Causes Of The Black-White Wage Gap

1139 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: segregation advantages and disadvantages

Parth Jhaveri

Examining the Core Cause of the Black-White Wage Gap?

Today, on average, black workers earn less than white workers. This has been the case since the days of slavery. Although times have changed, there seems to be a consistent wage gap between black and white laborers. This wage gap could be caused by many factors such as geographical location, family and surroundings, education level, etc. This paper focuses on the true, underlying cause of the wage gap- lack of skill.

Throughout American history, racial and ethnic issues have always created a dividing line in personal lives and in society. Although slavery has been abolished, issues that have stemmed from the period are still prevalent in various aspects of our lives. For as long as we've known, minorities, specifically African Americans, have always faced inequality in wage distribution. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed and it became illegal for employers to discriminate based on race. This didn't help much as the wage gap between African Americans and whites only narrowed a little. Very little has changed since then. “Today, African American men working full time and year round have 72 percent of the average earnings of comparable white men. For African American and white women, the ratio is 85 percent. And during good times and bad, the black unemployment rate is typically stuck at about double the white rate” (Rodgers). Black-white wage differences have been the subject of many academic debates and research. There are two theories as to why racial wage gaps are persistently present. First, researchers claim that premarket factors such as quality of schooling, part-time work, marital status, geographical location, and actual labor ma...

... middle of paper ...

...ults probably understated the true effects of labor market discrimination. Others argue that the AFQT is racially biased, but through a study run by the Department of Defense, it was found that the AFQT does not under predict black job performance.
In conclusion, based on findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and previous studies, it is safe to say that the black white wage gap exists due to lack of skills in young black workers and not as much because of labor market discrimination. There are many premarket factors such as quality of schooling, part-time work, marital status, geographical location, and actual labor market experience that could affect the ability to gain cognitive skill. Regardless, it is the obstacles that African Americans faced as children that hinder them from obtaining the skills needed to shrink the wage gap even further.

Show More
Related

  • Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, by Annette Lareau

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her book, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau argues out that the influences of social class, as well as, race result in unequal childhoods (Lareau 1). However, one could query the inequality of childhood. To understand this, it is necessary to infer from the book and assess the manner in which race and social class tend to shape the life of a family. As the scholar demonstrates, each race and social class usually has its own unique way of child upbringing based on circumstances. To affirm this, the different examples that the scholar presents in the book could be used. Foremost, citing the case of both the White and the African American families, the scholar advances that the broader economics of racial inequality has continued to hamper the educational advancement and blocks access to high-paying jobs with regard to the Blacks as opposed to the Whites. Other researchers have affirmed this where they indicate that the rate of unemployment among the African Americans is twice that of the White Americans. Research further advances that, in contrast to the Whites, for those African Americans who are employed, there is usually a greater chance that they have been underemployed, receive lower wages, as well as, inconsistent employment. This is how the case of unequal childhood based on race comes about; children from the Black families will continue residing in poverty as opposed to those from the white families.

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination In Brent Staples's Black Men, And Public Space

    1582 Words  | 4 Pages

    White men had higher hourly earnings than all except Asian men in 2015. In 2015, average hourly wages for black and Hispanic men were $15 and $14, respectively, compared with $21 for white men. Only the hourly earnings of Asian men $24 outpaced those of white men. Among women across all races and ethnicities, hourly earnings lag behind those of white men and men in their own racial or ethnic group. But the hourly earnings of Asian and white women ($18 and $17, respectively) are higher than those of black and Hispanic women ($13 and $12, respectively) – and also higher than those of black and Hispanic men. While the hourly earnings of white men continue to outpace those of women, all groups of women have made progress in narrowing this wage gap since 1980, reflecting at least in part a significant increase in the education levels and workforce experience of women over time. White and Asian women have narrowed the wage gap with white men to a much greater degree than black and Hispanic women. For example, white women narrowed the wage gap in median hourly earnings by 22 cents from 1980 (when they earned, on average, 60 cents for every dollar earned by a white man) to 2015 (when they earned 82 cents). By comparison, black women only narrowed that gap by 9 cents, from earning 56 cents for every dollar earned by a white man in 1980 to 65 cents today. Asian women followed roughly the trajectory of white women (but earned a

    Read More

  • Relationship Between Income and Race

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are several differences that exist between white and non-white youth that live in poverty. Recent research for low-income youth has shown that the most important factor that contributes to the gap between employment rates of minority and white youth can be attributed to their social network.

