While Connecticut state government has reduced disparities in representation and pay for black workers despite massive turnover, the gaps for Hispanics and Asians have widened even further, according to a new report from state Comptroller Sean Scanlon and the University of Connecticut School of Public Policy.

More than 5,420 people have entered government service in the past three years, many of them to replace the 4,146 who retired between January and July 2022. This “pension tsunami” – fueled by new pension cuts and twice as large as any other such pension surge in the past decade – offered government agencies “a potentially transformative moment”, the report said.

But Hispanics and Asians, who were underrepresented in the state government workforce three years ago, continue to be so, according to the latest study, which is based on U.S. Census figures and December 2023 data from Core-CT, the state's human resources and payroll IT system.

While Hispanic men and women make up 12% of the state's population, they comprise 6% and 7% of state government employees, respectively.

Asian men and women each make up 3% of Connecticut's population, but represent 2% and 2.3% of state employees, respectively. Black men and women each make up 5% of the population, but represent 8% and 12% of state employees, respectively.

Whites are also more heavily represented in the public sector than in the general population. The study found that white men and women make up 29% and 31% of the population, respectively, and 32% and 31% of the workforce, respectively.

“My office is committed to transparency, even though the data may not show the progress we seek,” Scanlon said. “These findings underscore the fact that as a state we must continue to prioritize equity and diversity in our workforce. … This report signals that agencies, including my own, need to examine their own data and policies to see how they can close pay gaps and increase diversity in hiring.”

Professor Mohamad Alkadry, director of UConn's School of Public Policy, added, “A more equitable workforce has real impacts on the public sector's ability to design and implement policies that effectively meet community needs. More equity in the workforce leads to better policies and better outcomes.”

Neither the Office of the Auditor General nor UConn University attempted to diagnose the causes of these injustices.

“The authors of this report are aware that there are many factors contributing to underrepresentation and that discrimination is only one of the possible reasons,” the analysts wrote. “The hope is that underrepresentation would lead to a diagnosis of the reasons that have led to this condition. Is it inadequate targeting of potential employees? Is it a problem with the labor pool? Is it discrimination in hiring? Is it a problem with employee retention?”

However, the analysis, which builds on a review conducted by those agencies in 2021, calls on state hiring agencies to develop new recruiting strategies, analyze the diversity of previous hiring pools, expand databases of worker-related information on race and gender, and launch a statewide diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.

Recent hires show a trend towards greater diversity

However, diversity has improved somewhat since the retirement wave, the study says.

Over the past three years, 26.7% of new hires in state government were black, 14.2% were Hispanic, and 4.5% were Asian.

And when it comes to high-level administrative positions, the share of black women and Asians exceeded the share of the general population for the past three years. But among black men and Hispanics, they continue to hold a disproportionately small share of top leadership positions.

Scanlon said that hiring more Hispanics is an obvious goal, but the government still needs to address all minorities that are underrepresented.

Alan Tan of Rocky Hill, chairman of the state Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, said the persistent disparities, particularly those affecting Hispanics, “are no surprise to us. They underscore the urgent need for targeted recruitment strategies to better reflect our diverse population.”

Melvette Hill, the commission's executive director, added, “We are committed to using this data in our legislative efforts. We will recommend targeted recruitment strategies to improve Hispanic representation in state government and celebrate progress in increasing representation of women and Asian American employees.”

Wage disparities persist throughout CT government

Supporters of reform also see the wage gap as proof that the government still has a lot of work to do.

Black men and women earn, on average, 84% and 91% of the salary of the average white man in state government, the report found. Hispanic men and women also earn 84% and 91%, respectively.

Asian men and women earn more than the average white male worker, 116% and 110% respectively.

White women in state government earn 103% of the average salary of white men.

“This report underscores the reasons why pay equity must be a priority for all in leadership positions, whether in the private or public sector,” said David Bednarz, a spokesman for Governor Ned Lamont.

“Governor Lamont has appointed one of the most diverse cabinets of state agency leaders of any governor in Connecticut because he believes that state government, including those in leadership positions, must reflect the people it represents. This report and its findings will be a valuable tool in our efforts to identify areas for improvement and, more importantly, implement hiring policies that can lead to meaningful change in pay equity.”

The Coalition of Public Employees, which represents nearly all unionized public employees, believes that by preserving state jobs, state government can take a big step toward closing racial and ethnic employment and income gaps.

The public sector has traditionally had far smaller capital shortfalls than the private sector, but the workforce in state governments has been shrinking for decades as governors and legislators have used turnover to balance budgets and mitigate tax increases.

“State government is a critical tool for us to address systemic inequities, both by providing good union jobs to Black and brown families and through the critical services it provides to our communities,” said Carl Chisem, president of the Connecticut Employees Union Independent and co-chair of the SEBAC Racial Justice Committee. “This report shows that we have missed major opportunities to increase representation and pay equity and have continued down the path to the status quo. We must make serious and immediate changes to the way we recruit, retain and promote our state workforce.”

Rob Baril, president of SEIU 1199 NE, the state's largest health care union, added: “Connecticut has some of the worst racial and economic disparities in the country, and both cuts to essential services and public sector job losses are widening the racial and gender pay gap.”

Keith Phaneuf is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror ( ). Copyright 2024 © The Connecticut Mirror.