Barriers to quality, empowered jobs for working people in the Bay Area endanger the future of our economy.

While employment rates fail to show the quality of jobs workers have, the racial disparities in this simple measure can still be an important indicator of workforce equity. In Marin County, employment rates are comparable to or higher than the regional rate for all racial/ethnic groups, with smaller disparities among adults of different racial/ethnic groups.

Not all job creation is good job creation.

In Marin County, middle-wage job growth continues to be strong (40 percent from 1990-2021) a positive sign for economic mobility from lower-wage jobs. However, growth in high-wage jobs has lagged. Improving job quality and protections for all workers in all sectors is essential for building a more equitable and sustainable regional economy.

Economic growth should benefit all workers and communities.

Bay Area decision-makers have implemented economic policies that created unprecedented wealth in our region for those in the highest wage jobs, at the expense of those in low and middle wage jobs.

Pay for the highest-earning workers in Marin County has increased by 56 percent since 1990, while earned income has declined by 6 percent over the same period for those in the lowest-paid jobs.

Worker power is the only time tested, scalable strategy to create family sustaining jobs.

Strengthening unions and other forms of organizing that build collective power among working people is essential to improving job quality, and can increase the availability of a skilled workforce. In the Bay Area, Native American and Black workers are most likely to belong to unions. But overall, more than five out of six workers in the region are not protected by union membership.

Eliminating barriers to employment and closing racial wage gaps could boost Marin County’s economy by about 15 percent.

The Bay Area is at a crossroads. We can either double down on the inequitable economic and employment trends of the past 40 years, or reimagine an economy that is powered by the full collective potential of our region. In 2020 alone, employment and wage inequities cost Marin County’s economy an estimated $3 billion in unrealized GDP.

Marin County becomes more diverse every year, though at a slower rate than other parts of the Bay Area.

Only 31 percent of Marin County working age adults are people of color, compared to 62 percent regionwide.

Educational attainment is an important contributor to economic freedom. Persistent racial inequities in education must be eliminated.

In Marin County, 61 percent of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree. But white adults in the county are more than twice as likely as Latinx adults and Black adults to have a four-year degree.

The Bay Area economy is controlled by those who benefit the most from the status quo; inequities preserve political power for the few.

On average, white workers in Marin are paid $41/hour, about 11 percent more than the county’s median wage of $37/hour, while US-born Latinx workers are paid 15 percent less than the county median. At $16/hour, Latinx immigrants are paid the lowest median wages in the county (57 percent below the overall median).

How much you get paid determines how much you can afford; only 62 percent of working people in Marin County can afford basic family living expenses.

Only 27 percent of Latinx full-time working people in the County are paid enough to cover the cost of living for a family of four with two full-time working adults, compared to 70 percent of their white counterparts.

Working people of color continue to be concentrated in lower-wage jobs.

In Marin County, Latinx workers make up 17 percent of the overall workforce, yet are 37 percent of those in food preparation and serving jobs.

Quality, empowered jobs are critical, but everyone must be able to compete for them.

Across all racial groups in Marin County, labor force participation is highest for male-identifying people. Among female-identifying people, the gap is largest between Latina and multiracial adults (75 and 85 percent labor force participation, respectively). Among male-identifying people, the largest gap is between white workers (88 percent) and their Asian American counterparts (93 percent). To ensure all people have access to quality jobs, systemic and structural changes are needed that address bias in hiring and the inequitable availability of child care, transportation, and housing.

The lack of Bay Area housing affordability is both a driver and a result of inequities in the Bay Area economy.

People of color, and especially women of color, shoulder the greatest burden of the lack of affordable housing in the Bay Area. Outrageous housing costs and unlivable wages force too many families to choose between paying rent, paying for other essential needs, or moving out of their communities. In Marin County, 64 percent of renter households headed by Latinx adults are rent-burdened, compared to 46 percent of renter households headed by white adults.

Many Bay Area working people face extremely long and expensive commutes resulting in less take-home pay, higher child care costs, and lower quality of life

High housing costs in areas where jobs are concentrated mean that low-income workers who rely on public transit have the longest average commutes in the Bay Area. About 7 percent of Black and Native American workers spend 90 minutes or more traveling to work, one way. All workers deserve access to safe and affordable transportation with a reasonable commute time. Not only are shorter commutes better for workers, they are also better for communities and the environment.

Health care access continues to look very different across races and ethnicities.

Safe and healthy working people means healthy families and thriving businesses. Yet 11 percent of Latinx and Black residents in Marin County do not have health insurance — five times the rate of their white counterparts.

For a diverse, prosperous and equitable future, our political leaders must reflect the Bay Area community.

People of color are not equitably represented in high-level elected offices, contributing to political and economic power imbalances. In Marin County, people of color account for nearly 30 percent of the population but hold no high-level elected offices.

Increased economic and political power in communities of color can lead to a Bay Area that works for all of us.