Women found to be under-represented in county workforce
WEST PALM BEACH — The person at the top of Palm Beach County’s organizational chart is a woman. So are two of the five deputy and assistant county administrators who work under her.
But women are significantly under-represented in the county’s overall workforce, according to a report commissioners reviewed last week.
The report, compiled to identify areas where the county needs to adjust its staffing, found that women account for just under 48 percent of the available workforce in the county. Women, however, make up only 32 percent of the county’s workforce.
Racial minorities, meanwhile, account for about 27 percent of the available workforce in the county and fill about 35 percent of county staff positions.
While minorities are over-rep- resented as a whole, many of the jobs they hold are in lower-paying job categories like service and maintenance work.
The low percentage of minorities in other job categories has drawn the attention of County Commissioner Mack Bernard, the lone black member of the commission.
The report, an analysis of all the positions reporting to the County Commission for the county’s Affirmative Action plan for the year, was on the count y ’s consent agenda Tuesday, poised for swift and quiet acceptance, but Bernard pulled the item from