Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDEI Comm. 05/04/2023Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Meeting Minutes /// May 4, 2023 1— resent: Mr. Kevin Dumas; Ms. Diana Bren; Lt. Frank Archer; Ms. Teresa Murphy; Ms. Vivian Webster; Mr. 3riRishi Atluri; Mr. DhruvJain; Mr. Ronald Greene; Ms. Beth Collins; Mr. Michael McCr a Kaplan; Mr. Peter Lally; Ms. Kate deLima and Mr. James Owens fffivrN CLERKS OFFICE Also Present: Mr. Earl Hinton and Ms. Jocelyn LeMaire 2023 OCl 2b A ql� 51-1 1. Call Meeting to Order HiANSFIELO Mr. Kevin Dumas, Town Manager called the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion meeting tb b dbC.h ilbl- TO ,Mwith fourteen members present. 2. Member Introductions Mr. Dumas introduced himself and then asked each person to introduce themselves. Each member introduced themselves and explained why they joined this committee or what interested them about the committee. Lastly, Mr. Dumas introduced Mr. Hinton the consultant that has been hired to work with the committee and lead this initiative. 3. Presentation of Socio-Economic Data Mr. Hinton gave a presentation to help the members of the committee understand the language and imagery of diversity, equity and inclusion through a common set of definitions. He noted that another objective of the meeting was to understand the importance of the role that staff and committee members have and how they can aid in supporting diversity, equity and inclusion and why it matters. He explained that diversity is the quantitative representation and relative size of different groups and provided a list of the aspects of diversity. r. Hinton then stated that Mansfield's population is 96 or 97 percent white. Mr. Hinton then explained that quity refers to the fair treatment of all people and equity ensures that municipal policies, practices and decisions are impartial and fair and provide outcomes that meet the needs of all individuals. While equality assumes that all people should be treated the same, equity takes into consideration a person's unique circumstances, adjusting treatment accordingly so that the end result is equal. He also provided a clear visual example of the difference between equality and equity. The image showed three people trying to view a game over a fence. In the first picture everyone was given one box to stand on and one of the three individuals still could not see over the fence. In the second image one person had no box, the second person had one box to stand on to see over the fence and the third person had two boxes to stand on which then allowed everyone to see over the fence to view the game. Mr. Hinton then opened the discussion up for any questions and comments from Committee members. Mr. Kaplan asked what the committee would be responsible for and was not sure if the committee would be educating the public or if they were providing information to the elected or appointed officials of the Town. Mr. Hinton responded that the next agenda item is to discuss the charge of the committee and it will help clarify the committee's role. 4. Committee Charge & Focus of Work Ms. Murphy also provided some information on the equity audit that was done at Mansfield Schools. Mr. Hinton stated that what the Schools did is best practice and doing an equity audit would be a very large task for this committee and would require a lot of resources. Mr. Hinton then showed a slide that summarized the charge of the committee and believed that the committee could start by reviewing the policies of the Town with the iversity lens or compile a survey for the community and then provide some recommendations based on the data. Mr. Hinton stated that the committee is not a human rights group or a regulatory or enforcement board and the role of the committee is not to change biases or values of residents and stay at the policy level. The other recommendation from Mr. Hinton was that the committee could educate and train by creating awareness about diversity and equity. Mr. McCreless stated that right now there is not a lot of diversity in the community and asked if that could change. Mr. Hinton responded that by becoming a more inclusive Town could bring more diversity. Ms. LeMaire stated that this was a great meeting and will move forward and starting the work. 3. Any Items Not Known within 48 Hours There were no items. 6. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting of May 4, 2023 at 7:0413M. (Bren/Murphy) Roll Call Vote: B. Collins - Yes D, Bren - Yes D. Jain —Yes F. Archer - Yes K. deLima - Yes J. Kaplan -Yes J. Owens - Yes M. McCreless -Yes P. Lally - Yes R. Greene - Yes S. Atluri - Yes T. Murphy -Yes V. Webster - Yes asses 13:0 Signature Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne /0 6L3 Date