Poll: Minnesotans think some groups have easier access to success

Minnesotans think that being white makes it easier to be successful than is the case for other racial and ethnic groups, and that men have it easier than women

by CRAIG HELMSTETTER | Mar. 19, 2025

New poll results show that a higher proportion of Minnesotans perceive being Black, Indigenous and Hispanic makes it more difficult to be successful than is the case for those identifying as Asian, and especially than it is for those identifying as white.

A much higher proportion think that being a woman makes it harder to be successful than is the case for men.

The “Minds of Minnesotans” survey of 3,399 adults was conducted by Lumaris from July 20 through Nov. 22, 2024. The questions concerning perceived access to success were paid for by the Center for Economic Inclusion as a part of their effort to track progress on their mission of “closing racial employment, income, and wealth gaps, and building racially inclusive and equitable regional economies.”

About 2 in 5 Minnesotans think that being either Black, Indigenous or Hispanic makes it more difficult to be successful. About 1 in 5 said the same about being Asian. A much smaller proportion, only six percent, said that being white makes success more difficult. In fact, 45% said that being white makes it easier to be successful, compared to less than 10% who said the same about being Black, Indigenous or Hispanic. Only 12% said that being Asian offers an advantage to success.

Minnesotans also perceive a distinct advantage for men as opposed to women, with 2 in 5 indicating that being a woman makes it harder to be successful, and only about 1 in 10 saying women have it easier. This finding was reversed when Minnesotans were asked about men: Only seven percent think being a man makes it more difficult to attain success and about half say being a man offers advantages to attaining success.

The survey did not ask Minnesotans to define “success,” nor did it ask why people to explain the answers that they gave. But it does provide a window into how different groups of Minnesotans think about the opportunities ascribed to people along lines of race and gender.

In-group versus out-group perceptions

Overall, Minnesotans think that Black Americans, for example, have more difficulties attaining success than other groups. But what do Black Minnesotans themselves, the “in group” in this example, say about the level of difficulty they may face in achieving success? And how do the other “in groups” in this survey, including Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian and white Minnesotans, as well as both women and men, assess their own opportunities for success?

As it turns out, all of the in-groups see more hardship for their groups than envisioned by other Minnesotans. For example, 35% of Black Minnesotans say that being Black makes it a lot harder to be successful. In comparison, only 16% of all non-Black Minnesotans say that being Black makes it a lot harder to be successful.

That same comparison is even more stark among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in the state. And it is also notable among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Minnesotans as well as Asian and non-Asian Minnesotans.

A similarly small proportion of both white and non-white Minnesotans see hardships for whites in attaining success. However, a smaller proportion of whites than others think success is a lot easier for whites (21% compared to 36%).

A higher proportion of women than others (men plus a small proportion of respondents identifying as nonbinary or other) indicate that it is harder for women to attain success, and a smaller proportion of males than all others think that men have an easier path to success.

A further question is whether groups that see hardships for themselves will be more inclined to also see hardships for other groups that are similarly positioned. For example, do a similar share of Black and Hispanic Minnesotans see hardships for Indigenous people?

According to this survey, there is not strong evidence of that sort of cross-racial empathy. For example, while 58% of Indigenous people perceive greater hardships for Indigenous people, only 34% of Black Minnesotans and 44% of Hispanic Minnesotans note that Indigenous people face greater hardships — roughly the same proportion as white Minnesotans.

Two nuances to the general lack of evidence for strong cross-group empathy. First, Indigenous Minnesotans appear to show slightly higher levels of empathy than other racial or ethnic groups. For example 49% of Indigenous Minnesotans indicated that being Hispanic makes it harder to be successful. While this is less than the proportion of Hispanic Minnesotans who indicated hardships for their own group (55%), it is higher than the 40% or fewer who said so among other racial and ethnic groups.

(The caveats with that finding, however, are that 28% of Indigenous respondents in this sample also identify as Hispanic, and (b) that Indigenous is the smallest racial group in the survey’s sample and therefore the margin of error associated with that group is larger than others.)

Second, while Asian Minnesotans do not indicate hardships for other groups at higher rates others (e.g., 42% of both Asian and white Minnesotans indicate that Black Americans face hardships), it is notable that higher proportions of Asians see hardships for other groups than do so for their own group (e.g., 32% of Asians think Asian Americans face hardships, which is less than the 40% of Asians who think Hispanic Americans face hardships).

Additionally, in terms of gender, female Minnesotans appear to have somewhat more empathy for the hardships faced by other groups than do male Minnesotans. For example, 43% of women and 32% of men indicate that Hispanics face hardships in attaining success.

How do age, education, region and political affiliation impact perceptions of hardship?

The most notable finding when comparing other groups of Minnesotans on their perceptions of how race and gender impact opportunities for success is associated with political affiliation. A much higher proportion of Minnesotans who are Democrats, or say they lean toward the Democratic party, believe that Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Asian Americans face difficulties due to their race or ethnicity.

For example, 28% of Democrats indicate that Asians face hardships in attaining success while only nine percent of Republicans say that is the case. Similarly, the proportion of Democrats reporting hardships for Black, Indigenous and Hispanic Americans is about three times higher than the proportion of Republicans who indicate hardships for these groups.

Republicans, on the other hand, are somewhat more likely than Democrats to report hardships for whites (10% versus 2%) and men (11% versus 3%).

The same pattern exists when asked about the ease of opportunities for women. Twenty-two percent of Minnesota Republicans indicate that women face hardships, as do 60% of Minnesota Democrats.

In addition to the stark differences in perceptions along political lines, somewhat higher proportions of younger generations as opposed to older, college educated as opposed to others, and people living in Minneapolis or St. Paul as opposed to Greater Minnesota, indicate that women, Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Asian people face greater hardships.

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