Centering race equity within youth workforce development: utilizing critical race theory

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has exacerbated stark racial and class inequities long present in the United States and other countries. As a field, workforce development supports and serves individuals at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities, with youth being a particularly important target population. The workforce development field can benefit from critically considering how racial equity can be formalized within activities. We offer Critical Race Theory (CRT) to advance theoretical understanding of the intersection of race and workforce development practice and use data from our recent research to examine how workforce development can approach efforts to further racial equity. First, we briefly review the literature related to racial disparities in employment and workforce training. We then describe CRT and its potential application to workforce systems. Finally, we present data from a recent study of local workforce development boards and conclude with suggestions to further race equity in employment and training for youth. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Community, Work & Family is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)