Is the park district too white?
If you work at the Hamilton County Park District, statistically speaking, there’s a good chance you’re white.
Only 5 percent of the park district’s 1,217 employees are minorities, according to employment figures obtained by the Enquirer. The district defines minorities as African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans.
Employment numbers:
Total number of employees(2007): 1,217.
Total number of minority employees: 62.
But that doesn’t mean the district isn’t trying.
“Over the past few years, emphasis has been placed on minority recruiting to increase diversity in the park district’s staff,” the district stated in its 2006 recruitment report.
The district reported receiving 3 percent more applications from minorities in 2006 than it did in 2005, it said.
Recruitment efforts include:
- Newspaper ads in The Cincinnati Herald, The Downtowner, Queen City Jobs Diversity Issue, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Job News and The Employment Guide
- Online postings at Careerbuilder.com and Greatparks.org
- Radio Ads on WIZF-FM (Wiz 101.1)and WDBZ-AM (1230 the Buzz)
- Attending Local Job Fairs, including: Green Township Library, Delhi Library, Westwood Library, Jobs for Cincinnati Grads, Princeton High School, Cincinnati Arts and Technology Center, Mayor’s Job Fair
- Contact with over 100 local Minority based Churches, Schools and Community Groups.
- Hamilton County Park District Employment Open House
Recruitment numbers:
The number of minority applicants increased from 9 percent in 2001 to 19 percent in 2006. The number of minorities being hired increased from 5 percent to 9 percent during that same time period.
Note: applicants are asked, but are not required to disclose race on their applications.
Here are some specifics.
Is there more to this story? How is minority recruitment elsewhere in county government? Tell us about it. E-mail jlbrown@enquirer.com
7 Comments:
at 10:16 PM, August 22, 2007 
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at 12:21 AM, August 23, 2007 
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at 8:33 PM, August 23, 2007 
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at 8:34 PM, August 23, 2007 
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at 3:14 PM, August 24, 2007 
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at 4:22 AM, August 26, 2007 
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at 7:46 PM, August 27, 2007 
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Post a Comment*The park district has a hidden agenda. They call blacks, canadians, but, the meassage is clear. They call democrats, one of them. They fire those whom attempt to hire minorities. There is a hidden message: Minorities need not apply. Why don't you do an examination on how many blacks were hired from those bussed into winton center on job fare day. They had the opportunity to hire minorities and made certain they did not.
Jessica - very interesting observation.
I think that these positions should be offered to some of our ex-cons - it is a perfect opportunity to give them real jobs, a taste of integrity, good pay and benefits without presenting a threat to safety, etc. that is the obstacle in getting them any employment.
Really - I'm not kidding.
Go to the jail and start interviewing Park District - it would serve this community in more than one way
Does the park do competitive civil service exams? Anyone know?
Most jobs across the county used to be given these civil service exams but when Republicans took control they eliminated the independent assessment of knowledge and skills and replaced it with an "interview panel" that makes the hiring process unmeasurable, purely subjective and allows, in fact, promotes nepotism and favoritism evident inthe poor quality of public servants now in service.
I'd love to see real civil service testing re-instituted.
I remember sitting outside the court house one day - talking to a young gentlemen who said he worked for the clerk's office. He mentioned he was from upstate somewhere and said he moved down here when he got the job.
Joe Deters was his uncle.
He was white, male, and connected.
It's not white enough for Jeff Berding and Leslie Ghiz.
I find the concept of trying to artifically inflate the numbers of blacks and other minority races in jobs to be completely retarded. Life is not so simple.
For argument's sake let's say that blacks make up 38% of the county population, does this mean that there will be a park force (or any other) composed at that aforementioned 38%? or more importantly that it should be that way?
Shall we factor in that blacks as a race account for much more crime than their 38% of population? We could say, and not unfairly so, that many blacks do not have the proper qualifications for many job positions since they have criminal histories, and more to the point have no desire to do an honest job since crime is the career choice of so many of them.
There are many factors that go into what actually forms any work force. Some of these factors for employees and/or potential employees include location of home, availability of transportation, level of education, past work experience, as well as personal preferences for type of jobs worked and careers pursued. Differences in these factors leads people in different career directions as logical and natural consequences of those differences.
I could not help but notice that none of the minority whiners here complained that blacks and other minorities account for something along the lines of 80% of professional basketball players and 70% of professional football players. Obviously those minority players in these particular endeavors have put their efforts into attaining those positions and oddly enough have not applied to work at Hamilton County's parks or any others I'm sure.
My suggestion for an interesting change of pace would be to allow people to make up their own minds about what work they want to do and then have them try and to do it without creating unnecessary, unnatural, and what would be under any other circumstances illegal behavior, by forcing any employer to have more or less of any race. True diversity will take care of itself.
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"...many blacks do not have the proper qualifications for many job positions since they have criminal histories, and more to the point have no desire to do an honest job since crime is the career choice of so many of them....."
That's right !
Harass the community and lock them up on trumped-up charges then the criminals will never get a job !
We see that malowry, cupito, and the park personnel manager have been talking again !
What is the political affiliation of the park board ?
PATHETIC !
HAD ENOUGH, FIRE JACK !
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