September 2019, and
ongoing employee meetings since then to inform OEDI's equity work. To date, a total of 85
employees have attended these meetings.
Issue / Summary of Comments
Organizational culture
Historically white, male, sexist culture; there are "in" groups that are favored
Lack of tolerance for diversity, including diverse perspectives, need to be more inclusive
Employees who are actively against increasing diversity, tolerance and inclusion

Job mobility, promotions and compensation
Gender disparities in both promotions and pay
Racial disparities in both promotions and pay
Bias against hiring and promoting internally

WMBE/Diversity in Contracting
Barriers for small businesses
Needs to be more accessible, less complicated

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Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
Selected Quotes
Organizational culture
"Every organization has a culture that should support the mission and goals of that
organization. The Port's culture is rooted in white male corporate culture that many
organizations are rooted in. But as we try to include people who come from different
cultures, how do we evolve Port culture?"
"First day on the job 27 years ago, I took down a Confederate flag that was up for display
lots of employees bringing guns to work; Playboy magazines around not just in private
offices but in public/gathering areas."
"Those who don't work a traditional shift M-F 9-5, get left out of a lot of conversations."
"Approximately 46% of workforce are union and who aren't sitting at computers so don't
see Compass or LMS, can't participate especially if they're on different schedules e.g.
graveyard shift, people working 4-10's."
"I still go into mtgs where it's me and 40 white guys."
"When you're outspoken, you don't get listened to. People go with the people that are
quieter and agree with them."
" opportunities are available to some, and tends to be to those that align, instead of those
with different perspectives."
"That in group is a dynamic in a lot of meetings. 'Are you in that in group?' What is it going
to take to get rid of that feeling? It touches people emotionally."
"There are also people who are anti-anything EDI. We experienced that in the pride group
have had our flags stolen, signs torn down. It's a hidden group. We don't know who's doing
it but things like that have happened. It's like silent sabotage."
"We have leaders in our institution who are not well regarded. Leaders who create fear, who
have been in place a long time, that the institution does not control. You have employees
who have been marginalized as a result."

Job mobility, promotions and compensation
"How to break cycle of unfairness in internal promotions and compensation? Especially for
women of color, who are disadvantaged. Effects morale and motivation to stay. Port is losing
talent."
"It's about justice. Low hanging fruit is equal pay for equal work."
"Used to be a cadre of strong, smart women but one by one they've left, feeling like they
glass ceilinged out not that there weren't more places for them to grow but for whatever
reason they weren't hired and were replaced by white men. There's a perception that men
are promoted for their potential and women are promoted for their accomplishments.
When you go in and apply for a job traditionally held by a man you have to show everything
you've done and then you see someone hired who doesn't have near their background
based on 'potential.'"

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Structural and system change
"When you talk about institutionalizing it (EDI), need to get to those people who don't see it
as a priority. In my time here, I've seen equity as an afterthought or even as tokenism. We
have to cover a lot of distance. Maybe it's even about integrating into people's performance
goals."
"If it's going to be institutionalized, it should come from the top."
"We need change at the top. Otherwise, we are spinning our wheels."
"Iacknowledge race is important but other ism's are important too."
"Like the idea of race as an entryway to address other ism's, but how would we define
race?"
"How are we integrating equity into that process so I'm here to understand how we might
do that."
"A centralized and consolidated onboarding process that goes beyond existing New
Employee Orientation to include equity, would be great."

WMBE/Diversity in Contracting
"How will serve community, how to expand circle of awareness on how to do business with
Port in Port Diversity in Contracting Office. It is a very long process."
"Started King County Supplier Registration a few years ago. But it's a mountain of
paperwork, a lot of it is online, legal jargon, must submit financialsPort probably loses a lot
of potential WMBEs because they won't even take that first step."
"Creating Diversity in Contracting Office was a huge win but needs to be more
operationalized, deepened. For example, more tactical, how to implement day-to-day. The
macro-program is in place but operational toolkit doesn't exist yet."

Community outreach, communication, and partnerships
"Used to have employees go out to large events where Port had a big presence and
employees could interact with non-profits, but then stopped."
"Used to be every charity event had bids for behind-the-scenes tour of the airport that was
always a hot item that he would donate. But HR nixed that. Often see police ride-along if
can do that, airport tour should be do-able. Used to have a Tour Program, bringing school
groups in. We have something exciting to show and I'm always excited to show it off,but the
Port did U-turn due to those public funds gift rules."
"More conversation on how to achieve mission of economic vitality. Specific charter can be
very limiting. Conversation re: what Port is here to do and how to use resources to do
more."

