Essential Questions for Employment: Support Networks that Build Social Capital

Employee perception of mentorship and its contribution to upward mobility. For instance, the Harvard Business School’s “Upward Mobility Survey of Low-Wage Workers in the U.S.” (2020) asked respondents to report on the biggest contributors to their upward mobility. Responses included, “I had a role model or mentor at work,” “I had someone at work to turn to for advice about how to move up,” “I had someone at work who I trust I had a sense of belonging at work,” “I had someone at work who cares about my advancement” (Harvard Business School, Building from the Bottom Up).

Employee perception of the lack of mentorship opportunities at work. For instance, the Harvard Business School’s “Upward Mobility Survey of Low-Wage Workers in the U.S.” (2020) asked respondents to report on the biggest barriers to their upward mobility. Responses included, “I do not have a role model or mentor at work,” “I don’t have anyone at work to turn to for advice about how to move up,” “I don’t have anyone at work who I trust,” “I do not have a sense of belonging at work I don’t have anyone at work who cares about my advancement ” (Harvard Business School, Building from the Bottom Up).

Employee outlook on barriers for low-wage employees at their company. For instance, the Harvard Business School’s “Upward Mobility Survey of Low-Wage Workers in the U.S.” (2020) asked respondents to report on the biggest barriers to low-wage employees at their company. They are asked how strongly they disagree or agree with the following statements: “Low-wage employees don’t have a role model or mentor at work,” “Low-wage employees don’t have anyone at work to turn to for advice about how to move up,” “Low-wage employees don’t have anyone at work who they trust,” “Low-wage employees don’t have a sense of belonging at work,” “Low-wage employees don’t have anyone at work who cares about their advancement” (Harvard Business School, Building from the Bottom Up).

Braven is a career-accelerating experience that prepares promising young people from humble beginnings to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation. As part of their programming, they offer a 14-week virtual fellowship experience, BravenX, that equips participants with the skills, confidence, networks and experiences necessary to launch a strong career. This program is fully virtual and identical in length, content and cohort structure as our university-for-credit model. However, it is made possible through partnerships with college access and success organizations. Braven helps empower their alumni to build the foundation for their careers. BravenX Fellows earn a financial stipend upon completion of the program in lieu of academic credit. In some cases, BravenX is added as a scholarship requirement (Braven).

Individuals have access to and are able to mobilize relationships that help them further their goals (Education-to-Workforce).

Percentage of students or individuals reporting a high level of social capital on surveys such as the Social Capital Assessment + Learning for Equity (SCALE) 

Network Diversity and Network Strength scales (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Percentage of students or individuals reporting a high level of social capital on surveys such as the Social Capital Assessment + Learning for Equity (SCALE) Social Capital, Network Diversity and Network Strength scales. (Education-to-Workforce).

The EW Framework recommends consulting guidance by the Christensen Institute that describes emerging practices for measuring students’ social capital using a four-dimensional framework based on quantity of relationships, quality of relationships, structure of networks and ability to mobilize relationships (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

A student has strong developmental relationships, that is, close connections through which young people discover who they are, gain abilities to shape their own lives and learn how to interact with and contribute to the world around them. A developmental relationship is distinct from more generalized notions of positive relationships in that it is defined by the combination of five interconnected elements: express care, challenge growth, provide support, share power and expand possibilities (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

A student has access to the resources provided by developmental relationships. Resources can include things such as financial or material help, information, skill-building opportunities, guidance and values and norms. The following social capital measure focuses on three types of resources: access to useful information, new connections and skill-building opportunities (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Students have a web or network of developmentally-rich relationships that can provide access to valuable resources. There are several indicators that have been used to understand the quality of an individual’s social network, such as network structure, size, diversity and strength (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Students have people in their network who are from different cultures, racial and ethnic backgrounds, economic backgrounds and have different skills (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Students have people in their network they can go to for help, trust and feel close to, as well as people who they feel less close to (i.e., weaker tie) but who may be influential in helping them access their goals or who may connect them to others (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Catalysts to Mobilize Relationships and Resources: The degree to which an individual has different relationships that help build their self-awareness, confidence, relationships-building skills and possible selves (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Self-Initiated Social Capital: The degree to which an individual actively builds relationships and uses the relationships and the resources they have to reach their goals (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Relationship-Building Skills: The degree to which an individual is able to build positive relationships with others (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Networking Skills: The degree to which an individual purposefully uses relationships within their social network to reach their goals (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Personal Identity: The degree to which an individual has a clear sense of their personal identity (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Racial and Ethnic Identity: The degree to which an individual has a clear sense of their racial and ethnic background and what this identity means to them (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Sense of Purpose: The degree to which an individual has a clear sense of their life’s purpose (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Self-Efficacy for Reaching Life Goals: The degree to which an individual feels they can successfully reach their life goals  (Search Institute, Social Capital Assessment).

Progress Towards Education or Career Goals: The degree to which an individual reports making progress towards their education or career goals (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Commitment to Paying It-Forward: The degree to which an individual engages in behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to paying-it-forward to others (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Collective Efficacy to Change Systems: The degree to which an individual feels that they can work with their program or organization to change employment and education systems (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Occupational Identity: The degree to which an individual has a clear sense of their occupational identity (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Job-Seeking Skills: The degree to which an individual engages in behaviors that may lead to securing employment  (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

To measure concentration of social capital at a systems level, users could consider an index adapted from researchers Anil Rupasingha and Stephan Goetz.  Their index includes: the number of all associations per 10,000 population, including religious organizations, civic and social associations, political organizations, professional organizations, labor organizations, physical fitness facilities, public golf courses and sports clubs. The measure also includes commercial and nonprofit associations drawn from Census Bureau County Business Patterns data. It also includes 

the percentage of voters who participated in a presidential, state or county election (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Economic connectedness index. This metric reflects the extent to which people with low socioeconomic status and people with high socioeconomic status are friends, as measured through connections on Facebook (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

The county-level census response rate in the person’s county (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

The number of charitable, nonprofit organizations with an office in the county (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Cohesiveness: The degree to which a person’s social networks are fragmented into cliques  (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Economic connectedness: The degree to which low-income and high-income people are friends with each other. Studies have shown that children who grow up in communities with more economic connectedness (cross-class interaction) are much more likely to rise up out of poverty (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Civic engagement: Rates of volunteering and participation in community organizations (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Program Support for Social Capital Development: The degree to which an individual reports receiving forms of support as a result of participating in a program that is believed to promote social capital (e.g., skill building, increasing network size) (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Sense of Program/School Community: The degree to which an individual feels a sense of community within their program, school or organization (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Psychological Safety: The degree to which an individual feels their program or organization provides a safe space for them to express who they are as an individual (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Volunteer Support: The degree to which an individual perceives that volunteers in their program or organization have provided them with social capital support (e.g., useful information, new connections) (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Seeking Volunteer Support: The degree to which an individual actively seeks social capital support from volunteers within their program or an organization (e.g., asks for information, guidance and other forms of instrumental support) (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Seeking Teacher/Professor Support: The degree to which an individual actively seeks social capital support from teachers, professors, managers and other campus staff (e.g., asks for information, guidance and other forms of instrumental support) (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Number of membership associations per 100,000 people. Membership associations provide opportunities for people to form robust social networks in a community (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

