Gov. Mark Dayton has set a daunting goal for his final years of office: diversify the overwhelmingly white managerial ranks across all Minnesota state agencies — roughly 1,000 positions.
Nearly nine in 10 management jobs are held by white employees right now. Dayton is pledging to change that. He said state government can better serve the state's increasingly diverse population by having more executives of color to craft state policy.
Dayton said he is committed to ensuring that more diverse faces fill in the "fabric of state government" and that if he is successful, the initiative will endure long after he has left office.
Efforts to recruit top talent of color won't be easy.
The state will be jockeying for top candidates alongside such private-sector employers as General Mills, Target and other Minnesota firms that also aggressively have begun diversifying their white-collar ranks. Well-qualified job candidates typically earn more in the private sector, which can put government agencies at a disadvantage when recruiting.
State government also is battling perceptions that its workplace culture isn't inclusive. A report by the newly formed Diversity and Inclusion Council showed employees of color reported higher resignation rates and lower promotion rates than their white counterparts. New employees also reported a lack of mentors and not feeling welcome by co-workers.
Dayton's recent championing of diversity efforts comes amid criticism by some black political and community leaders who said in September his administration had not done enough to address the vast racial disparity in Minnesota's economy.
The governor has had middling success boosting racial diversity on his own cabinet, top agency commissioners whom he appoints. Of Dayton's 24 cabinet members, only two are people of color, about 8 percent.