SFMTA Advances Action Plan for Racial Equity

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
With leadership from SFMTA Race, Equity and Inclusion Officer Josephine Ayankoya and Human Resources Director Kimberly Ackerman, the new Racial Equity Action Plan commits the agency “to ongoing action, reflection and refinement.”

With leadership from SFMTA Race, Equity and Inclusion Officer Josephine Ayankoya and Human Resources Director Kimberly Ackerman, the new Racial Equity Action Plan commits the agency “to ongoing action, reflection and refinement.”

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has released the first phase of its Racial Equity Action Plan, covering internal programs and policies.

The plan document (download below) focuses on what must be done to ensure that worksites are supportive for all employees. It does so by assessing current conditions; identifying necessary staffing and resources; holding the agency accountable by setting timely, measurable goals and commitments; and addressing interpersonal and institutional racism within SFMTA.

In addition, the plan identifies concrete actions in seven areas: hiring and recruitment; retention and promotions; discipline and separations; diverse and equitable leadership; mobility and professional development; creating a culture of inclusion and belonging; and boards and commissions.

A number of human resources actions are already underway, according to SFTMA. Among them:
• A form has been created for HR analysts to use in the hiring process “to better understand ethnicity and gender trends at different stages of the hiring process.”
• SFMTA’s Cost Control Group has been expanded to include a more diverse staff, “ensuring that a broader set of backgrounds and experiences shape important budget decisions.”
• Managers will begin using an agency-wide tracking system to measure and monitor disciplinary actions.
• SFMTA will make quarterly updates, responding to findings of a 2019 report that “outlined racial equity deficiencies at the agency.”

The SFMTA Office of Race, Equity and Inclusion has also initiated an agency-wide series of listening sessions to allow for staff input on challenges related to racial and social inequities experienced by staff; resources needed to advance racial equity within the workforce; and perspectives on what should be prioritized in the SFMTA’s racial equity work.

The Office is slated to hire additional staff based on feedback from more than 100 meetings.

In its next and final phase, SFMTA’s Racial Equity Action Plan will cover external equity issues, including the services SFMTA renders, the projects it plans, and the ways it engages the public and supports staffers who work with the public. This will be done in accordance with guidance from the Office of Racial Equity under San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission, according to SFMTA.

The overall plan “is guided by the vision to create a city and organization where our diversity, inclusion and belonging are advanced; racial and social disparities are reduced short-term, and eliminated long-term; and racial and social equity is achieved, establishing equalized access, opportunity and outcomes for all,” according to SFMTA. It is expected to be assessed frequently and revised every three years.

SFMTA recently returned the F Market & Wharves historic streetcars to service between Fisherman’s Wharf and Castro and Market streets, seven days a week.

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