Numerous studies have demonstrated that employee ownership (EO) increases worker income and wealth, including for low- and moderate-income workers and workers of color. However, existing research has not sufficiently examined the benefits of EO for Black workers specifically, nor the experiences of Black business owners within the EO landscape. There is also a lack of research into the unique barriers Black communities may face in pursuing EO and what policy solutions may be effective at making EO more accessible to Black business owners and workers.

As a collaborative research effort between Project Equity, Morehouse College, and the University of California, Riverside, the “Increasing Black Income and Wealth through Employee Ownership” project will address these gaps by:

1. exploring whether the benefits of EO for Black workers are consistent and sustainable, primarily in the ESOP model using National Longitudinal Study of Youth data (led by University of California, Riverside);
2. investigating which targeted strategies are needed to effectively broaden the benefits of EO for Black communities, through surveys and in-depth interviews with Atlanta business owners and workers (led by Morehouse College); and
3. proposing a range of policy recommendations aimed at fostering the creation of more employee-owned businesses in Black communities, informed by best practices and supports from the public and private sectors (led by Project Equity).

Overall, this research aims to advance employee ownership as a powerful intergenerational wealth-building strategy for Black communities and solutions to bridge the racial wealth gap.