Myrtle Beach attempting to increase diversity among city staff

It’s important the city workforce reflect the Myrtle Beach community, City Manager John Pedersen said, and city officials are taking steps to increase the diversity of its nearly 86 percent white staff.

During the city’s April budget retreat in Pinopolis, Pedersen said the city needed to take a more active role in recruiting diverse job candidates – especially in the police department.

In 2010, about 75 percent of Myrtle Beach residents identified as white on the U.S. Census.

“We can look at our force and see it does not reflect the diversity of the community and we need to actively work to improve that,” he said.

Pedersen said that the police and fire departments reflect the makeup of the applicant pool.

“We’ve got to do a better job of generating interest in the community,” he said.

In July, 15 black people worked for Myrtle Beach’s 268-member police department in both sworn and unsworn positions – about 5.6 percent.

Citywide, 105 of the city’s 837 employees as of July were black – about 12.5 percent – while 716 were white, 15 were Hispanic and 1 was American Indian. Black residents made up 13.9 percent of the city’s population, according to the 2010 Census, which is the most recent year with an accurate count.

“We aren’t too far off [demographically],” Pedersen said. “We need to diversify some of our management positions. ... I want to make sure we’ve got a good representation not only horizontally, but vertically.”

Bennie Swans, an activist who works with the city and the black community, said he was not happy with the numbers.

“The numbers are terrible,” he said. “There have been some personal efforts on John Pedersen’s part. He’s contacted me about getting the word out about certain open positions, but overall the numbers are terrible.”

The Rev. David Victoria, chairman of the city’s human rights commission, said he’s encouraged that the city is recognizing its shortcomings and taking a proactive approach.

“The need to diversify a little more is there – the numbers show it,” he said. “Diversity ensures a better cultural experience in the workplace, which leads to understanding where other people come from and what their viewpoints are.”

In 2010, Hispanic residents made up 13.7 percent of Myrtle Beach’s population and in July comprised almost 2 percent of city employees. Women accounted for about 49 percent of residents, according to the Census, but made up only about 25 percent of city employees, or 212 of the city’s 837 employees as of July.

“The city is heavy in the types of positions that are leaning in traditionally male-dominated fields – whether that’s the right thing or not,” Pedersen said.

Coleman Randall, director of Human Resources for the city, said many city positions have been “historically and traditionally” dominated by white men.

“It’s not that we get 100 applications and half of them are black and they’re just not being hired,” he said. “I’d say it’s about 85 percent white male [applicants] and then black male and white female [applicants] come in at about the same rate.”

Racial diversity was higher among North Myrtle Beach employees as of August, with 20 percent of their 348 employees being black, although the 2010 Census showed that blacks made up only 3.3 percent of the city’s population.

Black workers comprised 15.3 percent of Horry County’s 2,106 workers. About 13.4 percent of Horry County residents were black according to the 2010 Census.

Diversity in leadership

Two of the city’s 16 identified departments – about 12.5 percent – have black directors. Randall in human resources and Judge Jennifer Wilson in the municipal court.

Randall, hired in 1991, is the city’s first and only black department head hired by the city. Wilson was appointed by City Council in 2000. She also is the city’s first black municipal court judge.

Women serve as heads of seven departments – including the court, finance, library and recreation.

“We’re not zeroing in on specific departments, but we are looking at making sure that we’ve got greater diversity in leadership and decision-making positions going forward,” Pedersen said. “There needs to be representation at all levels of the organizations for us to be a truly diverse organization.”

The city is undergoing a leadership planning process to help with the hiring process as several department heads are nearing retirement.

“That’s part of the whole organization succession planning that we’re going through now,” Pedersen said. “There are a number of people that will be retiring in the next five years.”

Victoria said having minorities in top positions would help to give the city’s leadership a wider perspective and clearer view of the people who live in the city.

“From a city standpoint, having leadership that understands what certain communities experience helps inform decisions,” he said. “And to truly understand a group of the population many times you have to walk in those shoes.”

Reaching the black community

Pedersen said since increasing diversity has become a city goal, he has spoken with black leadership and sought out qualified candidates to join the city.

“We’ve already reached out to some – in cases where we know of any capable people that we brought into the city,” he said. “We’re diversifying our recruitment efforts. Every time we have job announcements we send them to leaders and ask them if they can recommend [qualified candidates].”

Randall said the city already coordinated with historically black colleges and universities in the area, such as South Carolina State University and Morris College, and military installations by attending job fairs and sending job openings to their career centers.

“We also advertise on urban radio stations here and in the Columbia and Florence areas,” he said. “We’re trying to step our game up as well – change our look and try to update our language to attract millennials so they would see the city of Myrtle Beach as a place they could do meaningful work and engage in a profession that appeals to them.”

Mickey James, president of the Myrtle Beach branch of the NAACP and former city firefighter, said the city has neglected minorities for years.

“There is a problem in that they’ve not been pushing for black management,” he said. “I served 25 years as a firefighter. The city has always had a problem with race.”

James said he, too, is encouraged by Pedersen’s focus on making city staff more diverse.

“John has an opportunity to improve things,” he said. “But he’s got his work cut out for him.”

When it comes to the black people who do work for the city, James and Swans pointed out that they often work in lower-paying jobs.

“They hire black people for the mediocre jobs,” James said. “Trash collection, park services, they hire them for those jobs, but then they don’t get promoted.”

For example, nearly half of the city’s 105 black employees work for the parks/public works departments. Of 181 employees in the parks/public works departments, 51 are black.

“The overall numbers show a terrible disparity,” Swans said. “And if you look at the salary range, they are terrible.”