In 2024, Braven & The Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America (CPRA) at Rutgers University-Newark launched the Capitol Hill Fellowship as an opportunity for Braven Fellows to enter the public service space, particularly on Capitol Hill. Acquiring an internship in Congress can be especially hard for students from humble beginnings, whether that be tied to financial constraint or networks. Braven’s Capitol Hill Fellowship lowers these barriers by supporting Fellows with applying to internships at Congressional offices, providing Capitol Hill Fellows with eight weeks of housing, professional development, a clothing stipend and a monthly living stipend. Four Fellows participated in the inaugural year of the Fellowship (Braven).

Students’ social capital in STEM education (derived from families, peers, teachers and professional networks) demonstrably promotes their STEM educational outcomes and career paths. Inclusive STEM schools and mentoring programs are some promising approaches that can enhance STEM social capital and outcomes of underrepresented students, particularly women, Blacks/Hispanics/Native Americans, youth with low socioeconomic status and persons with disabilities (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Schools and nonprofit organizations can help cultivate social capital among young people through educational and non-educational programming (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Providing relevant bridging social capital may make other programs that seek to increase economic mobility more effective. For example, recent programs that have had large impacts in helping families move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods or obtain higher-paying jobs provide bridging social capital and outperform traditional programs that focus solely on economic resources or skills. These results suggest that prioritizing the provision of adequate social support so people can take advantage of available economic resources may greatly amplify the impacts of existing programs to reduce intergenerational poverty (Opportunity Insights, Social Capital and Economic Mobility).

Encouraging the formation of neighborhood associations (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

Promoting civic engagement and participation, including by creating connections between neighborhood residents and city leaders (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

Creating and maintaining parks and other public spaces such as libraries that give residents the opportunity to interact with one another (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

Encouraging socializing across socioeconomic groups, including by designing public spaces intentionally and fostering connections across neighborhoods (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

Supporting labor unions and the right to organize (Urban Institute, Boosting Upward Mobility).

Interventions such as zoning and affordable housing policies aimed at integrating neighborhoods and college admissions reforms to boost diversity on campuses can increase cross-class interaction substantially and are likely to be very valuable (Opportunity Insights, Social Capital and Economic Mobility). 

Policies that influence friending bias (i.e. the tendency for people to befriend people similar to them). While more work needs to be done to identify what types of interventions reduce friending bias, there are a number of programs being piloted around the country that warrant further study: efforts to reduce the size of groups in which students interact and limit the divisions created by tracking in schools, changes in architecture and urban planning to foster greater interaction and the creation of new domains for interaction via programs that seek to break down class barriers. In some communities, it may be more fruitful to focus on increasing integration to increase cross-class interaction; in others, it may be more effective to focus on reducing friendly bias (Opportunity Insights, Social Capital and Economic Mobility). 

Beyond direct efforts to increase cross-class interaction, our analysis suggests that providing relevant bridging social capital may make other programs that seek to increase economic mobility more effective as well. For example, recent programs that have had large impacts in helping families move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods or obtain higher-paying jobs provide bridging social capital and outperform traditional programs that focus solely on economic resources or skills (Opportunity Insights, Social Capital and Economic Mobility). 

Policy initiatives and programs aimed at enhancing opportunities for students to connect and engage with more interest-sharing peers and professionals in STEM fields could help them develop extended social networks that can support their educational and career pathways in STEM. ISTEMSs represent one of the latest comprehensive schoolwide reform models that offer opportunities for students, particularly underrepresented groups, to participate in a STEM-specialized learning environment with interest-sharing peers (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Policymakers and educators can introduce STEM-related materials or activities to the existing well-established student organizations such as Girl Scout STEM Programs and Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) STEM Programs (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

To promote parental engagement in STEM, they must have expanded access to STEM learning resources and activities, especially for those parents without a college degree and those who are not working in STEM fields. Equally important is providing training and professional development in STEM for educators and social service providers, such as public librarians or museum staff, whose tasks involve engaging parents in their children’s learning activities (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Policy initiatives can create and facilitate well-designed mentoring programs that pair students (in particular women, under-represented minorities, low-SES students and people with disabilities) with STEM educators or professionals who are knowledgeable and passionate about supporting students’ educational and career development. Training and supporting those STEM educators or professionals in providing mentorship can help them be effective mentors for their mentees. Also helpful is partnering schools with industry organizations to offer internships for students to shadow professionals in real-world STEM settings (Leveraging Social Capital to Broaden Participation in STEM).

Percentage of students who participate in a work-based learning opportunity before graduation (Education to Workforce).

Percentage of workforce training program participants who participate in a work based learning opportunity before program completion (Education to Workforce).

Number of new apprenticeships over time (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Demographic characteristics of apprenticeship cohorts (e.g., age range, gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, veteran status, justice system involvement) (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Change in demographic characteristics over time per enrollment cohort (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Representation of women in apprenticeship programs. Analysis by the Center for American Progress found that women are much less likely to participate in apprenticeship programs than men. In 2017, 92.7% of those completing Registered Apprenticeships were men and 7.3% were women (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Earnings of women who complete apprenticeship programs. Analysis by the Center for American Progress found that women who participate in apprenticeship programs make far less than men. In 2017, among people who completed a Registered Apprenticeship, a woman made only 42 cents to a man’s dollar. Surprisingly this trend has worsened since 2008, when women made 53 cents to a man’s dollar (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Black and Hispanic participation in apprenticeships. Analysis by the Center for American Progress found that Black and Hispanic participation in apprenticeships roughly mirrors these groups’ participation in the labor force (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Earnings by race/ethnicity of those who complete apprenticeship programs. Analysis by the Center for American Progress found that Black or African American apprentices had the lowest exit wages of all racial and ethnic groups examined, at $14.35 per hour in fiscal 2017. White apprentices had the second-lowest earnings at $26.14 — still more than 50 % greater than black or African American apprentices’ wages. Median exit wages for completing apprentices were highest for AIAN, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/Latino and Asian apprentices — all of whom earned around $30 per hour (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Occupations of enrollment cohort (e.g., electricians, child care workers, plumbers, nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, carpenters, home appliance repairers, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, sheet metal workers, electrical power-line installers and repairers, correctional officers) (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Changes in apprenticeship occupations over time (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Amount of on-the-job training (OJT) and related technical instruction (RTI) required per apprenticeship program and changes in program requirements over time (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Program outcomes for Registered Apprenticeship participants (i.e., completed, cancelled, active) and average time spent in program (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States). 

