• The average annual income for all people of color would increase by $15,548 or 48 percent with racial equity in income while the average annual income for Native Americans would increase by $21,157 or 76 percent.

• The majority of income gains created by eliminating racial gaps in income for all people of color would come from growth in wages but for Mixed/other workers, the majority of income gains would come from growth in employment. 

• GDP in 2020 would have increased by $2.9 trillion if we eliminated racial gaps in income.

• The percent gain in GDP with racial equity in income is highest in the District of Columbia at 53 percent, the next highest is California at 34 percent.

Historically, people of color were barred from educational opportunities that would allow them to obtain higher-paid employment, while occupations dominated by people of color (e.g., domestic and agricultural work), were excluded from minimum wage and overtime protections. Deindustrialization and cuts to the public sector in the late 20th century decimated unions and disproportionately hurt people of color who were first to be laid-off and pushed into a growing service sector. Today, hiring and pay discrimination against people of color is widespread even among candidates with equal education and the loss of worker protections has created wealth for top earners as wages have declined for the bottom half. Opportunities for racial inclusion exist in industries driving economic growth (e.g., tech), but to date, these industries have lacked the racial diversity reflective of the nation’s population.

• Raise the floor on low-wage work by increasing the minimum wage or enacting living-wage laws, requiring paid sick days, ending wage theft, strengthening workers’ rights to organize, and ensuring fair scheduling and equal pay.
• Dismantle barriers to employment such as conviction history questions on job applications, employer credit checks, and racial discrimination in hiring.
• Target economic development to grow good jobs and connect workers facing barriers to employment to these job opportunities.
• Increase transportation access to help jobseekers and low-wage workers connect to good jobs.
• Invest in education and workforce training pathways to help lower-wage workers connect to good jobs.
• Invest in universal pre-K (also known as universal preschool), for all three- and four-year-olds.
• Ensure entrepreneurs of color can access the capital and know-how to launch and expand their businesses.
• At the federal level, lower and/or eliminate tuition and for all higher education, guarantee workers’ right to organize at scale, enact a $15/hour minimum wage for all workers, reform the Community Reinvestment Act to expand access to fair financial products and services for entrepreneurs of color, and set aside a share of public contracts for businesses owned by people of color to mirror area demographics.

• Reports: Opportunity for Growth: How Reducing Barriers to Economic Inclusion can Benefit Workers, Firms, and Local Economies; Building Momentum: State Progress on Early Learning in 2019; The Top 10 Economic Facts of Diversity in the Workplace; The “Ripple Effect” of a Minimum Wage Increase on American Workers; The Equity Solution: Racial Inclusion Is Key to Growing a Strong New Economy; Gradually Raising the Minimum Wage
• Data: Living Wage Calculator; Metro Monitor