Summary
Even before the pandemic, many workers struggled to build wealth. Divisions between men and women, and between white households and households of color, are particularly striking. The pandemic has exacerbated and heightened awareness of these inequities, and there is a mounting sense of urgency to find practical solutions. Increasing participation in business ownership can help address this wealth divide, strengthen job quality, and boost business performance, so that businesses and workers succeed together. This issue brief, “Race and Gender Wealth Equity and the Role of Employee Share Ownership,” makes a case for why policymakers, funders, and investors who care about racial and gender wealth equity should support employee share ownership. Coauthored by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, and the Democracy at Work Institute, the paper provides a set of concrete policy and practice ideas to expand employee ownership and advance equity and economic justice.