Reading between the lines of census data

Suppose your business is working in a specific geographic area with a minority population of, say, 30 percent.

The decision is made to hire so that the company mirrors the geographic area -- roughly 30 percent of the employees to come from the minority group.

Well meant, certainly, but realistic? Employers need to consider more than straight statistics when developing a diversity plan for their company, according to a workshop last week at Truckee Meadows Community College's Technical Institute, Edison Campus.

At the workshop, Jeff Hardcastle, Nevada state demographer, addressed employees from companies and organizations as varied as Citifare, R.R.

Donnelley and Northern Nevada Literacy Council among others.

Donna Clontz, police auditor working for the city of Reno, for example, was there to research racial profiling.

Hardcastle focused on how to develop realistic, measurable diversity action plans.

For one, he said, the plan needs to take into account the legal status of the target group.

Some members, for instance, may not be legally able to work.

Another consideration is the average educational level of potential employees.

Do they have the necessary skills for the job, or will they need additional training? As an example, Hardcastle said, assume a minority population targeted by an employer comprises a total of 100 people.

Census information considers workforce census from age 15, but the employer requires workers over 21 with a high school diploma or higher.

Either requirement is a cut off.

In the given group, data may show the individuals over 21 to be 90 percent of the group.

The next requirement reduces the pool of potential employees because those members with better than high school education drops the target number to 45.

That's still a large pool of potential employees, and a percentage of that group is a workable diversity action plan.

The workshop demonstrated how to find accurate statistics on the Nevada workforce and what those statistics mean to employers.

Census information from 2000 and 1990 were compared with a detailed explanation of the Census Bureau's Web site, www.census.

gov, where demographic information is broken down by population, race, ethnicity, age, gender and housing, with reference maps and data by geographical location.

The Census Bureau can even structure data as it already does for Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation and other agencies.

Hardcastle also mentioned a new data collection program, American Communities Survey, which will eventually offer sample data on education, income, property and characteristics including age, race, and ethnicity.

For more information on Northern Nevada Diversity Networking Council workshops, contact 673-7105.