Increasing Black Income and Wealth through Employee Ownership

Studies have shown employee ownership (EO) increases worker income and wealth, including for low- and moderate-income workers and workers of color. However, these studies are not conclusive regarding benefits to Black workers specifically, nor across all types of employee-owned companies, do not include the experience of Black business owners, and do not compare the Black EO experience against economic policies and practices in the government and private sectors.

This project will:

1. Explore whether the benefits of employee ownership for Black workers are consistent and sustainable across various forms of broad-based EO.
2. Seek to provide a deeper understanding of what targeted strategies are needed to effectively bring the benefits of EO to Black business owners and Black workers, whether their employers are Black or not.
3. Recommend ways that pro-employee ownership policies can best create positive impact for Black business owners and Black workers by taking into account Black business owners' historical barriers and cultural perspectives.

This research will advance the capacity of EO to address the racial wealth gap by increasing EO awareness and education, providing a framework to address barriers and increase access to EO for Black business owners and businesses with a high density of Black workers, and proposing a range of EO policy solutions that can be implemented across all levels of government.