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Appendix C. Summary of Comments - Community Meetings
Summary below is from six community roundtables held in September 2019, and three
community meetings held in January 2020. These meetings were attended by a total of 119
community members and representatives of 70 non-profit organizations.
Issue / Summary of Comments
Small business access and capacity building
Simplify contracting process
Contracting barriers (unbundle contracts, bonding requirements)
Share information widely/to small businesses
Information gap on bidding and market opportunities

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Selected Quotes
Small business access and capacity building
"There's a $200M program to transform shoreline. Out of that, we were trying to get
together a couple construction contractors. We were invited to bid. But there weren't any
Latino construction companies that could bid for a large amount."
"What is the Port doing/going to do to support African owned businesses?"
"WMBEs must be mentored and supported so they don't fail."
"There's wonderful programs that include diversity in contracting and hiring; however, the
problem is that it doesn't permeate down it doesn't reach us, it remains on the higher
levels. The usual know about it and keep applying and the rest of us don't. Also issue of
smaller organizations or businesses not having capacity to bid for larger contracts and don't
have the connections."

Jobs, career pathways and workforce development
"We get a lot of people jobs at the Port, often their first job, and often then they leave
because there is not room for them to grow at the Port."
"Welcome Bank Center is a major point of contact for people newly arriving. They see many
people especially with skills but need help to integrate, learn about the area."
"Airport has been phenomenal at giving people a first job but what about after that?"
"I think it's Airport University? Building that upward mobility to go after other opportunities
within the port. How can we create different opportunities and career pathways for them?"
"Highline College collaborates with Airport University and it's one thing to be supported in
access to jobs but another thing for them to be supported through career pathways into Port
jobs."
"We do work with Port through Priority Hire Program but in last six years in my role with
Urban League have always experienced inaccessibility for the people we work with. I get
emails from Portjobs and I often set them aside because I don't want to send our clients
there and face barriers."

Community outreach, communication, and partnerships
"We in this room see Port of Seattle but I don't know if people not in this room see it. To
bridge the gap between Port and communities you have to be more visible."
"Seven years ago, I worked just behind the airport. People there don't understand the
connection. Even I don't know what the influence is with the cities, especially SeaTac."
"Also, partner with others in the community doing the work, for exampleschools and Port
and employers. Same way kids don't see themselves in space, flight and engineering, I see
the same way with Museum of Flight. Do kids see Port as a place they belong? As an
institution they can access?"
"Once these programs or opportunities are created, how is that information provided to us

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so that we can give to the people who can have access to those opportunities? Use us
(community organizations) because we can help connect/access to community."
"I second that comment. I'm here on behalf of West African Community Council. We have
people who are in fishing industry in Alaska and elsewhere and are always moving so we
help get information to them."
"Many times we are the ones speaking to families, but they don't know about various
programs. We can be a channel for sharing information and opportunities."

Structural and system change and accountability
"We've had a lot of diversity mtgs, blah blah blah, but we also all know this is the system."
"What is going to be different this time?"
"People around the table change but meetings feel the same."
"Really to dig deep into this is going to require a lot of work internally. Are the expectations
that the other Directors have, are they also committed to making the changes that will be
required? Dismantling institutional racism is structural and really hard work. It's about how
do we keep everyone at the Port accountable now that CEO has made the commitment?"
"Commissoner/ED must provide budget, people to make changes."
"Port must make visible performance metrics by departments beyond top line for the
organization. Departments must reports their results."

Inequities for communities and businesses of color
"I feel like we've been conditioned to divide and conquer, scarcity mindset, and compete
against each other."
"Reinforcing scarcity mindset. Organizations run by people of color usually are always
fighting to compete against each other. Structurally, very difficult to overcome."
"Communities of color are complex communities. Port must be better at understanding all
the complexities."
"Perfomance plans must include WMBE support/goals to make sure leaders are measured
accordingly and be made accountable."
"How much of Port resources are dedicated to outreach, raising awareness and education
for communities of color about what Port is doing?"
"We have a lot of immigrants and are not understood. We have been doing a lot of work to
teach African culture to people who work at airports so that when you interact with a person
you understand their culturally-based behaviors."
"What are the connections to tribes in the area? I'm from Anchorage and its really clear
native people are there. In Seattle, it's not visible."