Average Annual Earnings Differences for Apprenticeship Participants Versus Nonparticipants, both short term (i.e., sixth year after enrollment) and medium term (i.e., ninth year after enrollment). Data source: RAPIDS and state UI wage records  (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Estimated Expenditures per Apprentice (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Social Costs and Benefits: Medium-Term (i.e., for 9 years after enrollment) and Career (i.e., for 36 years after enrollment) Under Baseline Assumptions. Data source: RAPIDS, state UI wage records and OA and SAA annual budget estimates. Mathematica calculated social benefits as the sum of productivity benefits and reduced administrative costs of unemployment insurance, welfare and food stamps (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Female apprentices views of Registered Apprenticeship (RA). Mathematica explored these issues through discussions with women who have participated in the program, executive directors of community-based organizations that received DOL grants from the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program and state apprenticeship directors (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Undertake Targeted Outreach: Grantees from Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) and four of the state RA directors agreed that school-age girls should be a target audience for advertisements about RA in the skilled trades. They explained that teaching girls and young women about the trades through career fairs, summer camps, subsidized summer employment programs and visits to schools may help break down stereotypes that women should not or cannot work in industries such as construction (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Develop Skills and Manage Expectations Through Pre-apprenticeship Training. According to the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grantees, many women they work with lack the basic occupational skills required to have a successful RA experience in the skilled trades, such as trade-related math skills, Occupational Safety and Health Administration training and the appropriate level of physical fitness. To address this and prepare women for the rigors of construction apprenticeships, four of the WANTO grantees operate pre-apprenticeship training programs (when they have adequate funding). Through these programs, women acquire the basic required skills before entering an apprenticeship. They also meet tradeswomen (and tradesmen) and learn about the sometimes complicated RA application process. Armed with this knowledge, a woman is better equipped to decide if the trades are truly the best career path for her and select the occupation that best matches her skills, interests and life circumstances (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Provide Child Care Support or Classes That Better Accommodate the Schedules of Single Mothers. Finding adequate child care that accommodates rigorous apprenticeship schedules is challenging, as is finding the money to cover these extensive child care needs. RA could consider providing child care subsidies, as suggested by directors in two states and by women respondents. Alternative, more convenient, class schedules or online learning (when possible) could be arranged. A focus on setting up detailed child care plans before the apprenticeship begins, perhaps as a step in the application process, could also be helpful. For example, one Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grantee requires women to have a child care plan, a backup child care plan and a backup to their backup plan before helping them get into an RA program. According to the grantee, this has been a successful strategy (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States). 

Address the Culture of Male-Dominated Construction Worksites. Help employers create and enforce policies to prevent harassment and discrimination at worksites. The WANTO grantees provide technical assistance to employers to develop methods to recruit women and to develop and implement effective sexual harassment policies. However, because of limited funds, it is not possible to provide these services to all employers that could benefit from them. WANTO grantees suggested that employers use existing resources like Hard Hatted Women’s TOOLKIT to develop procedures and train male employees to follow them. This manual reviews effective methods for developing, revising, implementing and monitoring sexual harassment policies on job sites (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Set goals for enrolling women in RA. State RA offices recommend targets for the percentage of women apprentices in a program based on calculations of the percentage of women in the local area, but these are not quotas. An administrator in one state noted that his state used to have targets for women in construction trades (2 to 6%, for example), but they have not been able to meet those goals for the past 20 years (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Increase monitoring of sponsors and employers. Monitoring RA programs for compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws focuses on ensuring that program sponsors are making “a good-faith effort” to recruit women, but it is perhaps less successful in ensuring that women are treated well in the workplace. Although EEO laws offer continual protection to workers from harassment or discrimination and women can make a complaint at any time, women and the WANTO grantee directors stated that harassment and discrimination are prevalent across construction industry worksites. Moreover, some women we spoke to had hesitated to file complaints for fear of being labeled troublemakers or inviting further harassment (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Connect Women with Effective Mentors and Peer Support. The learn-while-working model of apprenticeships means that new apprentices rely on peers at the worksite to teach them vital occupational skills and help them acclimate to workplace cultures and norms. The WANTO grantees emphatically suggested that apprenticeship programs should teach effective mentorship techniques to all workers. State RA directors from two states concurred that connecting women to a mentor is the single most important form of support for women in the program (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Internship programs for youth and young adults also have shown encouraging findings. A study of the Young Adult Internship Program (now known as Intern & Earn), which offers disconnected youth a 10- to 12-week paid internship, along with job readiness workshops and individualized supports, found that the program increased earnings for participants a year after completing their internship (EW Framework).

YearUp — which offers six months of intensive training followed by paid six-month internships in the fields of information technology and financial operations to youth from low-income households — improved earnings measured three years after participation (though not after four years) (EW Framework).

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) recommends that youth programs include multiple elements, including education and other supportive services, work experience, occupational skills training, mentoring, leadership development opportunities and follow-up support (EW Framework).

Sector-oriented training programs are designed to prepare workers for a particular industry or sector in demand by local employers. There are several examples of sector-oriented training programs that have proven effective in improving long-term employment, earnings and educational attainment outcomes for participants. For example, the WorkAdvance model, which provides employee assessments, career readiness services, occupational skills training and job development and placement services in different sectors, led to higher rates of credential attainment of 26 percentage points and increased earnings by an average of almost $3,000 several years after participation in the program (EW Framework).

The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership’s sectoral employment program provides training lasting two to eight weeks, along with case management and job placement assistance. It has been shown to increase earnings by more than $6,000, on average, over two years after acceptance into the program (EW Framework).

Common industries targeted by sector-oriented training programs include health care, information technology, manufacturing and transportation. Research suggests that key aspects of effective sector-oriented job training programs are on-the-job training and technical instruction that lead to an industry-recognized credential in demand by local employers, job search assistance and placement supports and post-employment job retention services (EW Framework).

Intentionally design and structure career pathways to enable students to further their education, secure a job and advance in employment. A basic career pathway model includes multiple entry points to facilitate access to training in occupational skills and knowledge valued by employers and stackable credentials that match labor market demand. Multiple exit points aligned with employment opportunities offer participants flexibility to access employment at different stages of the career ladder. Individuals may enter and exit career pathways at multiple points as they advance in their careers (What Works Clearinghouse, Designing and Delivering Career Pathways at Community Colleges).

