As written in statute, Cradle-to-Career’s (C2C) Governing Board is intended to reflect California’s cultural, racial, geographical, economic, and social diversity. It is important that C2C’s Boards represent not only the key stakeholders of the California Cradle-to-Career Data System but also the wide range of Californians that we are charged with serving.
In 2022, the Office received a request seeking the demographic information of C2C’s leadership, and following approval from its Governing Board, the Office facilitated the collection of Governing Board demographic information via an anonymous survey, with responses aggregated for purposes of equity and transparency and posted to the Cradle-to-Career website.
The Office committed to conducting a demographic survey annually, and at the Fall 2023 meetings of C2C’s Community Engagement and Data and Tools Advisory Boards, members agreed to expand the survey’s scope to include C2C’s Advisory Boards for 2024.
The 2024 survey was issued on February 9th, and the Office received a:
- 95% response rate from C2C’s Governing Board, which also accounts for a vacancy on the board,
- a 100% response rate from the Data and Tools Advisory Board, with
- an 88% response rate from the Community Engagement Advisory Board.
2024 Survey Results
The 2024 survey asked about race/ethnicity and gender, with an option to share more information about lived experiences that may reflect those of Californians.
Governing Board
This year, Governing Board members were asked to self-report on race/ethnicity and gender, and ten respondents identified as female and nine as male.
In terms of breakdown by race and ethnicity, four members identified as Asian/Asian American, one member identified as Black or African American, and three identified as Latina/Latino, including Mexican and Mexican American. One member identified as multiracial/multiethnic, including Black and Korean, and seven members identified as White or Caucasian, with three declining to state.
Members were asked to volunteer information about their lived experiences in 2024, as C2C’s boards represent the key stakeholders of the data system and the wide range of Californians that Cradle-to-Career is charged with serving.
This year, twelve members of the Governing Board identified as first-generation college students, with six members sharing that they came from a low-income background. Four respondents identified as immigrants, and six identified as bilingual, while five members didn’t identify as any of the named categories. We also asked members to share additional information about their lived experiences, and members shared that they were refugees or a woman in STEM. Members also identified as first-generation born to immigrant parents, with one member sharing that they were a single parent during their undergraduate college experience.
Data and Tools Advisory Board
Data and Tools Advisory Board members self-reported race/ethnicity and gender, and this year, ten respondents identified as female, five as male, and one declined to state.
In terms of breakdown by race and ethnicity, three members identified as Asian or Asian American, two as Black or African American, one member identified as Latina, one member identified as multiracial/multiethnic, and nine members identified as White or Caucasian, including White Ashkenazi and White Jewish.
In 2024, half of the Data and Tools Advisory Board identified as first-generation college students, and half also shared that they came from a low-income background. Two respondents identified as immigrants, and two as bilingual, while five members didn’t identify as any of the named categories. We also asked members to share additional information about their lived experiences, and some members shared that they were children of refugees, children of teen parents, and that they lived with a disability.
Community Engagement Advisory Board
Community Engagement Advisory Board members self-reported race/ethnicity and gender; this year, nine respondents identified as female, and five as male.
In terms of breakdown by race and ethnicity, three members identified as Asian, including Asian American, Japanese American, and Chinese Mexican. Five members identified as Latina/o including Hispanic and Indigenous Mexican. One member identified as Middle Eastern, one member identified as multiracial/multiethnic, including Black and Filipina, and four members identified as White or Caucasian.
In 2024, eleven Community Engagement Advisory Board members identified as first-generation college students, with ten sharing that they came from a low-income background. Five respondents identified as immigrants, and ten identified as bilingual, while one member did not identify with any of the named categories. We also asked members to share additional information about their lived experiences, and some members shared that they were children of parents in foster care, while others shared they were from a migrant background, a first generation professional, from an inner city, or that they are living with a disability.
A note on the data: All responses were self-reported with no predetermined categories. This year’s responses do not include individuals who are non-binary/non-conforming or transgender, or Native American/Indigenous with no members identifying as such, but that information may be captured in the future.