Think nationally, act locally: How to use data to close equity gaps

Racial and ethnic inequities are a global issue: No geography can say it has resolved them. But the way these problems manifest themselves — in areas such as education, food security, internet access and housing — is intensely local.

Recently, McKinsey compared national data to that of eight U.S. cities with large Black and Hispanic populations. One finding was that there can be stark differences not only from state to state and city to city, but even neighborhood to neighborhood. And that led to a conclusion: All of this local data must be included as a source of insight to deliver change that improves people’s lives.

Sorting through the data can be difficult. Local leaders may be tempted to choose whatever topic is in the news, or worse, to rely solely on their intuition. How to make sense of it all? And where to start?

Here are three steps that can help.