Racial Equity

Please Note: Throughout this section, you’ll notice certain words or phrases are highlighted to provide links to provide further education and understanding of specific topics. All opinions and thoughts presented in these resources are those of the author(s) and do not constitute the opinions of the Foundation. We recommend you perform your own additional research or speak with known experts regarding these topics. If you know of additional resources or publications that would be helpful to share as part of this effort, please email impact@foundationformetrowest.org.

Addressing racial inequity is essential to improving quality of life for all and requires attention on the national, state, and local level. For our region, we examine a wide range of indicators that highlight racial and ethnic disparities in our population, spanning Health, Education, Economic Security and other areas.

While the racial disparity data exists on a state and national level, it is important to understand how these indicators impact neighbors in the MetroWest region. Each indicator is illuminating and significant on its own. Examining all the indicators in this section as a whole, however, tells a broader narrative about the effects of systemic racism, many of the foundations of which can be traced back to the history of slavery in the United States. Though slavery has long been abolished, systems and policies across the United States have been built with the oppression of people of color in mind, including the denial of opportunities, resources, and needs highlighted in the data from education and housing to healthcare and more.

These policies and systems, which have had compounding negative effects on people of color throughout generations, include housing policies such as redlining, employment discrimination, unequal access to financial services and capital, education systems that fail to equitably serve all populations, inadequate health care delivery, unjust policies and practices in policing and criminal justice leading to a gap in incarceration rates, and many others that inhibited opportunities for people of color to transfer wealth from generation to generation.

As a result of historic and current policies and systems that have put people of color at a disadvantage, we see large disparities in the indicators included in this section, which range from rates of infant mortality and adult education levels to poverty and incarceration. We invite you to explore the data in this section in the context of the structural and systemic racism that underlies these disparities.





INDICATORS
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity
Children Living in Poverty
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity
Single-Parent Families
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity
Disengaged Youth
Reports of Domestic Violence
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments
Households Without Vehicles
Means of Transportation to Work
Households With Internet Access
Voter Participation Rate
Average Charitable Contribution
People Without Health Insurance
Opioid Overdose Mortality Rate
Crimes Against People
Incarceration Rates, by Race/Ethnicity
Change in Total Population
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity
Foreign-Born Population
Language Diversity
Population by Age
Change in Population by Age/Gender
Seniors Living Alone
People with Disabilities
Change in Total Jobs by Sector
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity
Unemployment Rate
Share of Workers who are Professionals, by Race/Ethnicity
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity
Average Salary by Sector
High-Tech Jobs
Female to Male Earnings Ratio
Prekindergarten Participation
Student Performance on Grade 3 English, by Student Group
School Spending Per Student
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group
Chronically Absent Students
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group
Education Levels of Adults
College Admission Rate, by Race/Ethnicity
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity
People Living in Poverty
People Living in Poverty, by Education Level
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity
Households Receiving Temporary Assistance
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity
Median Household Income
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity
Living Wage
80/20 Income Ratio
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity
Homeownership Rates
Homeownership Rates, by Race/Ethnicity
Cost of Homeownership
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity
Cost of Rent
Cost of Rent, by Race/Ethnicity
Homelessness
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity
Incarceration Rates, by Race/Ethnicity
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity
Share of Workers who are Professionals, by Race/Ethnicity
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity
Student Performance on Grade 3 English, by Student Group
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group
College Admission Rate, by Race/Ethnicity
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity
Homeownership Rates, by Race/Ethnicity
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity
Cost of Rent, by Race/Ethnicity


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