[ad_1]
Cambridge City Council passed a political decree with unanimous consent setting out a plan to increase minority representation in senior municipal government positions at its meeting on Monday.
Sponsored by Councilor E. Denise Simmons, the policy will prioritize Black and Indigenous residents as well as other residents of color.
As part of the ordinance, council asks city manager Louis A. DePasquale to draft a plan to ensure that more people from these groups are recruited, trained and have opportunities to take leadership positions within the city. municipal administration.
“As you move up through the ranks, it’s obvious that we don’t have the same kind of diversity that we hold other people in charge,” Simmons said.
“We should be abhorred and verklempt that we have done so badly for so long,” she continued. “I hope my colleagues will not only embrace it, but put their shoulder to the wheel to advance equity and access for underrepresented people and women in our city.
Simmons also asked the council to change the wording of the political decree to explicitly include the Latinx community.
Later in the meeting, Council also asked DePasquale to provide the appropriate staff and information necessary to review and expand the Green Jobs program, which aims to promote the City’s sustainability efforts and combat climate change.
This political decree was sponsored by Simmons, Councilor Marc C. McGovern, Deputy Mayor Alanna M. Mallon and Councilor Quinton Y. Zondervan.
Zondervan said he was happy the green jobs program was back on the council’s radar, explaining that he believed the program would create economic opportunities.
“Looking at what we’ve done over the past 10 or 20 years – what worked, what didn’t – is really valuable in making sure that as we move forward, we make sure the program is successful. “Zondervan said.
“It is really important to create more economic opportunities and expand the types of jobs that we think of when we think of green jobs,” he added.
Simmons said she believes it is essential for the government to prioritize people of color in future climate change programs.
“When we talk about the environmental movement, it is woefully absent from people of color,” Simmons said.
According to Simmons, putting people of color first in the Green Jobs program is “an amazing way” to “spark and expand the interest of this often missed community.”
– Editor Jennifer L. Powley can be reached at [email protected].
[ad_2]
Source link