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 20 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020

Appendix D. List of Organizations Participating in Community Meetings
Summary below is from three community roundtables held in September 2019, attended by a
total of 53 community members, and three community meetings held in January 2020, attended
by a total of 39 community members.
African Chamber of Commerce Northwest Vietnamese News
African Community Housing and Development Omnicure Inc.
Alaska Airlines OneAmerica
Alma Villegas Consulting Organization of Chinese Americans Seattle Chapter
API Coalition Working Together for Health Pacific Communications Consultant
Asian Counseling and Referral Service Para Los Nios de Highline
Beacon Hill Council PortJobs
Beacon Hill Council Puget Sound Training Center
Beacon Hill Noise Impact Group Puget Sound Welcome Back Center
Boeing Refugees Northwest
Casa Latina Renton Chamber of Commerce
Chief Seattle Club Renton Technical College
City of Renton Seattle Commission for Immigrants and Refugees
City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Seattle Good Business Network
Development Seattle Goodwill
Coalition of Immigrants, Refugees and Communities Seattle Jobs Initiative
of Color (CIRCC) SEIU6 Property Services NW
Consulado de Mexico in Seattle Siliana Africa
Diverse America Network Somali Community
El Centro de la Raza Sound Transit Community Access Board Member
Entre Hermanos Track International Consulting
Filipino American Chamber of Commerce Urban Black, LLC
Forterra Urban League
Front and Centered Urban Tech Systems
Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce Vietnamese Friendship Association
Highline College Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS)
Highline College Museum Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs
Kent Chamber of Commerce Washington Technology Alliance
King County West African Community Council
King County Communities of Opportunity Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King
Korean Community Service Center County
Latino Chamber of Commerce World Relief Seattle
Latino Northwest Communications World Trade Center Seattle
Local 302 WSDOT Office of Economic Opportunity
Museum of Flight Yates Consulting

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 21 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020

Appendix E. OEDI Organizational Chart
Sr. Director OEDI
Bookda Gheisar
Sr. Admin. Assistant
Charlene Jones

Director
Senior Manager Workforce Development
Organizational Change Luis Navarro
(Approved/existing FTE)

Sr. Admin. Assistant
OEDI Manager Consuelo Davis
Aviation Policy Analyst
(new FTE) (New FTE)
Manager, OEDI
Engagement and Workforce Department
Communications positions to be determined
(New FTE)

