State of the System - Equity

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Equity

Transportation decisions have unequally impacted some communities and populations. This has contributed to reduced access, higher safety risks, and other disparities. These decisions have also affected neighborhoods, economic development, and air quality for generations. We are working to address current transportation inequalities. That means making investments to address these issues and giving users a say in decisions that affect them, especially groups that have been historically underserved and excluded from the process.

Tools like the Social Equity Index Map help us integrate equity into our investment decisions

The Social Equity Index Map identifies concentrations of overlapping vulnerable populations, shown in the bullet list below. The map is used to help prioritize investments and benefits to high disparity communities.

Age 65 and older.
Live in poverty.
Have limited English proficiency.
Have a disability.

The map also identifies people's Race/Ethnicity (non-white and Hispanic populations).

The Social Equity Index Map shows areas where social vulnerability factors overlap, indicating potential levels of inequity.

Putting this information together gives us a better understanding of communities that have been historically marginalized and how our work impacts these populations. For example:

The Safe Routes to School Education and Construction programs are using the map to score how proposed projects address transportation disparities.

The Oregon Community Paths Program uses the map to identify areas where multiuse paths are needed the most.

We're creating new, inclusive ways to hear from more people in the communities we serve

We're reviewing our internal policies to ensure they foster equitable community outcomes.
The Equitable Engagement Compensation Program pays people in Oregon who provide feedback about ODOT projects or initiatives.
Community Engagement Contracts (CEC) build capacity with Community Based Organizations to serve as prime contractors for community engagement services.

Expanding our workforce diversity to reflect the communities we serve across Oregon

Diversifying how we look, listen and act helps us to be more culturally responsive and helps us achieve equitable outcomes.

2023 ODOT Workforce Compared to Oregon 2022 Census

A table comparing ODOT workforce population in 2023 to the Oregon population in 2022. ODOT Employees identifying as white represent 80.6% of the workforce compared to Oregon’s population of 73.5%. Female employees, 37.7% compared to 50.1%, Male employees, 62.4% compared to 49.9%, Hispanic employees 6.7%, compared to 14.4%, people with disabilities, 3.8% compared to 10.6%, Asian employees, 3.4% compared to 5.1%, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, or those identifying as 2 or more races, 4.1% compared to 4.8%, Black, African American, 2.3% compared to 1.1%, and American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.9% compared to 1.8%.

Source: US Census Data, ODOT Workforce Choice Index

We are expanding workforce development efforts

Women and people of color face unique challenges to entering the construction industry. Financial barriers are a factor for many communities, too. We have partnered with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries to add more diversity in hiring, increase apprenticeship numbers and provide resources for training.

Services includes:

Classes to prepare workers for apprenticeship.
Resources to pay for childcare and travel costs.
Training for respectful and inclusive workplaces.
We also work with the Oregon Department of Corrections to train adults who are incarcerated. Two of our DMV customer assistance call centers are staffed by adults in custody who receive extensive training as phone agents.
We are also testing a program that certifies female inmates as equipment operators or laborers. After their release from prison, they can use these certifications to directly transition into our highway appenticeships and workforce. So far, the new program has proven popular:

Application numbers are 5 times what we can accept for each cohort.

A column chart showing the amount of new journey workers that received ODOT services as apprentices. Between 2013 and 2014, 109 people received services. Between 2021 and 2022, 205 people received services

Source: ODOT Office of Equity and Civil Rights, BOLI

We are committed to increasing contracting opportunities for DBEs

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) are businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. ODOT offers supportive services like professional training, mentoring, and consulting services which help develop a firm’s ability to perform successfully on ODOT contracts. While we are making progress, there is still work to do to reduce or eliminate barriers and we are commited to ensuring DBEs are successful in doing business with us.

From 2021 to 2023:

$240 million awarded to disadvantage business enterprises

This represents 12.87% of contracting funds awarded overall to prime and subcontractors.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises - Key Performance Measure

A pie chart showing the percent of construction contract awards to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises by primary owner ethnicity between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023. Businesses owned by white women received 23.63%. Businesses whose owners are Hispanic received 18.83%, businesses whose owners are Asian Pacific received 12.84%, businesses whose owners are Native American received 12.23%, businesses whose owners are African American received 11.44%, businesses whose owners identified as subcontinent Asian received 3.7%, others received 17.34%.

Source: ODOT Office of Equity and Civil Rights

Visit our Equity and Civil Rights websites to learn more

To submit a question or comment:

Ask ODOT button - Click to visit the Ask ODOT form

Strategic Action Plan Progress Report

Improve Equitable Outcomes

2024-2028 Strategic Actions

Annual - Utilize local community census data to better understand where to invest in recruitment outreach that better aligns our workforce with the communities our positions serve.

2024 - Expand programs to inform and engage historically underutilized businesses to increase contracting opportunities with ODOT.

2025 - Implement Equity Engagement Toolkit on ODOT projects and programs to ensure Oregonians influence agency decisions and local communities are involved in infrastructure development.

2026 - Create and build upon current workforce development, employee engagement, and belonging efforts to enhance workforce diversity, remove barriers to employment for underrepresented populations and retain employees.

2026 - Secure three statewide Community Engagement Contracts (CEC) to build capacity with Community Based Organizations to serve as prime contractors for community engagement services now and in the future.

2026 - Apply an equity lens to ODOT investment decisions, increasing more equitable outcomes.

2028 - Establish, review and update policies that have an impact on the communities that we serve and those doing business with ODOT to ensure equitable outcomes.

2024 Efforts Underway

Strategic Action Plan

Evaluating equity outcomes in state construction projects to inform investment decisions.
Reducing contracting burdens for Oregon BIPOCS-,Tribal-,and women owned businesses.
Improving data collection and building a data metric for tracking equitable community engagement on ODOT programs and projects that make it to construction
Developing framework and updating approach for policy reviews.

Other Ongoing Efforts

Using data and maps of crashes, social equity indices, multimodal networks, and environmental risks to prioritze investments and solutions.
Establishing equity targets for the Oregon Transporation Plan by mid-2025.
Evaluating and improving aspirational contracting goals for Oregon BIPOC-, Tribal-, and women-owned businesses.
Using census data to inform the recruitment outreach and advertising plans for agency job openings.
Using the Labor Equity program to invest in the labor needs of the heavy highway construction industry and building a diverse workforce.
Embedding equity and removing exclusionary language in position descriptions.