Introduction

The U.S. workforce is growing increasingly diverse. It’s estimated that by 2045, half of the adults living in the United States will be individuals who identify as people of color, with 13% of adults identifying as Black. For the country to remain economically competitive, people of all backgrounds must have opportunities to make significant contributions to the economy. The gains could be substantial: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that closing the racial equity gap could generate $8 trillion in U.S. GDP growth by 2050.  

But unless things change, that won’t happen. Currently, millions of people aren’t able to fully participate and succeed in education, training, and well-paid employment opportunities within high-growth industries, in part because they lack access to what are known as the social determinants of work—factors that help determine whether people can not only access quality jobs but also advance economically.

This market scan builds on a JFF brief titled “How Employers Can Address the Social Determinants of Work,” which offers recommendations for employers developing policies and practices to ensure that Black workers have the supports they need to succeed. Here, we examine the landscape of providers of wraparound support solutions, with a focus on offerings with the potential to benefit Black workers in securing and retaining high-wage career opportunities within high-growth industries.  

The solutions we highlight have the potential to benefit people of all backgrounds, not just Black workers. It’s an example of what’s known as the curb cut effect—when a program or policy designed to break down barriers facing one particular group ends up benefitting the population as a whole. The term was coined when cities started creating sidewalk curb cuts for people who use wheelchairs and many other people found the curb cuts useful, including parents pushing strollers, workers pushing carts, and even unencumbered pedestrians. 

As researcher Angela Glover Blackwell observed with regard to the curb cut effect, everyone wins when supports are made available to the people who need them most. Equity isn’t a zero-sum game. 

Just as curb cuts have benefitted everyone who uses sidewalks, wraparound supports can benefit the entire workforce. 

The Business Case for Wraparound Supports

The term wraparound supports generally refers to products, services, and resources designed to help employees succeed on the job by enabling them to address circumstances and responsibilities that limit their ability to focus on work. Examples include child care services, transportation assistance, and emergency financial support. Offerings may also include education and training programs and mentoring or coaching services that facilitate career advancement. Companies that actively seek inclusive ways to support workers see higher rates of retention, engagement, and productivity.  

For employers, providing workers with access to wraparound supports is a way to harness the full potential of the workforce. Some employers recognize this and have begun to reimagine talent management, adopting innovative approaches to recruiting, supporting, developing, and advancing workers and creating welcoming environments where people feel a sense of belonging that enables them to make the most of their skills and expertise.  

These actions yield positive results. According to McKinsey, employers that adopt practices designed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace report stronger financial performances than those that don’t.   

On the other hand, neglecting to offer wraparound supports could leave employers unable to tap the full potential of the U.S. workforce. And in particular, it would mean missing out on the talents of more than 21 million Black workers.  

It’s clear that providing comprehensive supports to workers from populations that have long faced systemic barriers to advancement is critical to the country’s economic vitality. This market scan can serve as a resource for employers who understand that and are ready to reimagine and reinvent their hiring and retention strategies so they can expand their talent pipelines by engaging skilled workers from communities they have overlooked in the past.  

The innovative solutions highlighted here include products, services, and programs designed to help people acquire new skills, expand their professional networks, and build social capital. This scan also identifies ways employers, possibly in partnership with nonprofit service providers, can use new and existing technologies to update, enhance, and scale their wraparound support offerings. 

For investors, our research sheds light on organizations that may need additional financial resources to scale innovations that promote inclusive employee recruitment, retention, and advancement efforts. And it offers valuable insights for policymakers and other stakeholders interested in advancing effective approaches to promoting workplace equity.  

Key Findings

Here are the most powerful insights that emerged from our research: 

1. Employers need to understand the factors such as lack of access to health care, child care, and transportation that limit workers’ access to quality jobs and economic advancement opportunities. And those who understand the specific circumstances of Black workers’ lives are in the best position to offer effective wraparound supports that will benefit all employees. This approach fosters inclusivity and equity in addressing the evolving challenges workers face.
   
   
2. Employers can position themselves for sustained success by offering programs and services that enable employees to manage the circumstances and challenges that limit their ability to succeed at work. It can yield business benefits, most notably in the form of improvements in workforce retention and productivity rates—though measuring the return on investment (ROI) of wraparound supports may take time. 
   
   
3. Existing technologies, like mobile apps and cloud-based platforms, and emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, are generating new and innovative ways to provide wraparound supports that deliver personalized benefits for workers but can be scaled to serve entire organizations or broader populations.
   
   
4. Organizations that want to promote long-term career advancement opportunities for Black workers should offer supports that facilitate skill-building and networking, which can expand people’s professional social capital. 

More About the Market Scan 

With Funding From Walmart Through the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity 

This market scan is made possible through the generous support of Walmart through the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity.

DISCLAIMER  

The research included in this report was made possible through funding by Walmart through the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity. The findings, conclusions, and recommendations presented in this report are those of Jobs for the Future alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Walmart or the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity. 

Contributors and Authors

Lead Author:  Zoe Acheampong | Senior Manager