NAACP Looking into Hiring and Promotion of Black Employees at Pasadena City College

The Pasadena NAACP has announced it is investigating employment practices at Pasadena City College.

In a released statement, Allen Edson, president of the Pasadena NAACP, said the probe is “specifically related to black employees, and the hidden figures, black women.’’

“Hidden figures’’ is a name given to African American women who worked behind the scenes at a largely segregated NASA in the early days of the nation’s space program.

Edson said a report of the NAACP’s findings will reveal the data and experiences of current and former black employees who feel invisible related to hiring, as well as career pathways.

Both Edson and his predecessor, former NAACP President Del Yarbrough, have repeatedly been told by college officials that PCC was “looking into the matter,” yet no investigation was ever announced, according to the release.

“This fosters a negative assumption made to the detriment of black women because it doesn’t take years to ‘investigate’ nor see that PCC has a problem promoting black women,’’ Edson said. “Why are highly educated black women with extensive years of positive work experience stuck at lower paid entry-level positions?’’

Officials with the college said they had previously discussed the matter and welcomed another dialogue.

“I was glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues when I met with Mr. Edson in his office earlier this year,’’ said Dr. Erika Endrijonas, PCC superintendent/president. “In our fruitful conversation we talked extensively about topics of equity and fairness – particularly in the complex environment of state employment law – and I shared my own perspective on the inequalities that women face in the workplace. As a lifelong feminist and advocate for marginalized communities, I am intimately familiar with the struggles women must overcome to earn equal pay for equal work. I look forward to working with Mr. Edson to implement solutions – at PCC and throughout our community – that finally empower women to receive the fairness they deserve.”

According to Alex Boekelheide, PCC spokesperson, in the last 18 months, the college has appointed a new superintendent/president and two new vice presidents.

“The team in place now is aware of the perception of inequity at the college and is deeply committed to ensuring a level playing field,’’ Boekelheide said. “As we look toward our second century PCC has placed its central focus on equity – for our students and our employees.”

According to LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Co., which promote diversity in the workplace, black women ask for promotions and raises at about the same rates as white women. Yet, regardless of their occupation, level of education or years of experience, black women are still paid less than men, and are far less likely than others to be promoted in the workplace.

In California, black women average 61 cents to every dollar a white man makes.

“PCC has not arrived in the 21st century,’’ said Pasadena City Councilman John J. Kennedy.

“It has stuck with discriminatory employment practices that most of us assumed had ended long ago. The invidious discrimination at PCC is not limited to an isolated incident – it exists across the board – at an institution that is fundamentally important to our city and society. I am outraged to learn that such discrimination still exists in the hiring and promotion process at PCC. Supporting the leadership and call of the Pasadena branch of the National Association of Colored People, I have a reasonable belief that the new President of PCC, Dr. Erika Endrijonas, will take all steps necessary to remedy the situation post-haste.”

Edson invited leaders at the college to discuss the matter further with the NAACP, with the aim of increasing the representation of African Americans in positions at the college and achieving pay parity for all.

“The college has strived to have its workforce reflect the changing face of its student body, and it has made major strides in doing so,’’ said Boekelheide. “Five years ago, the college moved beyond providing legally mandated Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) training to offer comprehensive professional development on topics of cultural competency and unconscious bias. Today, every member of a PCC hiring committee comes to the process with an equity lens that is rooted in these core beliefs. The results are striking – over the past four years, 51 percent of PCC’s employee hires identify with minority backgrounds.”