Randall said of the city positions, those who work in the department of public works have lower starting salaries than other departments in the city.

“The department of public works is probably as more lower-paid positions as a group,” he said. “The starting salaries are lower than other departments, but that’s not to say that those positions can’t eventually make more money than positions in other departments.”

‘Traditionally male’ jobs

Pedersen said it was more difficult to increase the number of women working for the city – about 25 percent – because most of the jobs being seen stereotypically as being held by men. Women and men almost evenly split the residential population in Myrtle Beach.

Police and fire departments are overwhelmingly comprised of men, Randall said, and office assistants are “99.9 percent” women.

“Most of the positions with the city are predominately and traditionally male,” he said. “And those who apply are predominately male.”

As of July, there were five women – 3.2 percent – working in the fire department, which has 155 employees. Of the 268 people working for the police department, 73 were women, which is 27.2 percent.

Pedersen and Randall said the representation of women working for the city corresponds to the number of women who apply for the city’s mostly blue-collar jobs.

“We have a few women who apply [for traditionally male jobs], but there are far more male applicants for those positions than female applicants,” Pedersen said.

The disparity also is seen on the City Council, where one woman, Susan Grissom Means, currently serves on the seven-member body. Means, who’s served three terms, is not seeking reelection. Mary Jeffcoat won a council seat in the recent election.

Disproportionate Hispanic representation

Hispanic employment was nowhere near lining up with population numbers across Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Horry County.

“It is sad that those numbers are so low and compare that way,” Swans said.

In Myrtle Beach, 15 of the city’s 837 employees in July identified as Hispanic – about 1.79 percent – versus the 13.7 percent of Hispanic residents counted in the city in 2010.

Less than 1 percent of North Myrtle Beach’s 348-person workforce identified as Hispanic in August – two employees total. About 6.3 percent of North Myrtle Beach’s population was listed as Hispanic in the 2010 Census.

Thirty-one Hispanic people worked for Horry County as of September, making up almost 1.5 percent of the county’s 2,106 workforce. The 2010 Census counted 6.2 percent of the county’s population as Hispanic.

Miriam Berrouet, an interpreter who serves on Myrtle Beach’s Human Rights Commission and often works with Spanish-speaking people along the Grand Strand, said there are several reasons that the Hispanic population could be underrepresented among city employees.

“There are some factors that may be preventing some Hispanics from being employed at the city,” she said. “The question also is if Hispanics are being targeted for employment.”

If increasing the Hispanic representation on the city’s workforce is something Myrtle Beach is pursuing, Berrouet said staff should consider doing outreach to let Hispanic residents know they are wanted as Myrtle Beach employees.

That outreach could include partnering with local churches or a special event such as the Dia de los Meurtos festival at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, she said.

“The city could get a table there and tell people that they’re hiring and looking for bilingual employees,” Berrouet said.

She said with the growing Spanish-speaking population in Myrtle Beach and along the Grand Strand, having bilingual employees helps provide a bridge to the Hispanic customers they serve as residents.

“If the employee is someone who is bilingual it can bridge the gap between the community and the city, and it can also foster relationships,” she said. “The Hispanic community is a very loyal community. If there is someone who can attend to the customers in their native language, it goes a long way and they will always be loyal to that person or organization.”

Allegations of racial, gender discrimination

Myrtle Beach has been accused of discrimination more than once, recently by former city engineer Patrick Sadek, who was fired in November 2014.

Sadek, who is of Lebanese descent, alleged that city leadership discriminated against him.

“We believe he was wrongfully treated because of his descent, and also because of his age,” said Sadek’s attorney, Ashley C. Story with Columbia-based J. Lewis Cromer and Associates.

In 2009, 21-year veteran Myrtle Beach Police Department officer Brenda Christy filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging age and gender discrimination. She was 45 at the time.

The suit eventually was dismissed in 2012 in a summary judgment in favor of the city.

In the suit, Christy alleged that she was penalized for reporting that another female officer accused a male coworker of sexual harassment.

Neither Christy nor Sadek could be reached for comment.

Moving forward

Swans said he knows of a few young black men and women who have applied for jobs with the city of Myrtle Beach that he believes they are qualified for, but have not been hired.

“A lot of it is about relationships – who you know,” Swans said. “If there’s no relationship, then you have to make decisions based on your personal biases in the back of the mind. ... If most of the people who work for the city are white and the people who do the hiring are white, they’re going to hire the type of people they’re familiar with.

“I know young people that have applied for jobs with masters degrees and been told they’re overqualified,” he said. “You keep going to the door and knock and nobody answers. After several times it might open, but sometimes you get tired of knocking. Our young people are tired of knocking.”

Swans said he believes the city – and Pedersen – are on the right track by making a point to improve its diversity.

“John Pedersen is doing a good job with outreach, but it’s going to take the entire city to recognize that a diverse workplace is a strong workplace,” Swans said.

“But we need to address hidden biases,” he said. “Nobody walks in saying, ‘I’m not going to hire minorities.’ There are stereotypes about hairstyles and complexions and neighborhoods. But that could be solved with additional training that could help diminish biases.”

James said in the past he felt as though the city wasn’t interested in hiring minorities, but believes Pedersen is doing his best to improve things.

“The city, historically, has neglected minorities,” he said. “Whites have had a stronghold on gaining access to the city. Hopefully things are changing.”

Pedersen said the city will continue to find ways to recruit diverse job candidates – including through professional organizations, such as the National Forum for Black Public Administrators.

“The city has become an increasingly diverse community over time,” he said. “As we go forward our goal for all levels of this organization is to more closely mirror the demographics of our city.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach attempting to increase diversity among city staff."