Leadership positions in the U.S. are disproportionately held by graduates of a few highly selective private colleges.
Could such colleges—which currently have many more students from high-income families than low-income families—increase the socioeconomic diversity of America’s leaders by changing their admissions policies? This research was conducted as part of Opportunity Insights, a project based at Harvard University, whose mission is to identify barriers to economic opportunity and develop scalable solutions that will empower people throughout the United States to rise out of poverty and achieve better life outcomes.