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 22 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
Appendix F. OEDI and WFD Budgets
2350 - Workforce Development Org
2018 2019 2020 2019 to 2020
ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET CHANGE
OPERATING EXPENSE
52100 Exempt - Salaries 134,686 139,028 136,923 (2,105) -1.5%
52200 Exempt - Benefits 47,941 48,297 47,830 (467) -1.0%
52500 Non Exempt - Salaries 74,285 75,999 79,547 3,548 4.7%
52600 Non Exempt - Benefits 32,708 32,855 33,936 1,081 3.3%
Salaries & Benefits 289,621 296,180 298,235 2,055 0.7%
59600 OPEB Life Insurance Expense 1,186 1,243 1,047 (196) -15.8%
59700 DRS Pension Plan True-up Exp (17,910) 0 0 0
59710 OPEB Life Insurance True-up (168) 0 0 0
Wages & Benefits (16,892) 1,243 1,047 (196) -15.8%
TOTAL SALARIES & BENEFITS $ 272,728 $ 297,423 $ 299,282 $ 1,859 0.6%
61300 Equipment - fuel costs 40 0 0 0
61600 Furn & Equip Acquisition Exp 613 1,000 1,200 200 20.0%
61760 Computer & Telephone Acquisitn 275 1,500 0 (1,500) -100.0%
61800 Equipment Rental 0 4,200 2,000 (2,200) -52.4%
Total Equipment Expense 928 6,700 3,200 (3,500) -52.2%
63100 Office Supplies & Expense 159 1,000 500 (500) -50.0%
63300 General Supplies 0 600 1,000 400 66.7%
Total Supplies & Stock 159 1,600 1,500 (100) -6.3%
64150 Personal Services 936,239 2,197,500 1,687,500 (510,000) -23.2%
64370 Other Contracted Services 5,025 2,200 402,400 400,200 18190.9%
64740 Software Lics & Maint. Agreemt 5,729 10,000 5,900 (4,100) -41.0%
Total Outside Services 946,994 2,209,700 2,095,800 (113,900) -5.2%
65100 Air Fare 482 3,400 1,600 (1,800) -52.9%
65200 Lodging & Other Travel 751 4,075 4,720 645 15.8%
65300 Employee Food & Beverage 1,357 1,150 1,600 450 39.1%
65400 Local Transportation 2,030 2,800 400 (2,400) -85.7%
65600 Registration/Seminar Fees 899 7,000 2,648 (4,352) -62.2%
65700 Membership Dues & Fees 25 1,050 770 (280) -26.7%
Total Travel & Other Employee Exps 5,544 19,475 11,738 (7,737) -39.7%
66100 Promotional Hosting Expense 4,025 5,700 10,450 4,750 83.3%
66400 Trade Business & Community 27,114 19,850 28,300 8,450 42.6%
Total Promotional Expenses 31,139 25,550 38,750 13,200 51.7%
66500 Telecommunications 1,457 1,800 1,440 (360) -20.0%
Total Telecommunications 1,457 1,800 1,440 (360) -20.0%
66700 Room/Space/Land Rental 302,272 355,842 426,633 70,791 19.9%
Total Property Rentals 302,272 355,842 426,633 70,791 19.9%
66950 Worker's Comp - Other 473 456 460 5 1.0%
Total Worker's Compensation Expense 473 456 460 5 1.0%
67200 Advertising 0 1,500 0 (1,500) -100.0%
67250 Postage & Delivery Charges 6 0 0 0
67750 Miscellaneous Expense 426 0 300 300
67850 Concur Advance CC Payment Exp (1,516) 0 0 0
Total General Expenses (1,085) 1,500 300 (1,200) -80.0%
TOTAL COSTS BEFORE CAPITAL $ 1,560,610 $ 2,920,046 $ 2,879,103 $ (40,942) -1.4%
CHARGES & TRANSFERS
TOTAL OPERATING & MAINT. EXP.OPERATING EXPENSE ACCOUNTS $ 1,560,610 $ 2,920,046 $ 2,879,103 $ (40,942) -1.4%

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 23 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
1460 - Equity,Diversity and Inclusion Org
2018 2019 2020 2019 to 2020
ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET CHANGE
OPERATING EXPENSE
52100 Exempt - Salaries 0 248,737 854,339 605,602 243.5%
52200 Exempt - Benefits 0 89,411 294,922 205,511 229.8%
52500 Non Exempt - Salaries 0 0 75,586 75,586
52600 Non Exempt - Benefits 0 0 32,976 32,976
Salaries & Benefits 0 338,148 1,257,823 919,675 272.0%
59600 OPEB Life Insurance Expense 0 0 0 0
TOTAL SALARIES & BENEFITS $ - $ 338,148 $ 1,257,823 $ 919,675 272.0%
61600 Furn & Equip Acquisition Exp 0 2,400 3,600 1,200 50.0%
61760 Computer & Telephone Acquisitn 0 3,000 6,267 3,267 108.9%
Total Equipment Expense 0 5,400 9,867 4,467 82.7%
63100 Office Supplies & Expense 0 0 400 400
Total Supplies & Stock 0 0 400 400 0.0%
64100 Professional Services 0 0 0 0
64150 Personal Services 0 0 147,000 147,000
64350 Outside Temp Clerical/Admin 0 0 5,000 5,000
64370 Other Contracted Services 0 0 3,630 3,630
Total Outside Services 0 0 155,630 155,630 0.0%
65100 Air Fare 0 0 4,925 4,925
65200 Lodging & Other Travel 0 0 6,850 6,850
65300 Employee Food & Beverage 0 0 9,934 9,934
65400 Local Transportation 0 0 1,680 1,680
65600 Registration/Seminar Fees 0 5,000 4,415 (585) -11.7%
65700 Membership Dues & Fees 0 1,000 7,331 6,331 633.1%
65800 Subscriptions 0 0 199 199
Total Travel & Other Employee Exps 0 6,000 35,334 29,334 488.9%
66100 Promotional Hosting Expense 0 0 3,500 3,500
66400 Trade Business & Community 0 0 117,800 117,800
Total Promotional Expenses 0 0 121,300 121,300 0.0%
66500 Telecommunications 0 1,440 5,460 4,020 279.2%
Total Telecommunications 0 1,440 5,460 4,020 279.2%
66700 Room/Space/Land Rental 0 0 0 0
66950 Worker's Comp - Other 0 0 120 120
Total Worker's Compensation Expense 0 0 120 120 0.0%
67200 Advertising 0 0 0 0
67810 Unresolved P-Card Charges 0 0 0 0
67850 Concur Advance CC Payment Exp 0 0 0 0
TOTAL COSTS BEFORE CAPITAL $ - $ 350,988 $ 1,585,934 $ 1,234,946 351.8%
CHARGES & TRANSFERS
TOTAL OPERATING & MAINT. EXP.OPERATING EXPENSE ACCOUNTS $ - $ 350,988 $ 1,585,934 $ 1,234,946 351.8%

