Jennifer Liberto, St. Petersburg Times
- Florida’s top elected female executive was adamant in a Cabinet meeting last month: The state should be more diligent about hiring minorities as parole commissioners because they make important decisions about a population over-represented by minorities.
No one disagreed. But Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and her fellow Cabinet officers aren’t setting the best example when it comes to diversity in hiring.
A St. Petersburg Times survey of the top staffers in the offices of Sink, Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson show less than 9 percent of their top staff are minorities. Women account for 43 percent, though they are concentrated in lower-paying posts.
