CITY OF SANTA ROSA
2023 Report of Diversity of City Council Appointees
Section 11 of the City of Santa Rosa’s Charter requires an annual report on the diversity of Council appointments for boards, commissions, and committees. Additionally, Section 11 states, “The report shall contain, but is not limited to, the total number of appointments in a given year, the total number of applications in a given year, and relevant diversity information including geographic and ethnic diversity.
Further, the report will evaluate the progress and success of increasing the diversity of appointments.”
In addition to the specified requirements, this report includes data on gender diversity1 and at the recommendation of the City Council, includes data on age range of appointees, and gender and ethnicity of appointees by City Council district and by appointing authority. Also provided, beginning with the 2022 report, is a snapshot of diversity information for board appointments as of the reporting date.
The table below lists the bodies included in the report with the overview of applications received in 2023 and appointments made in 2023.
2023 Boards, Commissions, Committees Applications
Received
Appointments
Made
Art in Public Places (APPC) 4 6
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Board (BPAB) 9 7
Board of Building Regulation Appeals (BOBRA) 3 3
Board of Community Services (BOCS) 4 3
Board of Public Utilities (BPU) 7 5
Community Advisory Board (CAB) 13 9
Cultural Heritage Board (CHB) 6 4
Design Review Board (DRB) 6 5
Housing Authority 15 5
Measure "O" Oversight Committee (Mea O) 1 2
Personnel Board 1 2
Planning Commission (PC) 6 3
Waterways Advisory Committee (WAC) 4 0
Total 79 54
Applicants may submit multiple applications, therefore applications received may be higher than applicants.
Total applications received (79), Total unique applicants (57).
The demographics of applications received (“Applicants”) and appointments made (“Appointees”) for Board, Commission, and Committee members (“Appointees”) are from within the calendar year of 2023. The information provided is based on self-reports:
• 100% of Applicants (57 out of 57) reported gender information. • 96% of Applicants (55 out of 57) reported race/ethnicity information. • 96% of Applicants (55 out of 57) reported age range information. • 100% of Applicants (57 out of 57) provided address that could be mapped (e.g., not a P.O. Box).
1 Gender options include Male, Female, Non-Binary/Third Gender, Prefer to self-describe, or Prefer not to Answer.
Gender of Applicants by Board (79)
Gender of Appointees by Board (54)
Gender of Appointees by District (54) Gender of Appointees by Appointing Authority (54)
The following tables and graphs show trends in gender diversity from 2014 to 2023 (based on self-reports).
Please note that data was gathered manually from 2014 through 2017 and data collected from 2018 to the present was collected through the Granicus Boards and Commissions on-line application portal.
GENDER INFORMATION
Year Gender of Applicants Over Time
Male Female *NB/TG **Prefer Total Unique
Applicants
2014 54% 46% 48
2015 43% 58% 40
2016 44% 56% 45
2017 48% 52% 63
2018 62% 33% 6% 52
2019 29% 65% 5% 55
2020 54% 41% 5% 39
2021 50% 46% 1% 2% 84
2022 59% 35% 7% 46
2023 54% 42% 2% 57
*Non-binary/Third Gender **Prefer to Self-Describe/Prefer Not to Answer/No Response
Year Gender of Appointee Over Time
Male Female *NB/TG **Prefer
Total
Unique
Applicants
2018 64% 32% 5% 22
2019 40% 53% 7% 55
2020 79% 21% 0% 14
2021 58% 39% 2% 2% 59
2022 73% 23% 0% 4% 26
2023 54% 46% 0% 0% 54
Gender Diversity Progress Summary
No benchmarks or success factors were identified in Section 11 of the Charter or set by previous Councils.
The 5-year average (2019-2023) of applicant pool was 50% male, 46% female, 1% Non-Binary/Third Gender, and 4% Prefer to Self-Describe/Prefer Not to Answer/No
Response.
The 5-year average of appointments were 61% male, 37%
female, 1% Non-Binary/Third Gender, and 3% Prefer to
Self-Describe/Prefer Not to Answer/No Response.
As shown in the “Active Board Member-Gender” table on
the right, there has been a 1% increase in female board, commission, or committee members from August 2023 to
March 2024, and an increase in the number of appointees who are not reporting or prefer not to state their gender.
Census data shows female persons make up 51.2% of the population in Santa Rosa.2
2 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/dashboard/santarosacitycalifornia/PST045222
Ethnicity of Applicants by Board (79)
Ethnicity of Appointees by Board (54)
ETHNICITY INFORMATION
Ethnicity of Appointees by District (54) Ethnicity of Appointees by Appointing Authority (54)
The following tables and graphs show trends in ethnic diversity from 2014 to 2023 (based on self-reports).
