Latinos still largely underrepresented in appointments, according to report

The percentage of Latinos and Latinas appointed to gubernatorial boards and commissions is still critically low, according to a report released Monday by a Latina nonprofit organization.

In response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of SB 702, which called for increased transparency in the demographics of gubernatorial appointments, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) released an analysis of appointees made publicly available. 

According to the report, Latinos make up 17.29% of gubernatorial appointments, with a gender breakdown of 8.5% Latino men and 9% of Latina women.  

The goal of the report is to “cement the values of diversity and inclusivity,” said HOPE executive director and CEO Helen Torres in a virtual meeting. 

The report states “the rich diversity of California’s population is not reflected in the demographic makeup of board Members and commissioners appointed in 2023.”

Last year, Newsom approved a similar law, SB 54, to mandate diversity reporting for venture capital firms. The governor stated in his current veto response that because the demographic information provided is optional, "the report required by this bill would not necessarily accurately reflect the diversity of appointees."

The HOPE report states that Illinois enacted a similar law in 2015 and the L.A. County Board of supervisors has also adopted a motion modeled after SB 702. 

State Senator Monique Limón, a Democrat from Santa Barbara said she will continue to push for SB 702 to increase transparency and “keeping that practice in place.”

The proposed law calls for mandating a public report of the "voluntarily self-reported ethnicity, gender, disability status, region, party affiliation, and veteran status of the appointed individual."