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 24 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
O1460 - Equity,Diversity and Inclusion Org
2018 2019 2020 2019 to 2020
ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET CHANGE
OPERATING EXPENSE
52100 Exempt - Salaries 134,686 387,765 991,262 603,496 155.6%
52200 Exempt - Benefits 47,941 137,708 342,752 205,043 148.9%
52500 Non Exempt - Salaries 74,285 75,999 155,133 79,134 104.1%
52600 Non Exempt - Benefits 32,708 32,855 66,912 34,057 103.7%
Salaries & Benefits 289,621 634,328 1,556,058 921,730 145.3%
59600 OPEB Life Insurance Expense 1,186 1,243 1,047 (196) -15.8%
59700 DRS Pension Plan True-up Exp (17,910) 0 0 0
59710 OPEB Life Insurance True-up (168) 0 0 0
Wages & Benefits (16,892) 1,243 1,047 (196) -15.8%
TOTAL SALARIES & BENEFITS $ 272,728 $ 635,571 $ 1,557,105 $ 921,534 145.0%
61300 Equipment - fuel costs 40 0 0 0
61600 Furn & Equip Acquisition Exp 613 3,400 4,800 1,400 41.2%
61760 Computer & Telephone Acquisitn 275 4,500 6,267 1,767 39.3%
61800 Equipment Rental 0 4,200 2,000 (2,200) -52.4%
Total Equipment Expense 928 12,100 13,067 967 8.0%
63100 Office Supplies & Expense 159 1,000 900 (100) -10.0%
63300 General Supplies 0 600 1,000 400 66.7%
Total Supplies & Stock 159 1,600 1,900 300 18.8%
64100 Professional Services 0 0 0 0
64150 Personal Services 936,239 2,197,500 1,834,500 (363,000) -16.5%
64350 Outside Temp Clerical/Admin 0 0 5,000 5,000
64370 Other Contracted Services 5,025 2,200 406,030 403,830 18355.9%
64740 Software Lics & Maint. Agreemt 5,729 10,000 5,900 (4,100) -41.0%
Total Outside Services 946,994 2,209,700 2,251,430 41,730 1.9%
65100 Air Fare 482 3,400 6,525 3,125 91.9%
65200 Lodging & Other Travel 751 4,075 11,570 7,495 183.9%
65300 Employee Food & Beverage 1,357 1,150 11,534 10,384 903.0%
65400 Local Transportation 2,030 2,800 2,080 (720) -25.7%
65600 Registration/Seminar Fees 899 12,000 7,063 (4,937) -41.1%
65700 Membership Dues & Fees 25 2,050 8,101 6,051 295.2%
65800 Subscriptions 0 0 199 199
Total Travel & Other Employee Exps 5,544 25,475 47,072 21,597 84.8%
66100 Promotional Hosting Expense 4,025 5,700 13,950 8,250 144.7%
66400 Trade Business & Community 27,114 19,850 146,100 126,250 636.0%
Total Promotional Expenses 31,139 25,550 160,050 134,500 526.4%
66500 Telecommunications 1,457 3,240 6,900 3,660 113.0%
Total Telecommunications 1,457 3,240 6,900 3,660 113.0%
66700 Room/Space/Land Rental 302,272 355,842 426,633 70,791 19.9%
Total Property Rentals 302,272 355,842 426,633 70,791 19.9%
66950 Worker's Comp - Other 473 456 580 125 27.4%
Total Worker's Compensation Expense 473 456 580 125 27.4%
67200 Advertising 0 1,500 0 (1,500) -100.0%
67250 Postage & Delivery Charges 6 0 0 0
67750 Miscellaneous Expense 426 0 300 300
67810 Unresolved P-Card Charges 0 0 0 0
67850 Concur Advance CC Payment Exp (1,516) 0 0 0
Total General Expenses (1,085) 1,500 300 (1,200) -80.0%
TOTAL COSTS BEFORE CAPITAL $ 1,560,610 $ 3,271,034 $ 4,465,037 $ 1,194,004 36.5%
CHARGES & TRANSFERS
TOTAL OPERATING & MAINT. EXP.OPERATING EXPENSE ACCOUNTS $ 1,560,610 $ 3,271,034 $ 4,465,037 $ 1,194,004 36.5%