Please note that data was gathered manually from 2014 through 2017 and data collected from 2018 to the present was collected through the Granicus Boards and Commissions on-line application portal.
Year Ethnicity of Appointees Over Time
W H B A/PI AI/AN O/M N/A Total
2018 76% 10% 10% 0% 0% 5% 0% 21
2019 69% 10% 4% 2% 2% 4% 10% 52
2020 71% 7% 14% 0% 0% 7% 0% 14
2021 59% 7% 9% 5% 2% 10% 9% 58
2022 76% 4% 16% 4% 0% 0% 0% 25
2023 54% 21% 10% 4% 2% 4% 6% 52
222
Ethnicity Diversity Progress Summary
No benchmarks or success factors were identified in Section 11 of the Charter or set by previous Councils.
The trend chart labeled “% Ethnicity of Applicants Overtime” on page 5, indicates a modest shift towards a more diverse applicant pool, with the
percentage of Caucasian applicants
going down over time, as there is a
significant increase in Hispanic
applicants, and a modest increase in
applicants in the remaining ethnicity
categories. The table labeled “%
Ethnicity by Appointees Over Time”
indicates more diverse appointees by
ethnicity in the calendar year 2023. The table labeled “Active Board Member- Race/Ethnicity” above, is a moment in time capture, shows an increase in the Prefer Not to Say category, a decrease in Caucasian and
American Indian/Alaskan Native Aleutian categories, with no notable change in remaining ethnicity categories from August 2023 to March 2024.
The below table compares 2022 Census data against 2023 appointees and active board member composition3.
3-year
Average of
Applicants
2022 Census Ethnicity
Data
2023
Appointees
Active Board
Member
Composition
Caucasian/Non-Hispanic 65% 60.1% 54% 59%
Hispanic 9% 34% 20% 14%
Black or African American
Alone
7% 1.8% 11% 7%
API 4% Asian Alone =6.2%
Other Pacific Islander
at .4%
4% 4%
American Indian/Alaskan
Native Aleutian
2% 1.1% 2% 2%
Other/Multi-Racial 9% 11% 4% 4%
Prefer not to say or no
response
5%
5% 9%
3 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/dashboard/santarosacitycalifornia/PST045222
Geographics of Applicants by Board (57)
Geographics of Appointees by Board (54)
The following tables and graphs show trends in gender diversity from 2014 to 2023 (based on self-reports).
Please note that data was gathered manually from 2014 through 2017 and data collected from 2018 to the present was collected through the Granicus Boards and Commissions on-line application portal.
GEOGRAPHICS INFORMATION
Geographic Diversity Progress Summary
No benchmarks or success factors were identified in Section 11 of the Charter or set by previous Councils.
The trend chart on p. 8 labeled “% Geographics of Applicants Over Time” indicates a significant diversification of the applicant pool starting in 2019. This point aligns with the shift to District-based Council.
The above trend chart labeled “% Geographics of Appointments Over Time” shows there has been a shift in more diverse appointments based on geographics from across all CAB districts as required in the Charter, and a lesser concentration of appointments from the Northeast CAB district.
Geographic Location within City of Santa Rosa based on CAB map:
Age Diversity Progress Summary
2023 was the first full year of capturing age data
therefore this sets a benchmark for future reports on
efforts to diversify appointments based on age.
As shown in the “Active Board Member- Age Ranges”
table on the right, there has been an increase in the
self-reports on age data overall, and incremental
change in age diversity across all age categories
defined and captured in the moment in time counts in
August 2023 and March 2024.
AGE INFORMATION
The following tables are a snapshot of board appointments as of the reporting date (based on self-reports) and will continue for each reporting year to reflect trends in appointment diversity. Each Council Member is responsible for ten board appointments with twenty-five board appointments for the Full Council.
ACTIVE BOARD MEMBER SNAPSHOT
Recruitment Efforts
Historically, recruitment efforts have included advertisements in the Press Democrat and LaVoz, announcements on our social media pages, and in the City Connections newsletter.
The City Clerk’s Office has increased recruitment efforts over the past year since last report date of August 2023 to include posting and distribution of a recruitment flyer at multiple city-owned locations and at Town Hall meetings. Additionally, the flyer is e-mailed to a group of over forty-five community partners including Sonoma State, SRJC, our local libraries, senior centers, and other community groups. If a new community partner is interested in receiving the flyers or bulletins, they can make the request on the City Website at:
https://www.srcity.org/180/Boards-Commissions-and-Committees.
Future recruitment efforts being considered include advertisement in bi-annual Park and Recreation’s Activity Guide, and recruitment booths at community events. In the fall of 2024, the City Clerk’s Office will also host a
Boards, Commissions, and Committees Outreach/Informational meeting to aid with recruitment and build applicant pool.