GAO Reports Highlight Racial Inequalities in America
In light of recent civilian deaths and issues of police brutality, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has created a landing spot which provides a broad look at GAO’s work on racial inequality over the years. GAO has identified racial inequalities and provided recommendations for addressing them in government and in the United States generally in many reports since the 1970s. The new landing spot provides easy access to all of these reports in various categories.
The education section of the webpage describes a 2016 report in which GAO found an increase in the number of poor students, mostly Black and Hispanic, in economically and racially concentrated schools. In 2018, GAO found that Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined in K-12 public schools.
The equal employment section of the webpage notes that the federal government is the nation’s largest employer, but in 1979, GAO found that exams administered by the Office of Personnel Management to screen applicants for federal employment disqualified Black job seekers at higher rates than white job seekers. GAO encourages federal agencies to work closely with potential employees to ensure they are being treated fairly.
The webpage links to past reports which found that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development still struggle with racial inequality and promoting minority employees.
The section of the webpage on representation in the Census reports that white people in America are often overcounted in the Census, while Black and Indigenous people are undercounted. Because the Census determines the allotment of federal funding for various programs, racial disparities in the count can affect resource distribution.
The healthcare section of the webpage compiles reports that highlight the discrepancies in care and treatment between Black and white women. Black and Indigenous women are two to three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes and minorities receive lower-quality health care than white people, regardless of factors like income and insurance coverage, according to GAO reports.
Another section of the webpage covers GAO reports regarding race and the military. One report found that Black and Hispanic servicemembers were more likely than white servicemembers to be tried in general and special court-martial proceedings.
For more information on GAO’s study on racial disparities, readers can access the GAO WatchBlog. Here, they can read condensed articles on race and governance in multiple aspects of life.
