Equal opportunity is the bedrock of American democracy, and our country’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths. However, in recognition of the fact that many Americans still face systemic barriers to equal opportunity and full participation in American life because of their race, on his first day in office, President Biden committed to an ambitious racial equity agenda, which included signing two Executive Orders and catalyzing a whole-of-government effort to redress disparities and inequities still faced by underserved communities. This Issue Brief summarizes social science research on the prevalence of discrimination by race in a variety of economic domains. It also highlights the role of racial bias, and presents some new analysis on the relationship between racial discrimination and racial bias.
Executive Summary
- While many gaps have improved over time, significant racial disparities exist in various aspects of American life, such as neighborhood quality (which affects the childhood environment), employment in adulthood, and wealth accumulation.
- Research shows the persistence of differential treatment by race in access to housing, employment, and mortgage or business loans—even in settings where there are no differences across groups other than race (for example, job applicants with identical resumes but different names), or settings where no other factors would influence outcomes—indicating that discrimination still exists today and plays a role in explaining current racial gaps.
- Research shows that barriers created by discrimination lead to considerable reductions in the well-being of the targets of discrimination, in addition to forgone economic activity for all Americans.
- Focusing on Black-White gaps—where there is the most evidence—across various domains (e.g., housing, employment, and access to capital), racial gaps that can only reasonably be ascribed to discrimination are most pronounced in geographic…
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