February Newsletter: News & Resources
Ted Talk: Racism Has a Cost for Everyone
The sum of us. Racism makes our economy worse -- and not just in ways that harm people of color, says public policy expert Heather C. McGhee. From her research and travels across the US, McGhee shares startling insights into how racism fuels bad policymaking and drains our economic potential -- and offers a crucial rethink on what we can do to create a more prosperous nation for all. "Our fates are linked," she says. "It costs us so much to remain divided."
The Equity Imperative : Ensuring Equal Access to Economic Opportunity
United Nations Development Programme, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and the Centre for Public Impact hosts "The Equity Imperative: Building Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Systems."
Executive Order
On October 2021 an Executive Order was released as The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. The Initiative shall advance educational equity and economic opportunity for Black students, families, and communities by focusing on policy goals.
Report: Spurring Economic Opportunity to Improve Health and Equity through COVID-19
The health and financial impacts of COVID-19 have exacerbated longstanding barriers to health and employment. Communities of color have been particularly hard hit, threatening to widen existing health and economic disparities. Cities across the US are advancing innovative approaches to job creation, employment, and economic opportunity through their COVID-19 recovery initiatives. Given the relationship between employment and health, these strategies may also help improve health outcomes and advance long-term economic mobility. As many city budgets have been hit hard by COVID-19, strategies that focus on existing city resources and strengths are key. Promising approaches include intergovernmental collaborations; partnerships with anchor institutions; programs to support social enterprises, small businesses, and entrepreneurs; and initiatives to boost tech access and adoption for residents and businesses.
Equity is Essential to Economic Opportunity
When my parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s, they had high hopes and believed in the American dream: If you worked hard, your children would do better than you had. Today that optimism has faded, as the nature of opportunity has changed dramatically over the past four decades. For the first time since World War II, children in the U.S. have only a 50% chance of earning more than their parents, according to data from research group Opportunity Insights.
Creating Opportunities for Communities of Color through Entrepreneurship
Poverty stands in the way of far too many children in the United States, particularly kids of color. Their families lack the assets—emergency savings or homeownership, for example—to help weather unexpected expenses or life changes, or to pave the way for greater stability and success for the next generation.
This is a big problem, not just for these children and families, but also for the entire nation, as children of color—who disproportionately contend with poverty and other obstacles—will soon represent the majority of kids in the United States. That means more than half of America’s young people may not have the chance they deserve to realize their full potential.