by Julie Burrell | June 18, 2024
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and is now recognized as a federal holiday — Juneteenth National Independence Day. Observing Juneteenth’s historical significance is a meaningful step in understanding American history. But for its history to mean something in our present moment, its lessons must be translated into tangible action. CUPA-HR offers the following resources, tools and research data to help confront and change racial inequities in the higher ed workforce.
Racial Composition and Compensation
Lingering historical inequities remain in higher ed’s current-day compensation, hiring and promotion practices. Juneteenth is a reminder that we need urgent solutions to these persistent inequities. Here’s a snapshot of the composition and pay for people of color in the higher ed workforce:
- Progress in both representation and pay has been sluggish for people of color, according to our data on administrators, faculty, professionals and staff collected in CUPA-HR’s signature surveys. Our interactive graphics track gender and racial composition as well as pay of administrators, faculty, professional and staff roles. (Read the executive summary.)
- Women of color have consistently been paid inequitably, with Black women paid 76 cents on the dollar in our most recent data.
CUPA-HR research also digs down into sectors of the higher ed workforce in terms of composition and pay. Recent research reports include:
- The Higher Education Financial Aid Workforce: Pay, Representation, Pay Equity, and Retention (read now)
- Representation and Pay Equity in Higher Education Faculty: A Review and Call to Action (read now)
- Higher Ed Administrators: Trends in Diversity and Pay Equity From 2002 to 2022 (read now)
- The Higher Ed Admissions Workforce: Pay, Diversity, Equity, and Years in Position (read now)
Fostering Inclusion
Long-term solutions to a more representative and equitably compensated workforce include adopting inclusive hiring and retention strategies, analyzing and auditing both compensation and promotion practices, and enacting policies that support your employees’ well-being. In these resources, we offer best practices and data-driven recommendations for a more equitable future.