Deliver contextualized or integrated basic skills instruction to accelerate students’ entry into and successful completion of career pathways (What Works Clearinghouse, Designing and Delivering Career Pathways at Community Colleges).

Offer flexible instructional delivery schedules and models to improve credit accumulation and completion of non-degree credentials along career pathways. Students must balance their education and training with jobs, families and other obligations. Often, that can make traditional course formats and schedules problematic. Flexible delivery of instruction, through non-traditional course times and/or online or self-paced courses, can help students combine college with other commitments to facilitate access and progress along career pathways. Acceleration strategies, including awarding credit for prior learning and offering competency-based courses, can also help ensure that students acquire — and demonstrate mastery of — both technical and basic skills as they progress along a career pathway (What Works Clearinghouse, Designing and Delivering Career Pathways at Community Colleges).

Provide coordinated comprehensive student supports to improve credit accumulation and completion of non-degree credentials along career pathways. Students often need to navigate a variety of academic and non-academic challenges that can affect their ability to complete coursework and progress toward earning a credential. These challenges include choosing the right program of study and career, balancing education with family and work obligations and covering tuition costs and related educational expenses. Providing comprehensive student supports in a coordinated fashion helps students to be resilient to these challenges. The What Works Clearinghouse expert panel believes colleges should provide a broad range of academic and non-academic, career and financial support services. These may include proactive academic advising, mentoring, coaching, counseling, career navigation and financial aid, as well as referral to other support services. The panel believes these student supports should be intentionally integrated into the student experience so they are unavoidable as students progress along their career pathway — from intake to completion (What Works Clearinghouse, Designing and Delivering Career Pathways at Community Colleges).

Develop and continuously leverage partnerships to prepare students and advance their labor market success. Career pathways that leverage employment-focused partnerships offer students both classroom- and work-based experiences to acquire the skills needed to be ready for work on day one. The benefits of investing in, building and deepening employment-focused partnerships include: (a) improving the relevance and alignment of the curriculum to employer or industry needs; (b) expanding the opportunities for students to engage meaningfully with employer partners through employer presentations, onsite visits, work-based learning opportunities and career fairs; and (c) increasing the potential for job placement and advancement. Ultimately, improving student labor market outcomes benefits students, employers and colleges alike. There is an incentive for administrators, faculty and staff to work together with employment-focused partners to design, implement and continuously evaluate career pathways (What Works Clearinghouse, Designing and Delivering Career Pathways at Community Colleges).

Registered Apprenticeship (RA) is a career-training program that offers structured on-the-job training combined with related technical instruction tailored to industry needs. The program, created in 1937, seeks to produce well-trained workers whose skills are in high demand. In 2010, almost 450,000 people across the nation were enrolled in RA. Apprenticeship programs range from one to six years and are offered in approximately 1,000 occupations, including the traditional skilled trades such as electrician, plumber and carpenter, as well as such occupations as truck driver, child care worker, nursing aide and correctional officer. For apprentices, RA provides on-the-job training, related technical instruction, incremental wage increases as skills are attained and, upon completion, nationally recognized certification in the chosen career area. (Mathematica, An Effectiveness Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States).

Support apprenticeship systems and program designs through support models, like Jobs for the Future’s Center for Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning, which aims to connect a diverse population of youth and adults to quality jobs and enable businesses to develop workers with the skills they need to grow (Jobs for the Future).

Leverage third party, external support to employers for building high-quality apprenticeship programs. Creating and sustaining high-quality apprenticeship programs poses significant challenges for many employers, particularly small and midsize businesses. In addition to demanding substantial resources, apprenticeships are difficult to develop and require time, training expertise and organizational capacity — resources that many employers feel they lack . Without external support to help employers establish and manage apprenticeship initiatives, scaling such programs nationally remains a formidable task (Jobs for the Future).

Apprenticeships: Apprenticeship models involve an industry- and employer-driven structured approach to occupational training. Apprenticeship models typically combine paid, work-based learning; on-the-job training and mentorship; related technical instruction, often provided in a classroom setting; and an industry-recognized credential upon completion. Apprentices are paid, productive employees of an employer that sponsors or partners with the apprenticeship program. Apprenticeship has long been dominated by the construction trades and the existing evidence has largely been focused on these trades. However, DOL and state apprenticeship offices have recently focused on expanding apprenticeship programs in sectors with high demand for skilled workers, most notably health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing. (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Transitional employment: Transitional jobs, also referred to as subsidized jobs, are a form of earn-and-learn employment program that provide participants with work experience and help them find employment by paying all or some of their wages. Transitional employment programs are not always included with other work-based learning models, because these programs offer a mix of strategies. For example, some transitional employment programs provide only work-based income support, whereas others aim to improve future employability by addressing employment-related barriers such as educational attainment and vocational skills. Transitional employment programs may often provide classroom training, job search assistance and basic education services. They may also conduct job readiness assessments and tailor services based on career interests or by allowing participants to explore different vocational training opportunities (Sattar 2010) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Career pathways programs allow participants to progress through education and training in multiple discrete, stackable components in particular sectors by offering a clear sequence of education coursework or training credentials aligned with employer-validated work readiness standards and competencies (Kozumplik et al. 2011). Career pathways programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act are defined as programs that offer a clear sequence or pathway, of education coursework and/or training credentials aligned with employer-validated work readiness standards and competencies and are guided by six essential components. The six components are: (1) building cross-agency partnerships and clarifying roles, (2) identifying industry sectors and engaging employers, (3) designing education and training programs, (4) identifying funding needs and sources, (5) aligning policies and programs and (6) measuring system change and performance (U.S. DOL and Manhattan Strategy Group 2015) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Sector-oriented training programs are related to career pathways programs and aim to provide training that produce workers with the skills needed by groups of employers in a particular industry or sector that has strong local demand and offers the opportunity for career advancement (Schaberg and Greenberg 2020). These programs are often provided through partnerships between employers and training and educational organizations. Input from employers and published labor market information are used to design these programs and employers also provide work-based training opportunities, such as internships or on-the-job-training, to participants (Holzer 2015). Many sector-oriented training programs also provide participants with job search assistance and job placement services and some programs continue working with participants after they find a job (Schaberg and Greenberg 2020). Common industries targeted by sector-oriented training programs include health care, information technology, manufacturing and transportation (Schaberg and Greenberg 2020). (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Incumbent worker training (IWT) programs provide those who are currently employed with services such as mentoring, on-the-job learning and other training to help with career advancement and job retention. Under WIOA, IWT programs focus on ensuring that employees of a company can acquire the skills necessary to retain employment and advance within the company or to acquire skills necessary for averting a layoff (WIOA 2017b). (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Elements of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth programs: (a) Tutoring, study skills training, instruction and dropout prevention; (b) Alternative secondary school services or dropout recovery services; (c) Paid and unpaid work experience; (c) Occupational skills training; (d) Education offered concurrently with workforce preparation and training for a specific occupation; (e) Leadership development opportunities; (f) Supportive services; (g) Adult mentoring; (h) Follow-up services; (i) Comprehensive guidance and counseling; (j) Financial literacy education; (k) Entrepreneurial skills training; (l) Services that provide labor market information; (m) Postsecondary preparation and transition services (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Job Corps, supported under the WIOA legislation, is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive career technical training and education program for at‐risk youth. The program’s objective is to help disconnected youth become more responsible, employable and productive citizens by providing them with individualized academic education, vocational training, counseling and job placement assistance. A defining feature of Job Corps is its residential component: Most participants live in a Job Corps center during the week, where all education, training and counseling services are provided. The National Job Corps Study, a nationally representative randomized controlled trial, found impacts on earnings and hours worked in the fourth year after enrollment (Schochet et al. 2008) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

