KentuckianaWorks recognizes that decades of unfair civic, housing, and workforce policy have created systemic inequities for African American job seekers. As a result, our economy suffers from wage disparities and occupational segregation.
With this in mind, we have made promoting racial equity a foundational pillar of our organization’s Values and Strategic Priorities. By promoting racial equity, we simply mean confronting the workforce barriers that exist for Black workers in the Louisville region so that race does not negatively impact their career opportunities or success.
Disparities at a Glance
The deficits in economic resources and opportunities available for Black Americans compared to other groups is well-documented. You can see in the charts below that, even when adjusting for education and training levels, significant disparities persist between Black and white residents of the Louisville region.
Black workers are also underrepresented across a number of high wage sectors, including engineering, technology, and finance. The chart below shows the glaring deficit of Black workers in these sectors in the Louisville region.
Workforce Inclusion Strategies
KentuckianaWorks is investing in a variety of resources meant to advance racial equity in our local workforce and help more people find good careers. You can learn more about them below.
Bridging the Digital Divide
Growing digital access by improving digital literacy and providing equipment and internet connectivity.
Initiative active until June 2022
Disparity being addressed: Black workers are more likely to lack digital access, keeping good jobs out of reach.
Local Partners: Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Louisville Urban League
Redesigned Jobs, Resilient Workers
Working with local employers to redesign frontline roles into higher quality positions.
Initiative active until June 2023
Disparity being addressed: Black workers are underrepresented in good jobs.
Local Partners: Various employers
Generation Work
Supporting area youth-serving organizations and employers to be more responsive to the needs of young adults of color by prioritizing worker voice, positive youth development and racial equity principles.
Initiative active until December 2024
Disparity addressed: Black workers are overrepresented in low-wage roles.
Local Partners: Coalition Supporting Young Adults, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Metro United Way, YouthBuild Louisville
Research and News
2020 Data Review: An uneven economic recovery for the Louisville region
The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has reverberated throughout the world. The Louisville region’s economy has also suffered as people and businesses reacted to the public health crisis. In this post, we review the data from throughout 2020 to see the economic impact in the local economy. The recovery since the depths of the pandemic has been uneven across sectors and unequal for different workers. Read More >>
A snapshot of Louisville's workers in the frontline industries responding to the coronavirus pandemIC
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many people who continue to go to work each day to keep us all safe and fed. Workers in the frontline industries responding to the pandemic are critically important to getting our community through these uncertain times. In this post, we take a look at the characteristics of the workers who are helping to keep buildings clean, provide access to the goods we all need, and caring for the sick and vulnerable. Read More >>
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Demographics Dashboard
Our easy-to-use data dashboard tracks workforce outcomes by race and other demographic factors across all of our workforce programs.
Want to tell us something?
KentuckianaWorks recognizes that there are many more aspects of inclusion than race alone. Each of the workforce readiness programs we fund strive to provide equal and just access to job seekers.
Has that been your experience with the local workforce system? We would like to hear your feedback, positive or negative, so we can address concerns and make improvements.
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