Data: State DOTs Look Nothing Like the Residents They Serve

The highest-ranking leaders at America's state transportation and highway departments are vastly more likely to be white and male than their constituents — and the needs of the marginalized will be under-represented until leadership is more representative, advocates say.

According to the latest HR data from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the highest-ranking executives responsible for many of America's roadways were 70.9 percent male and 85.3 percent white, excluding those who identified as Hispanic or Latino. The U.S. population, by contrast, was 49.6 percent male and 58.8 percent non-Hispanic white in the year the survey was conducted, according to the census.