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Publications and Materials

The Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative has developed resources for scholars, advocates, practitioners, as well as members of the media and legislative staff  that looks at public policy through racial, gender, and wealth lenses to ensure the development and implemention of  policies that will create an inclusive economy and ensure economic mobility and security for all

Experts of Color Directory

The 2009-2010 Experts of Color Directory features 74 of the leading wealth building scholars, advocates, community practitioners, policy analysts, researchers, private sector leaders, philanthropists, consultants and government officials from the Native American, Asian American, African-American, Latino, and Native Hawaiian community. These experts are available to serve the needs of journalists, policymakers, and organizations who want to cover and craft policies that can help close America's racial wealth gap. Download (2MB, PDF).

Policy Papers

• "Lifting as we Climb: Women of Color, Wealth, and America's Future." Mariko Chang. March 2010. Full Paper (PDF), Executive Summary (PDF).
• "Laying the Foundation for National Prosperity. The Imperative of Closing the Racial Wealth Gap." Meizhu Lui. March, 2009. Full Paper (1MB, PDF), Executive Summary. Our foundational paper on the racial wealth gap that highlights the historical origins and current state of economic inequity.
• Principles for an Inclusive Economy (PDF). The Initiative developed a set of guiding principles for policymakers, educators, business and civic leaders to follow in order to reverse the effect of inequitable public policies and create a more inclusive economy.

Fact Sheets and Policy Briefs

The factsheets below provide a brief overview on the different barriers to asset building in communities of color as well as policy recommendations for addressing them.

• Social Security at 75: Building Economic Security, Narrowing the Racial Wealth Divide
• Native American Women and Wealth
• Immigrant Women and Wealth
• The Racial Gap in Debt, Credit and Financial Services
• The Racial Gap in Homeownership and Home Lending
• The Racial Gap in Savings and Investments
• The Racial Gap in Tax Policy
• The Racial Gap in Wages and Employment
• The Racial Gap in Business Development
• Social Insurance and Communities of Color
• The Racial Gap in Land Acquisition, Development and Retention

Co-released with the Institute on Assets and Social Policy

• "The Racial Wealth Gap Increases Four Fold." Thomas Shapiro et al. May 2010. Institute on Assets and Social Policy, Brandeis University.

Conferences and Presentations

March 8, 2010 - Women & Wealth Symposium - Washington, D.C

• Event Materials: Agenda, media advisory, Press Release.
  PowerPoint Presentations: Heidi Hartmann, Janis Bowdler, Shyama Venkateswar, Sherry Salway Black, Mariko Chang (PDFs).

Advocacy

• Comment letter on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) submitted to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on behalf of numerous nonprofit civil rights and community groups.
• Letter to Congress urging them to reject any proposals to bring unwarranted budget cuts or benefit reductions to Social Security that would have a disproportionately egregious impact on working families—especially working families in communities of color—that have been most harmed by the economic recession.
• Letter submitted to the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Reform requesting the opportunity of members of the Experts of Color Network to address the Fiscal Commission directly on Social Security reform.
• Letter submitted to the US Senate outlining policy recommendations that could help close the racial asset gap, including the gap in educational attainment on the proposed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
• Testimony by ECON member C. Nicole Mason on behalf of the Women of Color Policy Network at NYU before the U.S. Department of Labor ERISA Advisory Council titled "The Disparities for Women of Color in Retirement: An analysis of retirement readiness among racial and ethnic minority women."

Savings and Asset-Building Grants

With support from the Ford Foundation, the Insight Center awarded grants for research to inform the savings and asset-building field by incorporating the knowledge, perspectives, and experience of experts of color. This community included scholars, policy-makers, practitioners, and others who were selected because of their ability to carry out innovative and valuable research and practice that will positively impact the asset field. Click here for a brief overview of this exciting work.

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