We're excited to release the cover illustration for our upcoming report, State of the Dream 2020: Building a Fair Economy at the Intersections. This year, our State of the Dream report will focus on the significance of gender and race in the fight for a fair economy, and will be released late this month (April) to concide with Coretta Scott King’s birthday.*

And here's a sneak peak at a passage from the report!

There is a vast gender wealth gap amongst all racial and age groups in the United States. On average, single women have only 32 cents for every dollar of wealth owned by single men. This gap is particularly significant for millennials (people born between 1980 and 1997 in the US), who are 37% more likely than GenXers to live below the poverty line. The median wealth of single millennial men is 162% greater than that of single women in this group. For Black millennials, this gap is even greater: white men have nearly six times more wealth than Black women. These gaps remain in spite of increases in women’s educational attainment and participation in the economy.

Most Americans don’t really understand just how wide this racial wealth divide really is. Wealth inequality between white and Black households has reached its highest level since 1989. But a 2017 survey of over 1,000 adults found that most people – 97.4% – overestimate current levels of Black-white racial equality. Amazingly, over 60% of people surveyed overestimated racial equality by 50% or more, and 13.7% believed Black people have more wealth than white people.

Creating a fair economy requires ending systemic racism and dismantling the patriarchy. When we talk about racial and gender economic inequality, it’s important to remember we’re not just talking about numbers: we’re seeing the real effects people face in their experience navigating an economy founded on racism and sexism. Disparities in wealth are connected to and reflective of numerous other inequalities aside from income alone, and we will never be able to end the gender or racial wealth gaps without challenging the broader, underlying structures that drive them.

*(We'd originally planned on releasing the full report today, April 27th. But need another few days! This project truly is a labor of love for all our staff invovled.)