Metro Council Funds Two Diversity Officer Positions After Vacancy

Metro Council’s Minority Caucus demand for Nashville to hire a chief diversity officer is a step closer to becoming a reality.

During last night’s city council meeting, councilmembers allocated $229,000 to fund two diversity officer positions in the city’s new budget.

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry had hired a chief diversity officer, but the position has been inconsistent ever since. Mayor David Briley restarted the position for a time in 2018.

“It is not going to be just the job of the diversity officer to bring diversity to Nashville, Tennessee. That is the job of every single person in the government,” Mayor John Cooper said in a June press conference. “The question is not one diversity officer, but how many?”

Cooper said the era of having a diversity officer “and thinking that you’re good” is over.

Major cities like Chicago and Boston use diversity positions to try to address the disparities that marginalized communities face.

A 2015 Metro Human Relations Commission report shows the number of Hispanic and Asian employees don’t match up to the number of people in those communities that could be hired. 

The commission also found that black Metro workers tended to earn less than $40,000, while their white peers’ salaries were more than $40,000.