Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
A growing gap in higher ed
Diversity & Inclusion
September 22, 2022 – Many US colleges and universities have pledged to achieve racial and ethnic representational parity among both student and staff populations, but progress has been incremental at best and may not be reached in our lifetime. Recent McKinsey analysis finds that at current enrollment rates, it would take 70 years to reach representational parity for marginalized populations among students. To achieve instructional staff parity at four-year schools, that number leaps to 1,439 years. Click through the interactive below to see more results.
To read the article, see “Racial and ethnic equity in US higher education: Students and faculty,” July 25, 2022.
Interactive
customizer here
Visual form
Student-parity horizontal bar comparison.
Layout / body structure
The chart reads like a table: categories appear on the left, 2013 and 2020 horizontal bars sit in the center, and a Time to parity column on the right converts the gap into years or Never.
What is being compared
It compares the share of US higher-education institutions where student representation is equal to or above national demographic levels, by institution type and race.
Measurement system
The bars show percent of institutions. Blue marks 2013 and dark navy marks 2020, with pale gray showing the remaining distance to parity.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The visible slide includes rows for four-year institutions, research-intensive institutions, Black, Hispanic, Native American or American Indian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and two or more races. The right column shows parity estimates such as 44 years, 433 years, 45 years, 54 years, and Never.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows that representation improved in some groups but remains far from parity, and several groups are not on a path to parity within the visible estimate.
Key standout values or extremes
Research-intensive institutions show only 9.2 percent in 2020 and an estimated 433 years to parity. The Black, Native American or American Indian, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander rows are marked Never.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
Prev and Next step through the two-slide sequence.
Companion media, when applicable
The chart is the full visual on this page. There is no separate companion audio or video outside the visual.