Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

It is expected that over time Washington County will become more and more diverse.  People of color made up almost 10% of our county’s population in 2010.  By 2035, it is anticipated that this number will increase to more than 22%. 

As a government agency, we are required to provide our services to all individuals regardless of their culture or race.  As our county demographics change, we must adapt our services to be more culturally responsive.

Residents of our county generally do not have any other options to access the services that our county provides.  We are required by law to make sure that our services are delivered equitably.

Our ability to provide culturally relevant services and understand multiple cultural influences improves when the diversity of our workforce reflects the diversity of our community.

Washington County’s leadership team has an even greater disparity with 97% of supervisors and above being white. People of color make up at least 10% of our community, and more than 8% of our workforce overall, but only 3% of our leadership team.

Washington County desires and values a diverse workforce as it brings a multitude of advantages. The countywide Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Taskforce was created, in part, to work toward the goal of attracting and retaining staff of color. This taskforce has identified some of the advantages for diversifying, including that it will:

• Provide more access to talent
• Increase our ability to communicate with and serve our community
• Foster creativity and innovation
• Reduce attrition and maximize retention
• Enhance workplace recruitment
• Inspire employees to perform to their highest ability