Study finds little diversity in private economic development boards

Research Analyst for Good Jobs First, Nya Anthony, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss her recent report on racial inequality within the board seats at privatized state economic development corporations across nine states.

Anthony issues of Equity and Transparency in the workplace for Good Jobs First. Good Jobs First is an organization committed to telling the story of corporate welfare and misconduct, while working with constituency-based groups, public officials, journalists, academics and others to build a more equitable and just economy.  As part of her work, she recently released a report outlining the racial disparity in the leadership of privatized state economic development corporation boards in Ohio and eight other states.

The boards Anthony studied had 113 out of the 144 seats filled by white individuals. Each state’s government appoints the board members, and Anthony noted that less than 20 percent of the appointments were a person of color. She discussed states like Michigan, which are doing a good job of being racially diverse in their board. On the other hand, Virginia was found to not have any diverse representation on its board despite having a high percentage of its population made up of different races.

The report aims to point out the racial disparity in these private boards. With the boards becoming private after initially starting as a public entity, enforcing racial equity in their boards becomes more difficult. Anthony hopes these organizations will begin to address the racial inequity in their board. You can view Anthony's fourth installment of the Good Jobs First quarterly report by visiting this website.

Listen as Anthony goes into greater detail about the report in the episode above.