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 25 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
Appendix G. National Research on Equity Best Practices
Port of Seattle Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI)
National Scan of Port Workforce Development Programs and Equity
Summary of Findings

Background and Process
In August 2019, the Port of Seattle Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) undertook a
scan and analysis of workforce development programs (WFD) at ports across the U.S. OEDI
Senior Director Bookda Gheisar guided the work, which was completed by Office of Social
Responsibility Director Luis Navarro and consultant Trang Tu. This document summarizes the
findings.
The purpose of the analysis was to gain an understanding of workforce development programs
at select ports, whether the ports also had an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) focus, and if
so, whether there were any links with WFD.
Key questions included:
Does the port have a WFD program? If so, what are its primary activities, how is it placed or
structured within the organization and how is it staffed?
Does the port have an EDI focus (could be an office, staff, functions, policy and/or other)? If
so, what are its primary activities, and how is it structured and staffed?
For ports that have both, are there any links between WFD and equity work?
The process included:
Online scan of relevant information on the websites of eighteen ports (seaports and
airports) in fifteen localities that included fourteen cities and one bi-state area (New
York/New Jersey).
Telephone interviews to augment the web-based data, at five ports (Port of Portland, San
Francisco airport, Chicago airports, Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and Port of Oakland).
Data is summarized in the accompanying spreadsheet (see tab 2 "DATA"). Data columns
include: Port Name, Port Type, WFD Classification*, WFD Primary Activities, WFD Structure &
Staffing, EDI Focus (yes/no), EDI Primary Activities, EDI Structure & Staffing, EDI/WFD Link
(yes/no), and Notes on EDI/WFD Link.
*For the purposes of this analysis, WFD activities were grouped into a classification to give an
indication of their extent and/or depth. The classifications are defined below (and in tab 2 of
the spreadsheet labeled "KEY"). The coded data is in the spreadsheet column labeled "WFD
CLASSIFICATION."

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 26 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
Classification of Workforce Development Activities
0 = no discernible WFD program or activities
1 = career development for internal Port employees
2 = WFD activities via contractors/vendors (for example, apprentice on-the-job training)
3a = "light touch pipeline" WFD activities (e.g. job fairs, student exposure programs)
3b = "more intense pipeline" WFD activities (e.g. student internships at Port, community grants)
4 = support for Port-related industry sectors (e.g. maritime, construction)
5 = support of local/regional job and economic growth broadly (e.g. tourism, business
development)
Findings
Among the ports researched:
1. There is a wide range of workforce development (WFD) activities across the ports.
Some ports have no discernible WFD programs while others tie it closely to contractor
and business compliance activities, and yet others have wide ranging activities that vary
from workforce pipeline development to community-based grants.
2. Port of Seattle has the largest array of WFD programs. Using our classification, Seattle
was the only port that engages in WFD activities across all six categories. Other ports
engage in fewer and/or in more narrow ways, if at all.
3. Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is an emerging area of effort. Among the ports
analyzed, five have EDI-oriented functions or activities. Four of those five are activity- or
project-specific. Only one port - Portland has a comprehensive equity action plan that
takes a systemic approach, much like that of Port of Seattle's OEDI. In this regard,
Seattle is among the vanguard of EDI work.
4. At the ports with only WFD and no EDI focus, WFD tends to be either housed with
business compliance functions, or as part of external relations/community engagement.
5. At ports that have both EDI *and* WFD activities, WFD is always housed within and/or
reports to the EDI Office or Office of Social Responsibility office and/or EDI lead staff.
This was the case at six ports in this analysis: Port of Portland, San Francisco Airport,
Port of Oakland, Boston/Massport, Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and Houston Airports.

