Minnesota has some of the most progressive equal-opportunity rules in the nation, but it isn’t doing a very good job of implementing them.
Those are the findings of a first-of-its-kind equity audit of Minnesota’s hiring, purchasing, contracting and affirmative action policies that aim to make state employees and contractors more representative of the people they serve.
The audit was proposed by state and local chapters of the NAACP and backed last year by Gov. Mark Dayton, who says improving the diversity of state workers is a top priority.
The audit found the state historically has had strong policies to promote equal opportunities for minorities and other targeted groups, but that those efforts are stymied by underfunding, inadequate staffing and insufficient data collection.
In 2015, the audit found, only about 3 percent of the roughly $2 billion the state awarded in contracts went to businesses owned by someone from a targeted group.
The majority of that 3 percent went to businesses owned by women, leaving just a fraction of a percentage point going to business owners of color.
Minnesota also has an incomplete picture of the diversity of its workforce because it doesn’t require state employees to divulge their race or ethnicity. When they do, people of color are lumped into one group rather than broken down by their race or ethnicity.
In a statement, Dayton acknowledged when the audit was commissioned last year that state leaders knew equity policies were not being as successfully implemented as they could be.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the group members to review this audit’s findings, and to implement recommendations that will help the state of Minnesota better reflect and serve all who call our state home,” Dayton said about the study’s findings.
The Democratic governor also noted progress his administration has made in its efforts to diversify the state’s workforce. Just 8 percent of state workers were people of color when Dayton took office; 11 percent are now.
Minnesota has some of the largest economic racial disparities in the nation. Black, Hispanic and American Indian residents earn less than half of what their white peers earn, U.S. census data shows. Last year, the state Legislature agreed to $35 million in new spending to help close that gap; the equity audit is expected to inform future policy decisions.