Many of these gaps are driven by poverty, she said.
They can also be found when comparing different socioeconomic classes.
These “opportunity gaps” can be found when comparing any nonwhite, non-Asian American student with their white or Asian American peers, García said. “As soon as you start measuring differences in any outcomes for Black and white kids, you would find differences, you would find gaps,” said Emma García, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. One of the first steps in closing these gaps is to realize where they begin and why. Until real progress is made on this issue, among others, higher ed leaders' calls for diversity and inclusion, public statements on societal racism, and decisions to change building names or remove statues with racist legacies will continue to ring hollow. At some institutions, including public flagship and research universities, access has worsened for Black students in recent years. Equity gaps between students based on their race, ethnicity and income persist and thrive at most institutions.įor Black students, simply accessing higher education remains difficult, particularly at four-year colleges. But it can be a vehicle to lessen those gaps. Higher education is not the root of all equity gaps.