Caveats
One caveat of this analysis is that it was undertaken in the relatively short timeframe of two
weeks. As a result, there are some information gaps with regard to details about equity
activities. However, directionally, the findings would remain the same.

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 27 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
If there is a desire to augment or complete the analysis, we would recommend gathering
additional information about equity efforts at Houston Airports, Port of Long Beach, Port
Authority of New York/New Jersey, and San Francisco Seaport.

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 28 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
Appendix H. Equity Survey Summary and Analysis

Employee Survey on Equity
Summary of Findings
January 2020

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Summary of Data
3. Findings
4. Implications

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 29 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020

1. Introduction
In 2019, the Port of Seattle created its first Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI),
charged with ensuring that equity goals are incorporated throughout Port operations and
providing strategic and policy direction on equity issues.
In the fall of 2019, OEDI developed a Strategic Plan to guide its work on equity. One of the three
key strategies in the plan focuses on infusing equity practices throughout Port work:
STRATEGY 1. Transform Port of Seattle by infusing equity principles and practices into
all aspects of organizational structure, programs, policies, and processes.
One of the first steps in fulfilling this strategy is to normalize the conversation about equity at
the Port. Normalizing racial equity within an institution means surfacing and talking about
equity so that over time it becomes an organizational norm.
The first Objective within Strategy 1 centers on normalizing the concept of equity at the Port.
Specifically, it calls for early and ongoing activities to lay a strong foundation for normalizing
equity internally. This will inform critical work to define equity, vision, and values; and develop
a case statement about why equity work is critical for the Port. These, in turn, will inform other
equity-focused activities such as staff training, learning events, and peer support intended to
create internal community-building and deepen staff knowledge of, and engagement in, equity.
To this end, in the fall of 2019, the Port's "Link Leadership-Leading Others" EDI Project team
partnered with OEDI to support the initial implementation of "normalizing" activities. The team
conducted a Port-wide survey to assess how employees currently define "equity" for
themselves and the organization. The effort supported the Port's long-range plan under "High-
Performance Organization Strategy #4: Become a model for workplace equity, diversity, and
inclusion" and was also part of the Link Leadership curriculum.
The goal of the survey was to help inform OEDI of current perceptions of the definition of
equity and/or how employees think it should be defined at the Port. Over a 17-day window, the
team implemented a Survey Monkey survey with two key questions:
1. How do you personally define Equity?
2. How do you define Equity in relation to the Port of Seattle as an organization?
Additional details about the survey process are in Appendix A. The following sections provide a
summary of the survey data, findings of the analysis, and potential implications for equity work
at the Port of Seattle.

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 30 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
2. Summary of Data
The survey yielded 451 responses to question 1, and 444 responses to question 2.
Data analysis used an inductive process, whereby prevalent themes or key concepts were identified as they emerged from data review, rather than applying a predetermined
structure by which the data was organized.
Themes or concepts frequently cited in responses included: equal treatment, fairness, equal opportunity, recognizing inequities, equal outcomes, diversity and representation, and
being valued and respected. The second question also yielded many responses describing specific issues at the Port that respondents viewed as inequities.
The tables below summarize the frequency of key themes among all responses. Yellow cells indicate the most prevalent themes among responses. Blue responses in question 2
indicate themes that emerged in response to that question that did not surface in responses to question 1. The following sections provide additional explanation of the data and
findings from the analysis.
Question 1. How do you personally define Equity?
Valued,
Equal Equal Recognize Equal Diversity, respected, Reaching
Treatment Fairness Opportunity Inequities Outcomes Inclusion Representation safe Potential Other
Count 190 184 121 64 13 9 7 7 3 31

Question 2. How do you define Equity in relation to the Port of Seattle as an organization?
Equal Valued,
Equal Opportunit Specific Recognize External, respected, Diversity, Equal
Treatment y Fairness Problems Merit Inequities Community safe Pay Representation Favoritism Inclusion Outcomes Equity Other
Count 94 92 90 75 44 40 40 37 30 27 27 15 6 4 44