The YouthBuild program, also funded under WIOA, aims to provide at-risk youth ages 16 to 24 with services to help them attain a high school diploma or equivalent and teaches them construction skills and it has expanded to offer youth career pathways training in high-demand industry sectors (YouthBuild 2020) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

The National Guard Youth Challenge program is a six-month residential program to improve the education, life skills and employment potential of high school dropouts. Upon completing the residential phase of the program, participants receive a year of structured mentoring and are placed in employment, education programs or the military. An RCT evaluation of the program found that three years after enrollment, program participants had higher rates of employment and earnings than the control group (Millenky et al. 2011) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Year Up provides urban young adults with intensive training and offers internship tracks in desktop/network support, quality assurance, project management, advanced system administration and cyber security at corporate partner locations. An RCT of Year Up’s career pathways program for youth found that the program increased participant earnings, with program participants earning $1,895 more than those in the control group in the sixth and seventh quarters following random assignment (Fein and Hamadyk 2018) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects, conducted between 2006 and 2012, were intended to help youth ages 14 to 25 with disabilities who received or were at risk of receiving Social Security disability benefits to become more economically self-sufficient. Participants were offered some combination of benefits counseling, career counseling and coordination of services, as well as internships, job shadowing, job coaching, competitive paid employment and empowerment training. An RCT study examining the program implemented in West Virginia observed positive impacts on employment and earnings one year after implementation (Fraker et al. 2012). However, an RCT measuring the impacts for all six YTD project sites 24 months after random assignment found no significant impacts on employment and earnings outcomes (Hemmeter 2014) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Youth Corps provides youth with a stipend as well as educational services, employment and training and community service activities. An RCT study of Youth Corps found positive impacts on earnings 18 months after enrollment but no impacts on employment or education (Price et al. 2011) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Youth Career Connect (YCC) is a high school-based program designed to encourage America’s school districts, institutions of higher education, the workforce investment system and their partners to scale up evidence-based high school models that will transform the high school experience for America’s youth to connect them to college and careers. The program blends features of the career academy and sector-based models, including small learning communities; college preparatory curriculum based on a career theme that aligns occupational training with employer needs; and employer, higher education and community partners (Maxwell et al. 2019) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Work-based learning, a strategy used in many programs funded by WIOA Youth to provide youth with occupational and basic skills training in a work-like setting, is found to have positive effects on employment and earnings outcomes (Carter et al. 2011) (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Research Portfolio).

Genesys Works recruits high schoolers from underrepresented student groups and places them in year-long paid internships in the IT departments of tech and non-tech companies in their senior year, with the hope that the exposure to computers, corporate culture and adult mentors working in professional jobs will get them on the path to a technology-related college career (Genesys Works).

Promote policies that modernize and expand states’ apprenticeship system to increase access to high-quality apprenticeships (Jobs for the Future).

Advocate for expanded Apprenticeship Budget at the Federal Department of Labor. In Fiscal Year 2024, the government spent $184.35 billion on higher education via the Office of Federal Student Aid and Office of Postsecondary Education alone, while the Department of Labor’s apprenticeship budget for FY24 was only $285 million. This funding gap reflects a longstanding emphasis on traditional degree programs despite growing recognition that apprenticeships offer a high quality, work-based alternative (Jobs for the Future).

Strengthen incentives for employer participation (Policy Blueprint to Modernize and Expand Apprenticeships Nationwide).

Establish a national framework for youth apprenticeship (YA) (Policy Blueprint to Modernize and Expand Apprenticeships Nationwide).

Expand and strengthen pathways into apprenticeship (Policy Blueprint to Modernize and Expand Apprenticeships Nationwide).

Position intermediaries as the facilitators of apprenticeship (Policy Blueprint to Modernize and Expand Apprenticeships Nationwide).

Mitigate the “cliff effect” by disregarding income earned during apprenticeship training from means tested public assistance programs (Policy Blueprint to Modernize and Expand Apprenticeships Nationwide).

As policymakers continue to make investments necessary to grow apprenticeship programs, their policies must center around women, people of color and other underrepresented groups to ensure equitable access. Policymakers can help facilitate that access by continuing to support equity intermediaries and other workforce intermediaries that can help with recruitment and the coordination of supportive services such as child care, transportation and legal assistance. The Center for American Progress has called for investments in labor management-led intermediaries that can fill this role (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Policymakers should work to eliminate occupational segregation in apprenticeship programs, as well as ensure that women and people of color have access to apprenticeship programs in the highest-paying occupations. Analysis by the Center for American Progress shows that gender wage gaps narrow significantly when women have access to male-dominated apprenticeship programs (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Policymakers should ensure that apprenticeship programs are required to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act and support wage progression. These policies help ensure that the highest-wage programs remain well-paying. (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Policymakers should seek to expand apprenticeships into new industries, while working to raise the wages in those industries. For example, child care and hospitality apprenticeships are popular among women, yet both industries are plagued by persistently low wages. It is not enough to expand apprenticeships into new industries; wages in historically undervalued occupations dominated by women must be raised as well. (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Policymakers should also ensure that incarcerated apprentices are paid at least the federal minimum wage, which can help reduce recidivism and facilitate re-entry. (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Policymakers should focus on implementation and enforcement of the 2016 EEO regulations and resist efforts to weaken the labor standards governing apprenticeship programs. (CAP, The Apprenticeship Wage and Participation Gap).

Full-time faculty across race and ethnicity, disaggregated by faculty rank (e.g., full professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor/lecturer, no academic rank)  (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Representational racial and ethnic diversity of instructors. Studies show students assigned to a teacher with similar demographic characteristics experience positive benefits in terms of academic perceptions and attitudes. A study of a large and diverse community college shows that performance gaps in terms of class dropout rates and grade performance between white and underrepresented minority students falls by 20 to 50% when taught by an underrepresented minority instructor (Egalite, Anna et al.; Fairlie, Robert et al.).

