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At MLT, we’re working to build a world where economic mobility is within everyone’s reach. Where people don’t just survive, they thrive, advancing as far as their talent and hard work will take them, and leverage their success and influence to create opportunities for the next generation.

Individual background and socioeconomic status at birth continue to play far too significant a role in determining a person’s economic well-being as an adult. We’re working to change that. Poverty rates in the United States have declined significantly since the 1960’s. Over that same time period, however, economic mobility has gotten meaningfully worse; particularly for individuals of color.

Read on to learn how MLT is working to meaningfully expand economic mobility within one generation.

Expanding economic mobility

MLT’s solutions focus on four critical, but underinvested levers that, together, expand economic mobility.

  1. Fixing the college-to-career pipeline, which currently leaves far too many talented and highly qualified graduates underemployed.
  2. Developing and advancing leaders across organizations and industries to improve career trajectories and catalyze a “multiplier effect” that opens doors for the next generation.
  3. Creating a more accessible and inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem.
  4. Helping employers implement talent practices that improve their competitiveness and ensure economic opportunity for their entire workforce.

Making the college-to-career pipeline work for everyone

Despite impressive gains in college access, ~50% of college graduates start their post-college careers unemployed or in a job that doesn’t require a college degree.  On average, graduates from low-income households earn ~15% less in starting salary than peers from households making more than $100,000. These disparities are much larger for students of color and compound over the course of an individual’s career.

MLT erases these gaps by providing thousands of college students with a personalized playbook for success, powered by one-on-one coaching from an experienced industry leader, professional development curriculum, and connections to a dynamic network they can leverage, grow and advance.

Maximizing career trajectories and next-gen opportunities

Getting a great first job is an important start. But too often, professionals from low-income backgrounds and communities of color encounter barriers to advancement that can stall long-term growth and limit the realization of their potential. Sustained economic mobility requires access to ongoing opportunities for career progression, leadership development, and the ability to influence change within organizations and across industries.

On a societal level, scaling economic mobility is fueled by what we call the MLT “multiplier effect” – a critical mass of leaders who serve as change agents for individuals, organizations and communities across industries.

MLT champions our alumni throughout their careers – from college to the C-suite – helping them grow their success and maximize their leadership influence to expand economic opportunity for others.

I have leveraged MLT at each stage of my career. Their programs supported my early career ambitions, introduced me to lifelong friends, and most recently, helped me navigate the transition to the next level.

Nicole Bates, Senior Director, Capital One, Career Prep 2006

Cultivating entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses

The startup ecosystem is America’s epicenter of wealth creation, and therefore also the epicenter of wealth disparity. The ecosystem that builds and supports high-growth startups concentrates capital in traditional networks and reinforces barriers that gate others out.

MLT is working to ensure the next generation of high growth businesses are instruments for expanding economic opportunity from inception. Our support of founders and funders is far more than philanthropic — it’s about fundamentally unlocking closed ecosystems, closing capital gaps, and expanding access to resources and networks for the next generation of high-growth businesses.

To date, more than 700 MLT Fellows are start-up founders, and 15 MLT Alumni-led venture capital firms have raised over $3.5 billion.

“Women founders typically don’t get funding in tech. Envisioning a network of MLT peers that we can tap into really stands out for us.”

VC founder (Peerless Pitch)

Optimizing Employer Practices

Employers must be key partners in MLT’s mission to expand economic opportunity. Lifetime earnings and employer benefits are a key factor in economic mobility, and Americans are increasingly working for large employers.

We know – and successful employers recognize – that expanding talent pipeline is good for business. That’s why MLT partners with over 200 major employers who collectively employ over 7 million Americans to help them broaden their hiring pipelines, improve the way they develop their next generation of leaders, implement more meritocratic talent evaluation practices, and improve their pay and benefits practices to better serve all employees.

If your company remains committed to making tangible progress, I highly recommend MLT. Their program has fit hand in glove with our interest in adding rigor to our efforts to create a fair and meritocratic workplace and we’ve made far more progress in a short period of time than we thought possible.”

Senior executive from a leading global private investment firm