Among the region’s residents, Pittsburgh’s African American men have historically and
disproportionately faced unprecedented barriers to economic opportunities. This study, supported by
The Heinz Endowments, focuses on structural barriers that contribute to persistent racial disparities in
the Pittsburgh region. Structural barriers are obstacles that collectively affect a group
disproportionately and perpetuate or maintain stark disparities in outcomes. Structural barriers can be
policies, practices, and other norms that favor an advantaged group while systematically disadvantaging
a marginalized group. A community touched by race-based structural barriers can be identified by the
racial and economic stratification of its residents; Pittsburgh, like many large cities in the United States,
fits that description.
We began the study in January 2014 with four goals:
1. to document the racial disparities in African American and white men’s access to employment,
financial services, and business development opportunities by using large, publicly available
data sources, as well as aggregate local data collected and disseminated by regional
organizations and institutions;
2. to identify structural barriers by examining policies, practices, and norms that likely contribute
to disproportionate outcomes by race;
3. to recommend strategies Pittsburgh’s philanthropic community and other key stakeholders
could adopt to begin dismantling structural barriers; and
4. to identify measurable indicators of barriers Pittsburgh stakeholders could use to gauge the
region’s progress in reducing barriers over time.