Students under- or overrepresented by faculty by race and ethnicity. Measured by comparing percent of undergraduates and postsecondary faculty by race and ethnicity (Pew Research).

Percent of undergraduates who are nonwhite compared to percent of postsecondary faculty who are nonwhite (Pew Research).

Percent of postsecondary faculty by academic rank disaggregated by race and ethnicity. That is, the percent of faculty who are professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, lecturers and other faculty (Pew Research).

Diversity in higher education between faculty in STEM and non-STEM fields. Measured by faculty race and gender representation within academic disciplines (Biology, Chemistry, English, etc.) (Brookings).

Potential wage gaps in higher education based on race, ethnicity, gender (rather than, say, academic field, experience and research productivity) (Li, Diyi and Cory Koedel).

Total full-time faculty by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Percentage distribution of institution presidents by race, ethnicity and gender (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

College and University administrators by position, race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Racial matches between managers and their employees and the effect on employee quits, dismissals and promotions. A 2011 study by Laura Giuliano, David Levine and Jonathan Leonard examines how racial matches between managers and their employees affect rates of employee quits, dismissals and promotions. In analyzing changes in management at hundreds of stores at a large U.S. retail firm, they find a general pattern of own-race bias in that employees usually have better outcomes when they are the same race as their manager. But they do find anomalies in this pattern, particularly when the manager-employee match violates traditional racial hierarchies (for example, nonwhites managing whites) (Guiliano, Laura et. al).

The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation have issued statements and funded initiatives focused on increasing diversity in science, with specific attention focused on expanding access to faculty positions  (American Council on Education).

The Consortium for Faculty Diversity in Liberal Arts Colleges offers residential postdoctoral fellowship awards, fostering the ability of member institutions to build relationships and recruit scholars to their institutions (American Council on Education).

Institutions such as Harvard University (MA), Brown University (RI) and Boston College have developed comprehensive strategies to recruit, hire and retain a more diverse faculty body. California Lutheran University, a liberal arts college, contracted with the University of Southern California’s Center for Urban Education to increase inclusion and mitigate bias in their faculty search and hiring processes (American Council on Education).

National agencies and consortia such as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Center for the Integration of Teaching, Research and Learning have encouraged discourse, provided resources and offered training focused on expanding access to and increasing diversity in the academy at research universities and community colleges, respectively (American Council on Education).

Philanthropic entities such as the Kresge Foundation, the Mellon Foundation and ECMC Foundation have partnered with the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions to support faculty and increase access to positions at minority serving institutions, collaborating to offer mentorship, leadership development and workshops focused on faculty success. These efforts are a promising start and should be encouraged, evaluated and expanded to promote meaningful progress toward a more diverse academy (American Council on Education).

Increasing faculty diversity in the most vulnerable academic positions (i.e., non-tenure track and part-time positions) does not solve the overall problem; rather, it creates new, pernicious inequities (American Council on Education).

One solution is to rethink whether and how institutions recognize the importance and value of multiple forms of scholarly and other contributions to make faculty positions more appealing and to address the issue of work-life balance (American Council on Education).

Increasing faculty diversity requires attention to departmental and campus climates and environments, including the provision of support and resources necessary for faculty retention (American Council on Education).

Students are exposed to racial and ethnic diversity within their schools. Student body composition by race and ethnicity (%) (Education-to-Workforce).

Student body composition by race and ethnicity (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Share of students attending high-poverty schools, by race or ethnicity (Urban Institute).

Student enrollment per institution by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college by race and ethnicity

Degree attainment by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Immediate college enrollment of recent high school or equivalent graduates ages 16 to 24, by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Undergraduate enrollment across institution sector (i.e., public four-year, private nonprofit four-year, public two-year, for-profit) by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Graduate enrollment across institution sector by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

First-year persistence rates of bachelor’s degree-seeking students by institution sector (i.e., public four-year, private nonprofit four-year, public two-year, for-profit) and by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Patterns of borrowing, measured by cumulative debt by sector (i.e. public four-year, private nonprofit four-year, public two-year, for-profit), by degree level (undergraduate, graduate) and by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Patterns of borrowing, measured by % who borrowed for their education, average amount borrowed per student, disaggregated by race, ethnicity and degree level received (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Unemployment rate for degree holders by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Median annual earnings of adults ages 25 and older by educational attainment and race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Field of study for bachelor’s degree recipients (e.g., STEM fields, business, education, health care fields, social sciences, humanities, general studies) by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Field of study for associate’s degree recipients by race and ethnicity (Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education).

Use of research and data tools to understand school and workplace racial and ethnic diversity to understand equity issues and trends (National Equity Atlas).

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are internal communities of workers with shared identities and interests. Within a workplace, ERGs can help foster inclusion among employees, improve diversity in recruiting and promote social impact.

ERG’s role in fostering inclusion: ERGs foster inclusion (defined as the extent to which an organization’s systems and people promote a welcoming and fair environment for all employees) in a number of ways, including by helping employees feel that they belong and are part of a community, especially through connections that counter the feelings of being an “only” within an organization. Belonging to an ERG also helps employees feel that they can be authentic at work and derive more meaning and purpose from the work that they do. Within the workplace, ERG systems and infrastructure strengthen acceptance, camaraderie and fairness across groups and help members build allyship. ERGs also boost the visibility of underrepresented groups among larger groups in companies (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

ERG’s role in improving diversity. ERGs help with recruiting efforts by participating in talent attraction. The participation of ERG members, for example, in diverse panels and recruiting events, shows potential employees that a welcoming community exists at the organization they are considering joining. To support the career advancement of their members, ERGs foster sponsorship within or outside the ERG. And to improve the retention of underrepresented groups, some ERGs work with HR and leadership to communicate the needs of these groups (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

ERG’s role in promoting external impact. By connecting their members to colleagues and parts of the business looking to embed diversity in operations and core strategy, ERGs drive social impact. Within local communities, ERGs help improve brand visibility through volunteer activities and charitable giving to causes that ERGs consider important. Through ERG inputs, companies better understand their customers and are able to cater products to underrepresented groups. ERGs also help reform business operations, for example, when members of underrepresented groups call attention to unfair processes (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