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 31 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
3. Findings
Across Both Questions
By far, respondents view equity as fairness, equal treatment and/or equal opportunity.
Many comments recognized historic inequities for specific communities, that people have
different starting points, and that equity is about leveling an unequal playing field.
Other prevalent themes across both questions included equity as equal outcomes,
diversity, and representation, being valued and respected, and inclusion.
Two themes: equity as being valued and respected and diversity and representation were
notably more prevalent in responses to question 2.
Many respondents talked about equity in terms of ownership, such as equity in a house,
or investment in a business, rather than equity in a social justice frame.
Some responses also indicated different understandings or meanings for the same terms
(e.g. equity, fairness), including some seeming contradictions.
Question 1. How do you personally define Equity?
Responses to question 1 tended to be more abstract or generalized, whereas responses to
question 2 were much more specific.
Even though question 1 asked for personal definitions about equity, a fair number of
responses to it were about equity in the workplace and/or at the Port.
Question 2. How do you define Equity in relation to the Port of Seattle as an organization?
Respondents interpreted this question in two ways. Many described how they would
ideally like to see equity at the Port, while others described how they see or experience it
today. The latter included many comments identifying problems or challenges with issues
of equity at the Port. These tended to be quite specific and are detailed further below.
Many respondents expressed opposing views about what it means to address inequities.
Many who recognized historic inequities commented that equity is about correcting for
those inequities while others saw the same actions as favoritism or reverse discrimination
and said all should be treated equally in a "colorblind" way. Some of those were opposed
to the idea of actions that advantage protected classes.
Answers to question 2 revealed additional themes not prevalent in question 1, including
the idea of equity as external or community impact, equal pay, and favoritism.
Responses to question 2 described workplace equity issues as both internal and external.
External equity issues were often described in terms of engaging communities and
constituencies, supporting communities disproportionately impacted by Port activities,
promoting equitable economic development and having a diverse workforce.
Internal equity issues were often described in terms of hiring, pay, advancement, career
growth, work environment, and professional development resources.

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 32 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020
A frequent sentiment was that workplace decisions should be based on merit and work
performance (e.g. "equal pay for equal work") and not favoritism or "in groups" which
many responses commented on. This tied into many comments that equity is seen as
employees being valued and respected for their contributions.
Specific Problems or Inequities at the Port Identified in Survey Responses
Interview panels should use a third-party professional firm, not the hiring department.
Class structures at TSA checkpoints.
Racial inequities exist in internal promotions, especially in leadership positions.
Hiring should not rely on only resume and the interview to fill positions.
Changes are made based on equality, not equity, for example Diversity in Contracting.
Grading using the same standards in PLink is not equitable.
The Port needs to engage craft workers more.
Pay grades should be consistent across departments.
One-time bonuses should include hourly employees.
ELT, senior, and middle management need to be more diverse.
There are inequities in upgrades to different facilities.
There are inequities in external hires being preferred over internal promotions.
Administrative assistants are underpaid and undervalued.
More support is needed for people of color to gain skills and step into leadership roles.
There is not enough awareness of the lack of equity in departments.
There is a perception that airport workers get paid more for less work; pay inequities.
There is a need for more transparent communication about pay and promotions
decisions.

COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7c Page 33 of 33
Meeting Date: February 11, 2020

4. Implications
The analysis results provide several implications for implementing equity practices at the Port.
Need for continued dialog, learning and capacity building internally. There is an opportunity
to continue the dialog, attempt to further align on what is meant by "equity," and build a
shared foundation for putting equity practices into place. The data reflected a wide and diverse
range in Port employees' view of equity. Some, such as those who defined equity in a real
estate or business sense, may have had little or no exposure to equity in a social justice frame.
Others have highly defined views about inequities and strong notions about what needs to be
done. This is an opportunity for shared learning and can inform future activities to normalize
equity at the Port, including, but not limited to training, peer support, and mentorship.
Working through opposing views. Across Port employees, there are opposing perspectives
about equity, in particular, the view among some that all people should be treated equally in a
"colorblind" way, vs. the view held by others that structural or historic inequities mean some
groups need to be treated differently to correct for those inequities. This is an opportunity for
candid dialog and collective growth.
Specific workplace inequities identified. Many employees see equity in terms of specific
workplace issues that directly affect them, such as pay and promotions. Many voiced very
specific concerns about problems in these areas. These are opportunities to identify and create
concrete equity improvements in Port operations.
Equity in external and community impact. Many employees see equity as having external or
community dimensions as well as being an internal issue. This is an opportunity to strengthen
equity-based actions in the Port's public-facing work.

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