The Roadmap for Racial Equity: An Imperative for Workforce Development Advocates

The ethnic and racial diversity of the residents of the United States of America is one of the country's unique strengths; however, Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Native, and certain Asian American workers face wide racial inequities in educational attainment, employment, and income. Additional workforce policies are needed now to counter decades of intentional, structurally racist policies and advance racial equity in educational attainment, employment, and income. As long as these disparities exist, the country is undercutting its own economic competitiveness. Racial workforce diversity is a key driver of America's economic growth as it is one of the most important predictors of business sales revenue, customer numbers, and profitability. This report builds the case for creating a racially inclusive workforce and recommends both state and federal workforce development policies that advance racial equity. It recognizes that the challenges faced by people of color with deep generational roots in the United States and the challenges faced by immigrants sometimes differ; however, the policy agenda included here aims to address inequities for people of color from both immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds. This report also acknowledges that workforce training and education is a crucial component, "but not the sole answer," to addressing the vast employment, income, and wealth inequities between people of color and White Americans in the U.S. This report outlines a list of initial ideas to counter structural racism by proactively advancing racial equity in postsecondary education, training, and employment. [Michael Richardson and Brooke DeRenzis contributed to this report.]