About JA :: What's New

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release February 25, 2004

African-American Youths Most Interested in Studying Business in College, According to JA/Diversity Pipeline Alliance Poll

Three Times as Many Blacks as Whites or Hispanics Planning to Study Business.

Colorado Springs, Colo. - A new poll of 1,214 youths between the ages of 8 and 18 shows that more than a quarter (28%) of young Blacks plan to study business in college, considerably more than young Whites (8%) or Hispanics (1%). The next subject favored by Black youths was Pre-Law/History/Economics (17%), which also was favored more than Hispanics (14%) or Whites (6%). Harris Interactive conducted the poll in January 2004 for Junior Achievement, and The Diversity Pipeline Alliance®.

The Diversity Pipeline Alliance® is the sponsor of Junior Achievement’s new “Student Education Center” at http://studentcenter.ja.org/aspx/FindCollege/. The center is a free resource to help students and their families learn how to choose and get into the right college.

“The poll illustrates a tremendous interest in postsecondary business education among minority students, especially in the African-American community,” said Peggy F. Sparks, Director, Partners in Education program, Birmingham City Schools, Alabama. “Junior Achievement’s new online resource will certainly help students of all backgrounds - both in my richly diverse community and nationwide- learn about a career in business. More than anything, the effort will help draw some much needed attention to the large number of educational opportunities available to minority students at the college and university level.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Junior Achievement to help future entrepreneurs and business leaders realize their dreams,” said Karen Johns, executive director of the Diversity Pipeline Alliance®. “It is important that this interest in business be sustained and supported as students move throughout the educational pipeline as we face a likely shortage of diverse talent for the 21st century workforce.”

While African-American youths preferred business, areas of study favored by White youths included Engineering/Computer Science (White 18% - Black 9% - Hispanic 16%) and Pre-Med/Biology (White 11% - Black 5% - Hispanic 9%). The field of Education was favored more by African-American students (13%) than by White (4%) and Hispanic (7%) students.

About the Diversity Pipeline Alliance®

The Diversity Pipeline Alliance® is a consortium of the nation’s leading organizations who share a mission of increasing the number of people pursuing careers in business and management. Founding members of the Diversity Pipeline Alliance® include Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, Graduate Admissions Council (GMAC®), Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE), Leadership Education and Development® (LEAD®), Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), National Black MBA AssociationSM (NBMBAA), National Society of Hispanic MBAsSM (NSHMBAA), The PhD ProjectSM, Robert Toigo Foundation, and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO). For more information visit www.diversitypipeline.org.

About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement is the world's largest and fastest-growing organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. Through age-appropriate curricula, JA programs begin at the elementary school level, teaching children how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers. JA programs continue through the middle and high school grades, preparing students for additional key economic and workforce issues they will face in the future. Today JA reaches more than four million students through 150 offices nationwide and another two million students in more than 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

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