In a new report, Reflective Democracy updates their 2015 study on the race and gender of elected prosecutors, which found that 95% of prosecutors were white—almost 80% white men.

This research shows clearly that those who are most vulnerable to prosecutorial bias and misconduct are also the most underrepresented in prosecutors’ offices.

Reflective Democracy Campaign Criminal Justice Fellow Premal Dharia, a former public defender, sums up the significance of the report:

“We cannot expect the policy changes we need to address race and gender bias in the criminal system to come from those who guard the white male status quo. Change will come from those whose lived experience challenges that status quo.”

The Reflective Democracy Campaign was founded by WDN on the belief that we won’t achieve real democracy until all of us are reflected in the halls of power. Now we’re at the forefront of the growing movement for leaders who truly reflect the American people.