The Business Case for Racial Equity, A Strategy for Growth
At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we recognize that advancing racial equity exerts a powerful positive influence on the lives and futures of children.
Children who grow up in a society where their health, education, and well-being are considered valuable and important have higher achievement in school and more opportunities for employment and financial stability as adults. And just as advancing racial equity has a profound effect on children and their families, it also has tremendous influence on the potential for profound positive economic growth. Inequities hold our society back, and a growing number of leaders in both the public and private sectors recognize that fact. Investors, employers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and others have a stake in creating more equitable communities.
The updated “Business Case for Racial Equity” was created with these essential partners in mind — to connect the dots between current policies and practices, human capital constraints, untapped markets, and lost revenues.
When the first “Business Case for Racial Equity” issue brief was released in 2013, it provided civic leaders with a powerful tool for building coalitions in their communities. At the time, emerging social science research pointed to the profound effect of racial disparities on health and well-being, but data on workforce and spending power impacts were not readily available. The initial report filled a gap, giving individual leaders a resource for broadening the conversation about racial equity and bringing it to the forefront in boardroom discussions and corporate meetings.
The stories, data, and analyses in this document — and the complementary materials available at the Kellogg Foundation’s digital hub (www.racialequityresourceguide.org) — can broaden this important dialogue, attract new energy and resources to this important work, and provide concrete steps each of us can take to achieve racial equity. But more importantly, it can move people to action and promote lasting change in society as a whole.
Each of us has an active role to play in the process. As you read this issue brief, or access its online tools, consider how and where you can commit to promoting racial equity on behalf of the children in your community.
Children who grow up in a society where their health, education, and well-being are considered valuable and important have higher achievement in school and more opportunities for employment and financial stability as adults. And just as advancing racial equity has a profound effect on children and their families, it also has tremendous influence on the potential for profound positive economic growth. Inequities hold our society back, and a growing number of leaders in both the public and private sectors recognize that fact. Investors, employers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and others have a stake in creating more equitable communities.
The updated “Business Case for Racial Equity” was created with these essential partners in mind — to connect the dots between current policies and practices, human capital constraints, untapped markets, and lost revenues.
When the first “Business Case for Racial Equity” issue brief was released in 2013, it provided civic leaders with a powerful tool for building coalitions in their communities. At the time, emerging social science research pointed to the profound effect of racial disparities on health and well-being, but data on workforce and spending power impacts were not readily available. The initial report filled a gap, giving individual leaders a resource for broadening the conversation about racial equity and bringing it to the forefront in boardroom discussions and corporate meetings.
The stories, data, and analyses in this document — and the complementary materials available at the Kellogg Foundation’s digital hub (www.racialequityresourceguide.org) — can broaden this important dialogue, attract new energy and resources to this important work, and provide concrete steps each of us can take to achieve racial equity. But more importantly, it can move people to action and promote lasting change in society as a whole.
Each of us has an active role to play in the process. As you read this issue brief, or access its online tools, consider how and where you can commit to promoting racial equity on behalf of the children in your community.
Author:
Ani Turner BA, MS, Altarum for W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Resource Date:
2018
Resource Type:
Topics:
Resource Address:
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
1 Michigan Avenue East
Battle Creek, MI 49017
1 Michigan Avenue East
Battle Creek, MI 49017