Helping young men of color join Bay Area’s booming economy
As a national debate rages over racial justice from the fields of the NFL to the halls of Congress, the Bay Area is acting to achieve economic opportunity for all. Leaders from the business and equity advocacy communities are partnering to drive better economic outcomes for young men of color and launch them on productive, rewarding and fulfilling careers.
The Bay Area currently has one of the hottest economies in the world. Since 2011, we have added over 600,000 jobs. These gains have pushed the regional unemployment rate down to almost 3 percent and driven median income to the second highest level in the country.
Yet, this economic prosperity does not benefit all our residents equally. We are facing a defining moment where a lack of equal access to opportunity is widening the skills gap — and turning employment into a birthright for some and an elusive dream for others.
Nationwide, young men of color are more often born into systemic poverty, are more likely to become high school dropouts and experience vastly disproportionate rates of incarceration.
In the Bay Area, men of color have the highest unemployment rate among their peers (18 percent for black men). In Oakland, Latino men have the lowest per capita income at $16,635, while black men follow second at $23,139. With nearly 60 percent of our region’s population made up of people of color, a huge portion of our population is being left behind in our regional economy.
At the same time, nearly half of U.S. employers report difficulty filling jobs and believe that their talent shortages have a high impact on their ability to meet their consumers’ needs and stay competitive in a global marketplace. Research has proven that diverse talent pools benefit businesses and the economy. McKinsey & Company finds that ethnically diverse companies are 35 percent more likely to have higher financial returns than industry medians. It is therefore both a social and economic imperative to create a strategy around engaging young men of color in the Bay Area’s vibrant economy.
Many individual employers are motivated to launch company diversity and inclusion efforts, but there is a conspicuous lack of a regional, sustainable and scalable model to expand opportunity for young men of color. By committing to a comprehensive strategy around hiring and retaining young men of color, Bay Area employers can meet their growing workforce needs and strengthen our robust economy.
The Bay Area Young Men of Color Employment Partnership (BAYEP) offers a regional strategy for engaging with businesses in hiring and retaining young men of color. Led by the Bay Area Council, LeadersUp, Urban Strategies Council, PolicyLink and the United Way of the Bay Area, along with a much larger network of community leaders, elected officials, businesses and community based-service providers, BAYEP has helped thousands of young people over the past year by connecting them to entry level jobs and a range of important career planning services.
On Oct. 17, BAYEP hosted its second Career Pathway Summit in Oakland to promote career development and skills training, promote the program among critical stakeholders and graduate the first group of young men engaged in our 18-month career pathway pilot program. Hundreds of youth participated, along with more than 24 employers, connecting almost 300 young adults to career opportunities.
It was a good example of how the Bay Area can use its power as a global innovation and business leader to ensure young men of color have an equal opportunity to participate in the region’s economic success.
The Bay Area currently has one of the hottest economies in the world. Since 2011, we have added over 600,000 jobs. These gains have pushed the regional unemployment rate down to almost 3 percent.