Postsecondary to Prosperity: A Conversation About Transforming an Inequitable System to Fuel Opportunity

The pandemic has made the need for innovative options in higher education clear and urgent. “Postsecondary to Prosperity: A Conversation About Transforming an Inequitable System to Fuel Opportunity” explores how higher education systems can be transformed so California’s post-pandemic future can be one where every Californian has the opportunity to thrive.

California Competes Executive Director Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez introduces the California Postsecondary to Prosperity Dashboard, a groundbreaking new tool that allows users to quantitatively assess educational opportunity, upward mobility in the workforce, and quality of life indicators such as commute time and homeownership rates throughout California’s diverse regions.

Dr. Jez then leads a panel discussion about building an inclusive and equitable economic recovery with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Senior Policy Advisor for Higher Education Dr. Lande Ajose and ECMC Foundation President Peter J. Taylor.

Well-informed public policy measures are more critical than ever in building a strong and vibrant future for the state. By better understanding the disaggregated data that the new Dashboard highlights, Californians can take a first step toward addressing persistent inequities in California’s education-to-employment pipeline. This tool offers comprehensive data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, income, education level, and region, allowing users to analyze a wide range of curated metrics that show the inequitable pathways to higher education and economic mobility challenging so many Californians.