There are wide contrasts between how minority groups and White Americans view access to opportunities for people like them in the American system. YouGov’s Social Change monitor finds that on topics such as education, jobs and wages, and access to health care, Black and Hispanic Americans are significantly more likely to believe that people like themselves are afforded fewer opportunities.
Take the idea of receiving a good education: two-thirds of White Americans say people like them get about the same opportunity as others, while less than half of Black Americans say the same (44%). Instead, 48% of Black Americans think that people like themselves have less opportunity to receive a good education, along with a third (34%) of Hispanic Americans.
When it comes to the opportunity to get a well-paying job, Black Americans are substantially more likely to feel disadvantaged compared to the other racial groups. Just 33% of Black Americans say they get an equal opportunity at getting a well-paying job, compared with 49% of Hispanic Americans and 61% of White Americans. Nearly three in five Black Americans say they receive less opportunity at a well-paying job (57%).
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions shows racial inequities in the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among Black and Hispanic Americans compared with the general population. And here too those same minority groups believe that people like them do not receive equal access to the health care they need. More than half of Black (59%) and Hispanic Americans (53%) think they are not able to get affordable health care (compared with 42% of White Americans).
The YouGov Social Change Monitor tracks consumer attitudes towards equality and fairness on several social movements, including gender equality. For more information about the YouGov Social Change Monitor, contact social.change@yougov.com
Data from YouGov’s Social Change Monitor is based on the online interviews of 13,153 US adults aged 18 and over. Interviewers were conducted June 30 – October 25, 2020 and the sample was weighted to be nationally representative.
Image: Getty
