Westchester needs to invest in a more equitable workforce

As the home of some of the nation”™s richest neighborhoods by household income, Westchester County is often portrayed as a region of great wealth. But our county also has high rates of poverty and income disparity ”” issues that are directly correlated with race and ethnicity.

Simply put, our Black and Latino households do not benefit from the same economic opportunities as their white neighbors. The newest version of the Westchester Index ”” an initiative of the Westchester Community Foundation ”” clearly illustrates these disparities.

In Westchester County, the median income for white households is about $116,000, nearly twice the amount earned by the median Black and Latino households. These discrepancies are about 15% more than the statewide and national averages and are concerning from both a social and economic perspective. According to the Economic Policy Institute, income inequality is a major deterrent to business growth ”” restricting spending power and the overall productivity of our workforce.

Together, we can begin to close our community”™s income gaps. But only if we work to truly understand and address their root causes.

That”™s why the Westchester Community Foundation re-launched the Westchester Index in the spring of 2022. This equity-focused community indicators website spans six topic areas including economic security, education and health ”” with the goal of understanding our county”™s disparities across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic divides and measuring our progress in addressing them.

The Index includes some truly sobering data. In addition to high levels of income disparity, it shows us that:

● 15% of Black and 13% of Latino residents in Westchester County live below the poverty line”” roughly double the percentage of white and Asian residents.
● Black residents face the highest rate of unemployment of any ethnic group in our community.
● Nearly one out of five Black seniors are living in poverty, compared to about one out of 20 white seniors.

If we can close these gaps and create more equitable opportunities for everyone in our community, we can build a stronger local economy.

Decades of research shows that creating access to good jobs is one of the surest solutions to poverty. By creating more diversified pathways to professional opportunities, we help people build sustainable career paths ”” and ensure business growth.

The Westchester Community Foundation has already started taking important steps toward advancing the workforce and shared prosperity. For example, we recently invited the tech nonprofit The Knowledge House to conduct IT training in three cities ”“ Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle, where the data shows persistent high poverty rates and low levels of youth employment. Jobs in information technology pay better than jobs in other sectors that employ 16-to-24-year-olds in the county.

Through this grant, we will be able to help an important segment of our workforce develop the skills it needs to succeed ”” and begin to address our region”™s income disparities. We can achieve even more by bringing more members of our community together to take action.

Because the Index provides data at the local municipal level, you can use the data to inform your decision-making in your community and to decide how you can best help create a more equitable and thriving region.

Finally, consider using our data as talking points to educate others. Share this information with your network to help motivate change within the business community, and beyond.

Together, we can make a difference in helping improve Westchester County”™s workforce and creating a community where everyone has an opportunity to thrive.

Laura Rossi is executive director of Westchester Community Foundation.