Companies can make their ERGs more effective by applying clear purpose to prevent strategic misalignment. To avoid conflicts between the strategies of ERGs and corporate DEI teams, effective DEI teams share their strategies with ERGs so the groups can devote activities and resources to overall DEI strategy. If ERG members want to expand the ERG’s remit and activities by, for example, taking a more active role in debiasing internal processes or shaping corporate giving strategy, ERG leadership should decide whether to expand their scope of activities. They can then work with the company’s DEI team to ensure that they are connected in their efforts. As a best practice, effective ERGs also focus on strategic alignment and a distinct purpose. They do so by clearly stating their goal and mission and how it ties to the company’s DEI strategy; developing a charter that details the ERG’s strategic objectives; drafting annual plans that outline initiatives to drive the strategic plan; defining who is accountable for the initiatives and how ERG members support them; establishing metrics to assess the impact of initiatives and programs (outlining how ERGs benefit employees, the organization and potentially the community, depending on ERG goals); soliciting feedback and analyzing those metrics; and then making adjustments to ERG goals and initiatives (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

Companies can make their ERGs more effective by providing deliberate, detailed communications to eliminate the disconnect between expectations and reality. Effective ERG leaders align with their company’s DEI team and communicate extensively about the ERG’s purpose and goals. At a town hall, for example, ERG leaders provide a coherent overview of all ERGs, their purpose, the groups they serve and how each employee can get involved, as well as the connection between ERG activities and the overall company DEI strategy. As a best practice, effective ERGs focus on generating employee interest and awareness, both for the ERGs themselves and for the activities and initiatives that they provide for their members. They share information using the company’s communication channels; ensure that joining ERGs is easy; engage members through frequent communications and community-building events, ensuring that ERG members meet one another; and empower members to take action to further the goals of the ERG (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

Companies can make their ERGs more effective by administering sound execution to avoid uneven levels of leadership support. Effective companies create a centrally aligned approach to allocating ERG funding and leadership support. As a best practice, effective ERG leaders take advantage of strong connections within their organization to get access to the right people and funding required to sharply execute their initiatives. Depending on the ERG’s purpose and goals, the connections could be to other ERGs, to internal functions (such as recruiting and social responsibility) or to members of senior leadership who can help provide input on business topics and support the ERG at large. Effective ERGs also track the outcomes of their work and report them to leadership and their members. Common metrics tracked by effective ERGs include overall membership, event participation, member experience and sentiment and intersectional demographics, such as race and gender within an LGBTQ+ ERG (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

Companies can make their ERGs more effective by marshaling organizational support to lessen the burden on ERG leaders. ERG leaders often bear the burden of additional but uncompensated work on top of their regular responsibilities. Their ERG work is often made more difficult because many ERGs don’t share practices or resources with one another. We have observed individual ERGs at the same company managing membership lists, communications and events without sharing any of these resources. Companies may wish to consider recognizing and rewarding those who lead and run ERGs. Some companies compensate ERG leaders for their ERG work and make ERG responsibilities a formal part of leaders’ roles, covered in their performance reviews. Effective organizations also provide ERG leadership with professional-development options, networking opportunities and access to company leaders. As a best practice, leading companies ensure alignment among senior leaders about the role of ERGs as an important and necessary part of both employee experience and retention, particularly for traditionally underrepresented demographics. Leaders should view ERG participation and involvement as net benefits for both the employees themselves and for the company as a whole — and provide ERG leaders the room to carve out time for their ERG responsibilities (McKinsey, Effective Employee Resource Groups).

Creating more equitable school attendance boundaries (Urban Institute).

Developing centralized school lottery application systems that prioritize school diversity  (Urban Institute).

Ending school and neighborhood segregation, including by expanding affordable housing in resource-rich neighborhoods and reforming zoning policies to allow for more diverse, high-density, mixed-income communities (Urban Institute).

Implementing more equitable school funding policies and advocating for reforms to state and federal funding (Urban Institute).

Rethink school district lines by enrolling students across district lines. District lines are responsible for roughly 60% of segregation in schools. State policymakers should invest in the creation or expansion of interdistrict transfer programs and magnet schools to enroll students across district lines. Controlled choice approaches can succeed with the right design elements to help advance integration rather than facilitating segregation. These elements include four things: (a) Free transportation to make program participation a meaningful option for all families; (b) Fair, transparent and inclusive lotteries to ensure true diversity; (c) Ongoing, extensive multilingual outreach and communication to families in a wide range of neighborhoods; (d) School siting policies that ensure that historically underserved students are not asked to bear disproportionate commuting burdens (Brown’s Promise, Fulfilling Brown’s Promise: A State Policy Agenda).

Rethink school district lines by changing district lines. State leaders should consider changing existing lines. In many cases, shifting a district line by a matter of blocks can dramatically reduce segregation; in other cases, it may make sense to consider shifting to truly countywide school districts or pursuing other consolidation strategies. Strategically revising district lines can enhance diversity and improve resource equity (Brown’s Promise, Fulfilling Brown’s Promise: A State Policy Agenda).

Rethink school district lines by strengthening anti-secession laws to prevent continued district fracturing and segregation. Without careful attention, efforts to promote integration may be met with backlash and backsliding. This is what happened in Tennessee after education leaders pursued an innovative effort to consolidate Memphis Schools into Shelby County School District, which would have integrated school districts and increased access to resources for the predominantly Black students in Memphis (Brown’s Promise, Fulfilling Brown’s Promise: A State Policy Agenda).

Foster positive student experiences in integration efforts by promoting educator quality and diversity. A truly integrated school is staffed by diverse, high-quality, well-supported educators. State leaders should – every time they invest in an integration program – also do the following: (1) Publish annual educator quality and diversity data in the schools and districts impacted by the initiative and how they compare to other schools in the surrounding district(s); (2) Set educator diversity, quality and support goals in the schools and districts that participate, including timelines with interim targets; (3) Identify state resources to support educator quality, diversity and support in schools and districts that participate; (4) Invest in opportunities to prepare, support and retain teachers of color in the schools and districts that participate; (5) Require and fund ongoing, job-embedded, evidence-based professional learning for educators in schools and districts that participate, including support for understanding adult mindsets and asset-based pedagogies; anti-bias training; and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging training (Brown’s Promise, Fulfilling Brown’s Promise: A State Policy Agenda).

Foster positive student experiences in integration efforts by encouraging meaningful student, family and community engagement. State leaders should — every time they invest in an integration program —  also provide guidance, training and funding to local leaders that is focused on community engagement. This support should focus on four actions that will help educators in integrating schools: (a) Engaging families that live further from a particular school or who speak different languages. This is particularly important for magnet schools and other public, choice-based integration efforts, which cannot create diversity if diverse families are not aware of, connected to and excited about sending their children to the schools; (b) Leveraging community-based organizations (CBOs) in both the “sending” and “receiving” communities to partner with a school to accelerate student learning and meet whole-child needs; (c) Creating parent and family advisory councils with power to participate in decision-making about a school’s programming, practices and policies. These councils should include meaningful representation of families from underrepresented communities; (d) Providing ongoing financial and personnel support for the daily work of authentic community engagement (Brown’s Promise, Fulfilling Brown’s Promise: A State Policy Agenda).

