Sideya Sherman’s Vision For A More Just New York City

When Sideya Sherman entered city government over a decade ago, her mission was clear: center communities that have historically been left behind. Today, as New York City’s Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, she’s doing exactly that.

“You don’t get a lot of opportunities to build things from scratch, especially in government,” Sideya said. “I’m fortunate in the sense that almost every role I’ve had in city government has been building something new.”

Appointed under the Adams administration, Sideya leads an agency tasked with incorporating equity across every department in city government. From fiscal systems and hiring practices to public programs and services, her office is building out long-term structural reforms to ensure fairness across race, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities.

Sideya’s professional path wasn’t always focused on public service. She began her career in fashion before pivoting to urban studies in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on The World Trade Center buildings. That shift led to work in neighborhood revitalization and small business support for under-resourced communities. She then transitioned into city government, spending more than 10 years at the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA), where she focused on public housing residents’ access to opportunity.

While at NYCHA, she was selected by former Mayor de Blasio to lead the Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity in response to the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. She said that experience laid the groundwork for her current role.

Her office is now responsible for several major equity-driven initiatives, including the city’s first-ever racial equity plan.

“We’ve been working with every single city agency to focus on how we allocate our resources, how we do business, how we staff and manage our organizations, how we design policies, and how we design programs to really make sure that we’re rooting out systemic inequities,” Sideya said.

Another key initiative is a new “true cost of living” measure, mandated by New York voters. The data from this initiative will inform affordability efforts across agencies.

“It really is a measure of what it costs to live in New York City with dignity,” she said.

Sideya’s work is also focused on creating equity-focused programming opportunities. The office recently launched NYC Her Future, a new initiative designed to uplift young women and girls of color across New York City through “learn and earn” opportunities that provide them access to non-traditional employment opportunities.

Sideya said she knows this work doesn’t come without resistance. As a Black woman leading equity efforts in an increasingly divided national landscape, she said she is aware of the scrutiny equity offices face.

“I recognize that I’m able to do this work because of people who did this type of work before me,” she said. “Equity is, in my opinion, essential to our American values. This is a country that’s founded on the belief of one many, and that diversity is really inherent to what being an American is.”

She said she believes some of the pushback seen nationally is a direct response to progress.

“I think that some of the challenges or the pushback that we’ve seen to diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives are, in part, a result of their success,” she said.

For other women hoping to enter this work, Sideya’s advice is to start with clarity and institutional support.

“It is inherently disruptive,” she said. “It can sometimes feel isolating, unless you’re positioned in the organization or the institution appropriately to do that work.”

In the long term, Sideya is focused on impact and sustainability, and is thinking about the foundation she’s laying for the next generation of leadership.

“I’m constantly keeping an eye to what will be helpful to the commissioner 10 years from now, or 20 years from now,” she said.

Her office is also advancing reproductive justice, from hosting forums on Black maternal mortality to rolling out a citywide “Know Your Period” guide in schools. They are also working on reestablishing a task force on sexual health education.

It’s a lot of work, but Sideya said she draws energy from her team and fellow New Yorkers.

“Many of the opportunities that I have and I’ve benefited from were results of my family really just sort of hustling to figure out how to connect me to resources,” she said. “It shouldn’t be that hard.”