Dear Atlas users,

As 2022 comes to an end, we're celebrating what has been both a productive and transformative year for our team and partners. This year, we produced more than 30 data products, including reports, fact sheets, equity profiles, dashboards, and analyses, that have helped communities and advocates across the nation win on equity. Here are a few more updates from the Atlas to close out the year:

Applications for the National Equity Atlas Fellowship Are Now Open!

Are you a mid-career grassroots leader of color who’s interested in learning how to leverage data to bolster your organization’s campaigns? We’re now accepting applications for the second cohort of National Equity Atlas Fellows. This year-long program offers selected participants hands-on training in data analysis and visualization, opportunities to engage with data and policy experts, access to a peer network of other community-based leaders from across the United States, and dedicated support in developing original data projects. The deadline for applications is January 21, 2023, and the fellowship will begin in March 2023. To learn more about the program and how to apply, visit nationalequityatlas.org/lab/fellowship-cohort2.

Ensuring Workers in the Miami Metropolitan Area Are Prepared for the Jobs of Tomorrow

South Florida’s economic rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic has been turbulent, driven by persistent barriers to quality employment prospects for residents of color and an elevated risk of automation-driven job displacement. Our latest workforce equity report — produced in partnership with Florida International University — examines what these upheavals and ongoing racial economic exclusion are costing the three-county region. Our in-depth analysis of disaggregated equity indicators and labor market dynamics found that Black workers and Hispanic women in the Miami metropolitan region have the lowest median wages at $16 per hour, while white men earn the highest median wages at $27 per hour — a 69 percent pay gap. The research also indicates that eliminating racial gaps in wages and employment for working-age people could boost South Florida's economy by $122 billion a year. Download the full report, and explore other regional analyses in our Advancing Workforce Equity project.

Join Our Team

The USC Equity Research Institute invites applicants to apply for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in support of the research and activities of the Atlas. The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to contribute to building data infrastructure for the equity movement, conduct quantitative and qualitative research, and participate in engagements with community advocates and policymakers. Please help us spread the word!

Thanks for Being a Part of Our Growing Network

We appreciate your continued support and interest in our work. Please stay tuned for new research, updated data, and more opportunities to connect with us in 2023! In the meantime, if you’ve found any of our data, research, or resources valuable this year, we want to hear from you! Share your thoughts and stories with us at info@nationalequityatlas.org.


- The National Equity Atlas Team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Dear Atlas users,

In this season of gratitude and giving, we want to thank you for supporting the National Equity Atlas and our work. We’re gearing up to release updated data and new research that help further advance racial and economic equity. To increase our capacity and better support the leaders and communities we partner with, we’ve expanded our team. Here is more on this exciting news and other updates:

Atlas Team Members Who Joined in 2022 (from top left to bottom right): Alex Balcazar, Bita Minaravesh, Gabriel Charles Tyler, Jennifer Tran, Ryan Fukumori, Seleeke Flingai, Simone Robbennolt, and Vanessa Garcia.

You might have already noticed, but there have been many new members added to the Atlas team this year. Please help us in officially welcoming them: Alex Balcazar, Bita Minaravesh, Gabriel Charles Tyler, Jennifer Tran, Ryan Fukumori, Seleeke Flingai, Simone Robbennolt, and Vanessa Garcia. We’re thrilled to have these eight amazing leaders support and boost our change-making work!

ICYMI: A Blueprint for Workforce Equity in Metro Detroit

The latest report in our Advancing Workforce Equity project spells out how long-standing racial gaps in income and employment have impacted Metro Detroit’s workforce and economy: People of color make up a large share of the region’s workforce. Despite this growth and the increasing economic prosperity in the region, Black and Latinx workers in particular aren’t benefiting equitably. Our research also shows that eliminating these racial gaps would provide the region with an estimated $28 billion in economic activity per year. The report and its findings have been covered in Crain’s Detroit Business, Axios Detroit, and Bridge Michigan.

New State Profiles Illuminate the Stark Racial Disparities in Eviction across the Nation

Eviction cases are rising across the United States as Covid-era renter protections continue to end, putting millions of people at-risk of experiencing homelessness. The Eviction Research Network — a collaborative research project for social good based at UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project — has released several state profiles that illustrate eviction patterns and disparities before and during the pandemic. The analyses underscore the persistence of racial disparities in eviction, with Black renters consistently facing the greatest threat of eviction in localities across the nation. Thus far, maps and profiles have been released for Delaware, Indiana, Minnesota, and Oregon.

Do You Have an Atlas Story to Share?

If you’ve found any of our data, research, or resources valuable, we want to hear from you! Share your thoughts and stories with us at info@nationalequityatlas.org.

- The National Equity Atlas Team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Dear Atlas users,

While top-line measures indicate that the US economy has largely bounced back from the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of workers and families across the nation are still reeling. In Detroit, Michigan, local leaders are working across sectors to co-create solutions that advance equity for workers and ensure that families can thrive. The National Equity Atlas remains committed to providing actionable insights and support to those working to ensure racial equity is at the forefront of recovery efforts. Here are more updates:

New Research Reveals that Black Workers Have Borne the Brunt of Metro Detroit’s Inequitable Labor Market and Uneven Economic Growth

In the years following the Great Recession, Metro Detroit showed promise of a strong economic rebound. But our report, produced in partnership with the Detroit Area Workforce Funders Collaborative, illustrates how long-standing racial gaps in income and employment have impacted the region’s workforce and economy: The region has a shortfall of good jobs that do not require a college degree and only 29 percent of the region’s workers hold good jobs. And despite the growing diversity of the region's workforce, workers of color remain crowded in lower paying and lower opportunity occupational groups, while white workers are overrepresented in many higher paying professions. Our research indicates that eliminating racial inequities in employment and wages could boost Detroit’s regional economy by about $28 billion a year. Download the full report — and explore the other regional analyses in our Advancing Workforce Equity project.

Prop 22 Undermines the Pay, Benefits, and Autonomy of California Rideshare Drivers

In their campaign for Prop 22, rideshare companies promised drivers good pay, benefits, and flexibility. But our analysis of real driver data — developed in partnership with Rideshare Drivers United (RDU) — reveals that the law has given these companies a free pass to deny their drivers critical rights and protections. As a result, the average net earnings of rideshare drivers in California are just $6.20 per hour under Prop 22. If rideshare companies were forced to respect drivers’ labor rights, they would earn an average of three times more per hour. Explore more findings in the report.

Atlas in the News

Over the last month, our study with RDU received significant media coverage, which was featured in MarketWatch, WIRED, Tech Times, Mission Local. For more, explore the archive of our news coverage.

- The National Equity Atlas Team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)