Foster positive student experiences in integration efforts by ensuring all students have access to advanced coursework. Districts working to integrate schools are historically prone to segregate students within “integrated” buildings via biased academic tracking policies. State leaders should require — and fund — all schools and especially those participating in an integration program, to do two things: (a) Conduct universal screening for participation in gifted and talented programs at the elementary level. For an example, see Maryland’s universal screening requirement; and (b) Implement automatic enrollment policies that put all students who demonstrate readiness on one or more of a wide variety of valid metrics (including grades, end of course assessments, standardized tests and teacher recommendations) into advanced courses (Brown’s Promise, Fulfilling Brown’s Promise: A State Policy Agenda).

Students are exposed to socioeconomic diversity within their schools. Student body composition by income (Education-to-Workforce).

Share of students attending high-poverty schools, by race or ethnicity. Students from families with low incomes and students of color achieve better academic outcomes when they attend more economically and racially diverse schools (Urban Institute).

Use of research and data tools to understand school and workplace socioeconomic diversity to understand equity issues and trends (National Equity Atlas).

Frequent student interactions with diverse peers. A study by N.A. Bowman found that rare or moderate diversity interactions in college are associated with virtually no growth (and sometimes even slight declines) in leadership skills, psychological well-being and intellectual engagement, whereas very frequent diversity interactions are associated with considerable growth. The results are similar regardless of students’ race, institutional characteristics and whether the interactions are interracial or across multiple forms of difference (The Curvilinear Relationship between College Diversity Interactions and First-Year Student Outcomes).

Broad, skills-based hiring processes help counter existing bias: In the hiring process, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives often expand outreach and recruitment efforts to reach qualified diverse candidates.  This often means dedicated staff and the involvement of human resources departments. Indeed, a recent study of major employers found that employers with more centralized points of contact during the hiring process were less likely to discriminate by not interviewing qualified Black candidates. Research shows that after employers began specific efforts at broad-based recruiting, representation in management showed statistically significant increases for white women, Black men and women, Latine women and Asian American men and women. Employers with employee resource groups are even more effective at recruiting qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds, as these groups take charge of making sure recruitment happens. Furthermore, hiring practices structured to emphasize necessary skills and qualifications, rather than subjective impressions, maximize the chances that selections are fair (National Institute for Workers’ Rights).

Diversity officers help minimize discriminatory hiring. To reinforce these efforts, the appointment of diversity, equity and inclusion officers promotes accountability for anti-discrimination practices across an organization. Research shows that diversity managers and diversity, equity and inclusion task forces are some of the most effective mechanisms for driving fair workplace reforms (National Institute for Workers’ Rights).

Pay audits and structured evaluations can remedy bias. Regular pay audits are also essential for identifying compensation disparities, particularly those based on gender and race. These audits are particularly important as discriminatory practices can compound over time through biased performance evaluations. Women at work are in a “double bind”: they are penalized more than men for being too aggressive and yet also penalized for not being aggressive enough. Organizations should implement structured evaluation systems that use clear, job-specific criteria and emphasize measurable contributions over subjective assessments (National Institute for Workers’ Rights).

Formal mentorship programs help prevent discrimination in promotions. Women and people of color are at a disadvantage in getting promotions because they are less likely to be sponsored by white men in senior positions. Research demonstrates that more formal programs lead to significant increases in the representation of Black women, as well as Latino and Asian American men and women, in management positions. In-house management training programs and transparent nomination processes further enhance workforce diversity and increase diverse representation in leadership roles. Additionally, tracking the distribution of high-impact projects and leadership opportunities ensures fair access to career advancement. Furthermore, inclusion efforts encompass a wide range of practices such as providing physical accommodations like ramps, offering parental leave policies and creating spaces for religious practices like prayer rooms. These measures both support workers and help an organization comply with equal opportunity laws (National Institute for Workers’ Rights).

Creating more equitable school attendance boundaries (Urban Institute).

Developing centralized school lottery application systems that prioritize school diversity  (Urban Institute).

Ending school and neighborhood segregation, including by expanding affordable housing in resource-rich neighborhoods and reforming zoning policies to allow for more diverse, high-density, mixed-income communities (Urban Institute).

Implementing more equitable school funding policies and advocating for reforms to state and federal funding (Urban Institute).

Employer policies to improve workplace diversity: Prioritize Developing Talent from Underrepresented Groups. Developing talent from underrepresented groups is crucial to fostering diversity and inclusion. By providing opportunities for personal and professional growth, your organization can help address historical workplace disparities. For example, Leadership, Ethics and Corporate Accountability highlights Google’s push for DEI initiatives, including: Funding research on why fewer students who identify as female or are from underrepresented groups enroll in computer science programs; Offering financial support to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs in underrepresented communities; Forming recruiting teams that establish a “pipeline program” with universities that have large populations of underrepresented students (Harvard Business School Online).

Employer policies to improve workplace diversity: Invest in Diversity Initiatives. Investing in DEI initiatives can take several forms in business. For example, Walmart invests in DEI by offering a Supplier Inclusion Program that supports businesses and suppliers from communities often underrepresented in large-scale retail. Companies like Salesforce also emphasize DEI education. Through its partnership with professional skills-based platform Trailhead, employees can take courses and earn certifications in subjects such as inclusion guidelines for data visualization and inclusive content creation. According to the company’s Annual Equality Update, its commitment to DEI education and inclusive hiring tactics has resulted in nearly 51% of U.S. employees coming from underrepresented groups (Harvard Business School Online).

Employer policies to improve workplace diversity: Offer Bias Training Sessions. Stereotypes — whether blatant or unconscious — can negatively impact your organization and result in decreased motivation and employee engagement. One way to overcome workplace stereotypes is by offering unconscious bias training sessions to increase employees’ awareness of implicit biases. For example, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) — developed by professors from Harvard University, the University of Washington and the University of Virginia — helps identify implicit associations or stereotypes you might be unaware of. You can also provide employees the opportunity to earn a business ethics certificate to gain skills to identify and surmount biases. Don’t be afraid to make training mandatory. According to Pew Research, approximately 53% of employees find DEI training helpful, with only 13% finding it unhelpful. In addition, companies like Google provide this type of training through workshops that more than half of its employees participate in (Harvard Business School Online).

Employer policies to improve workplace diversity: Promote Pay Equity. Ensuring employees earn equitable salaries is crucial to championing DEI. For instance, in the U.S., women earn approximately 82% of what men do — a figure that’s only increased 2% since 2002. While various factors impact that statistic, it’s critical for your organization to offer equitable compensation, regardless of gender (Harvard Business School Online).