The state of opportunity in America varies dramatically.  While significant progress has been made in closing the gender pay gap, for example, tremendous disparities exist between the high school graduation rates of white and black students.  Understanding the ways in which we can most meaningfully expand opportunity requires an in-depth analysis of these factors and the places which require the most attention. 

In collaboration with our partners, we conduct innovative research that informs our work and adds to the knowledge base of the social justice field.  The reports that we create from this research are distributed to legislators, advocates, and members of the media, as a means of driving the policy process and public dialogue.  In this way, we can build on the progress that has been made and strategically target those areas where opportunity lags.

Type Title
Research Report: The State of Opportunity Report (2009)

This is the 2009 State of Opportunity report.  Here you may download the final report, the final report with accompanying charts, a synopsis, and each of the indicators individually.

Read more about the report here.
Research Media Analysis: California Public Discourse on Immigration (2009)

For much of this decade, immigration has been an important topic on the public agenda. Nowhere is that more true than in California. The state is home to 9.9 million immigrants, its governor is an immigrant, and it is a border state on the front lines of the debate over immigration reform.
Research Report: Identifying and Evaluating Equity Provisions in State Health Care Reform (2008)

This report seeks to identify state policies that promote equitable health care access and quality and to evaluate existing laws, regulations, or reform proposals in five states—Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California. 
Research Report: Dangerous and Unlawful: Why Our Health Care System is Failing New York Communities and How to Fix It (2007)

This report offers new and crucial information to the Governor and the Legislature as they consider what steps to take to ensure access to quality health care for everyone in the State.
Research Book: All Things Being Equal (2007)

The Opportunity Agenda's first book, All Things Being Equal, documents critical ideas about the state of opportunity. 
Research Report: The State of Opportunity Update (2007)

This is the 2007 update to the State of Opportunity report.  There are two files, the full chart of indicators and a summary.
Research Report: Home Ownership and Wealth Building Impeded (2006)

Continuing Lending Disparities for Minorities and Emerging Obstacles for Middle-Income and Female Borrowers of All Races
Research Report: State of Opportunity (2006)

If the promise of opportunity is a core national commitment, it is essential to measure our success in fulfilling that commitment.  This report assesses the nation’s progress toward protecting and expanding opportunity for all Americans and encourages our policymakers, through bold leadership and innovative policies, to ensure the promise of o
Research Public Opinion: How to Work With Public Opinion Research (2004)

This basic primer was written by Loren Siegel based on her work managing the American Civil Liberties Union's public opinion research program during her tenure as Public Education Director (1991-2001).
Page Literature Review: Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys

This social science literature review focuses on the question of how media, and communications more broadly, affect outcomes for black men and boys in American society. The summary is intended to offer communicators — who come to the review with a wide range of backgrounds and depth of knowledge on the topic — a digestible overview of an extremely rich and varied body of research. It reviews a significant set of materials, representing many of the key approaches and themes that characterize the scholarship as a whole.
Page Public Opinion Monthly

Can Policymakers Learn Something From the Public?  A Majority of Americans Make Tradeoffs to Effectively Reduce the Deficit and Save Social Security.

By: Jill Mizell

February 28, 2011
Page Public Opinion Monthly (November 2010)

Economic Conditions Proved to be the Driving Force in the 2010 Elections
Page Public Opinion Monthly (October 2010)

Women, African Americans, Latinos, and Young Adults at the Election Booth: What we have learned about the attitudes of these groups since 2008

By Eleni Delimpaltadaki

Disparities and Attitudes by Demographic Group

Women:
Page Immigration: Arts, Culture & Media 2010 - A Creative Change Report

In fall 2009 The Opportunity Agenda launched an Immigration Arts and Culture Initiative with the goal of fostering arts, culture, and media activities that promote the inclusion, integration, and human rights of immigrants in the United States. The final element of this phase of the work is a research study to identify examples of arts, culture, and media projects that effectively move hearts and minds; break down prejudice; inspire community engagement; and, in the long term, encourage public support for the fair treatment and inclusion of immigrants in American society. A key outcome of the study is the identification of a pipeline of projects that could be brought to scale and/or considered for possible collaboration and support. This study, which was designed around a series of interviews and a survey to elevate best practices and compelling ideas, also includes a series of recommendations.

Blog Post Just How Unequal is the U.S.? We Have No Idea

The last three and a half decades have seen a disturbing increase in inequality in the U.S.  The wealthiest Americans have made significant income and wealth gains, while the rest of us have treaded water at best.  And yet, as our national dream of economic security and mobility dies, we don’t even care enough to offer a eulogy.  As Willy Loman’s wife reminded us, “Attention must be paid.”
Blog Post Keeping the American Dream in 2010 Alive

With or without government intervention? Public Opinion and Facts
Following a pro-longed debate over health care reform, a new legislative battle over financial regulation is under the way. What remains consistent in the public discourse and in Washington is the bone of contention: the role of government.

But what is it that we really argue about it? It could be many things such as the wellbeing of the people, the financial health of the country or America's leading role in world politics. In the bigger picture, a lot of what we are arguing and fighting for are embodied in the idea of the American Dream, that "dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" (James Truslow Adams).
Blog Post New statistical profiles of Immigrants and Hispanics in the U.S. just released

The Pew Hispanic Center just released updated statistical profiles of immigrants (38 million foreign-born residents) and Hispanics (47 million) in the U.S. The profiles include a large spectrum of information such as occupation, industry,  income, poverty, or educational attainment by race and ethnicity in 2008, and how that compares to 2000.

The data is available at http://pewhispanic.org/factsheets/factsheet.php?FactsheetID=58
Blog Post The State of Opportunity in America (2009) Released

The Opportunity Agenda is pleased to announce the release of our 2009 State of Opportunity in America report. The report documents America’s progress in protecting opportunity for everyone who lives here, and finds that access to full and equal opportunity is still very much a mixed reality.
Blog Post New Immigration Reports

The Opportunity Agenda has three new immigration reports:
(Click on the titles for access to the entire report.)
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