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Racial Equity

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RAND research has addressed racial equity from several angles. Studies have explored such topics as disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system, unequal economic opportunities and barriers to employment for people of color, the achievement gap between minority and nonminority students, and how differences in access to quality health care can affect individual and community health and well-being.

Research Brief

Early Insights from the Equity-First Vaccination Initiative

Dec 20, 2021

Vaccination rates among communities that identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) continue to lag relative to the total population. To increase vaccine confidence and access for these populations, the Equity-First Vaccination Initiative employs hyper-local, community-led strategies.
Content

Racial Equity Policy Research: Q&A Series

Sep 6, 2021

In this Q&A series, a diverse group of RAND experts discuss their ongoing research projects and the critical questions they hope to answer.

Explore Racial Equity

Announcement

A Statement by Michael D. Rich

Everyone must do more to eliminate racial inequities. At RAND, we will contribute by continuously strengthening our research and analysis on health, education, justice, security, and well-being. We must examine where these areas intersect, listen more to voices that are too often underrepresented, and integrate the historical and structural contexts in which policies have been developed and applied.

Jun 3, 2020
Report

How Are Americans Paying Their Bills During the Pandemic?

About one-third of U.S. households have experienced a decline in income as a result of COVID-19. Roughly 30 percent are having difficulties paying their bills, with these problems highly concentrated among low-income households, as well as black and Hispanic households.

Jun 3, 2020
Report

The Benefits and Risks of Face Recognition Technology

Face recognition technologies (FRTs) offer opportunities to improve identification efforts, but they also raise concerns about privacy and bias. Understanding the trade-offs between the utility and risks of FRTs is crucial for evaluating their adoption and implementation.

May 14, 2020
Report

Secondary Educators Consider Discipline Reform a Priority

One quarter of principals and 31 percent of teachers surveyed identified discipline reform as one of the top three most important interventions needed in their secondary schools. And those in high-poverty schools were more likely than those in low-poverty schools to do so.

Apr 9, 2020
Commentary

Incarceration Rates: A Key Measure of Health in America

There's widespread agreement that incarceration has adverse effects on health and health equity, not just for prisoners but also for families and communities. That's one important reason why incarceration in the United States needs to be reduced.

Apr 3, 2020
Report

Supporting Students' College and Career Pathways: Teacher and Principal Perspectives

Schools play a critical role in giving students access to college and career information and resources. What do U.S. high school educators think about the quality and availability of the resources that their schools provide?

Mar 26, 2020
Report

Principals Need More Support to Help Students with Disabilities, Especially in Schools That Serve Mostly Students of Color

Principals play a critical role in supporting America's 6.7 million students with disabilities. But most principals—especially those who lead schools that serve mostly students of color—believe that their schools could do a better job in this area.

Dec 31, 2019
Journal Article

Changing the Narrative: Police-Community Partnerships and Racial Reconciliation

This paper assesses community perceptions of crime and the police before and after the implementation of an intervention aimed at eliminating overt drug markets through focused deterrence and police-community partnerships emphasizing racial reconciliation.

Sep 20, 2019
Report

Addressing the Challenges of Algorithmic Equity

Social institutions increasingly use algorithms for decisionmaking purposes. How do different perspectives on equity or fairness inform the use of algorithms in the context of auto insurance pricing, job recruitment, and criminal justice?

Jul 11, 2019
Essay

How Pittsburgh Is Addressing Social and Economic Disparities

Pittsburgh has been taking a hard look at race, wealth, and opportunity. In partnership with RAND, the city has run and published its numbers on subjects ranging from police contacts to business ownership to graduation rates as part of a commitment to do better.

Jul 2, 2019
Journal Article

Pittsburgh Equity Indicators: A Baseline Measurement for Enhancing Equity in Pittsburgh

The 2018 Pittsburgh Equity Indicators report in enables the comparison of two years of data to measure change in disparities. The report includes information on equality scores for 2017 and 2018, as well as "change scores" between years.

Apr 24, 2019
Report

An Examination of Recruiting and Selection Practices to Promote Diversity for Colorado State Troopers

The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) seeks to better reflect the demographic representation of the state of Colorado. This report offers an exploratory examination of how CSP's recruiting and selection policies and procedures relate to that objective.

Feb 28, 2019
Essay

Faith-Based Organizations Promote Well-Being in Underserved Communities

Kathryn Derose, a senior policy researcher at RAND and an Episcopal deacon, works with Latino and African-American churches to address health issues in their communities. Her research has shown the power of the pulpit to fight health disparities, counter stigma, and encourage healthy living.

Jan 4, 2019
Research Brief

Restorative Practices Help Reduce Student Suspensions

Restorative practices—inclusive and non-punitive ways to respond to conflict and build community—have been successful in reducing student suspensions in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district.

Dec 27, 2018
Report

Can Restorative Practices Improve School Climate and Curb Suspensions? An Evaluation of the Impact of Restorative Practices in a Mid-Sized Urban School District

This study of Pittsburgh Public Schools' implementation of restorative practices represents one of the first randomized controlled trials of the effects of restorative practices on classroom and school climates and suspension rates.

Dec 27, 2018
Research Brief

Unequal Opportunity: Barriers to Employment in the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce

Summarizes results of research into representation of Hispanic people and people with targeted disabilities among the Department of Defense civilian workforce.

Dec 13, 2018
Report

Conceptualizing Community Stress

Understanding existing stress levels within a community can help inform how it responds to acute or traumatic events. RAND researchers outlined a framework to determine cumulative community stress and how it may affect public health and community resilience.

Jun 29, 2018
Journal Article

Use of Medication Therapy to Treat Opioid Abuse Among Medicaid Recipients Increased After Approval of New Drug

The number of Medicaid recipients receiving medication to treat opioid abuse increased sharply in the years after approval of buprenorphine, but the increase was smaller in poorer counties and areas with larger populations of black and Hispanic residents.

Jun 27, 2018
Report

Survey of Californians' Mental Health Finds Disparities

Tracking mental health indicators tells decisionmakers about changing population needs and how well policies and services designed to prevent and treat mental health conditions are working. According to data from 2011 to 2013, California could benefit from focusing on improving outcomes for women, Latino and black residents, and young adults.

May 1, 2018
Commentary

What Mariah Carey's Bipolar Revelation Could Mean for Public Health

Five-time Grammy winner Mariah Carey is being widely applauded for recently revealing she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001. By openly talking about her mental health struggles, she is helping lift mental illness out of the shadows and bringing attention to how common mental illness can be.

Apr 30, 2018

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