Framework Goals
The Equity and Empowerment framework, adopted by the City Council in 2014, makes equity a consistent guiding principle across the entire organization and will help the City of Tacoma change the way we do business. The framework calls out five goals:
- The City of Tacoma Workforce Reflects the Community it Serves
We will actively work to eliminate racial and other disparities and provide accommodations for people with disabilities in hiring, promotion, and retention
- Purposeful Community Outreach and Engagement
We will work with community partners and businesses to promote equity and inclusion within Tacoma and throughout the region, producing measurable improvements and disparity reductions
- Equitable Service Delivery to Residents and Visitors
We will provide guidance, education and assistance to all departments as they develop sustainable methods to build capacity in achieving equitable outcomes and services
- Support Human Rights and Opportunities for Everyone to Achieve their Full Potential
Promote, support and build capacity for compliance with civil rights laws, ordinances and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, within the City of Tacoma
- Commitment to Equity in Policy Decision Making
We will be transparent and collaborative with internal and external individuals and groups, holding ourselves and our partners accountable for measurable improvements and outcomes
Eliminating inequity in the City of Tacoma means changing the policies and practices that create and sustain them. Using a strategy of “targeted universalism”, which recognizes that we all need different strategies to achieve our full potential, our goal is to improve outcomes for all communities. In other words, the Office of Equity and Human Rights is working for all residents and visitors of Tacoma in an effort to make it a place people want to live, work and play.