    Read More

  • Achievement Gap

    1449 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...disparities between the two ethnic communities that can be traced back to the legacy of slavery and other forms of oppression that blacks have suffered.” Supporters of this view felt that educational achievement correlates more strongly with economic status than with any other single variable. Since the majority of the black community lags behind whites in income and wealth, the educational inequalities are caused by the economic inequalities. They believe that once the inequalities disappear, the educational disparities will as well. Many argue that this is not a viable argument. They point to other minority groups such as Asians, some of whom are financially worse off than blacks, and they excel in school . They felt that because the civil rights legislation removed all roadblocks back in the 60’s and 70’s something else must be contributing to the large gap.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Racial Discrimination In America

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Institutions in the businesses sector are swarming in racial discrimination, much of which is covert and difficult to detect and prove. Racial discrimination excludes, marginalizes and exploits those citizens who are discriminated against, ceasing any opportunity for economic progress and development. Under certain regulations some businesses are required to diversify their workplace by hiring certain amounts of people of color, but in reality these small quotas do not do much for the overall condition of the people who are being discriminated against. Businesses that fail to take action on racial discrimination tend to have lower levels of productivity. This stems from employees not being interested in working hard, or because people with exceptional talents and skills choose to shy away from certain places of employment due to the fear of racial discrimination. Employees who feel wronged also tend to switch jobs, forcing the organization to spend more time and resources on hiring and training new employees, besides coping with the low productivity of a new employee. (Nayab)The effects of racial discrimination in the American work force could be identified with funded research on the topic. With ample data employers will be able to better understand the negative affects that racial discrimination have

    Read More

  • Wage Inequality And The Texas State Government

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    The reality of wage differences between men and women is that above all changes women continue to earn less than men. Countless arguments have promoted that wage inequality has changed and that everyone finally receives an equal amount of pay. “For women of color, the gap is largest of all: In 2006, black and Hispanic women earned 86 and 87 cents on the white man’s dollar, respectively,” (Mcswane 2). If a woman is lucky enough she will get an equal pay compared to a man doing the same job. But it is challenging for a woman of a minority background to achieve this. Not only are women paid less because of their sex, but also because of their race. There seems to be a mentality that because someone is a woman and a minority that they cannot do the same job as men or that women do not have the same education as the men, so employers do not have to pay them the same. “When the numbers are broken down by district, they 're pretty hard to ignore. Women in Texas are being utterly screwed financially, according to the data compiled by AAWU, with women earning anywhere from 66 percent of what men do in some districts, to the top end of things, which is about 89 percent,” (Leicht 4). The proof cannot be ignored. It i...

    Read More

  • The Cause Of Racial Inequality

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    One social problem that has caught my attention is racial inequality. Racial inequality refers to the racial advantages and disadvantages among different races. These might be shown in the appropriation of riches, influence, and life openings stood with individuals in view of their race or ethnicity, both noteworthy and cutting edge. These can be viewed therefore of noteworthy abuse, imbalance of legacy, or general partiality, particularly against minority bunches. Race inequality is not a new issue, just an issue that has been swept under the rug. It was more of a problem during and after segregation, but is reportedly no longer exist.

    Read More

  • Great Depression Dbq Essay

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many African Americans are unemployed in the South. However, since whites have priority over the job market than African Americans, it’s harder for them to get a job. African Americans started to move to the North to search, but little difference did it make. Many took the position as janitors, street cleaners, and domestic servants. Mexican American and Chinese American were no better off, whites started to take over those jobs for Mexican and Chinese American.

    Read More

  • The Pay Gap

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    The war in pay inequity in the United States has been raging since the 1940s. This paper is focused on the pay differences among men, women, and mothers and why it exists. The government has made strives to close the income wage gap between men and women, however it still exists and must be dealt with. Among women, deciding to bear children has greatly impacted earnings potential, retirement, and career choices. As more women decide to go to college and earn degrees, there is still a disparity in income in the labor market. Forty percent of the pay gap that exists cannot be explained by occupation, race, or experience.

    Read More

  • HBCUs: Relevance in 21st Century

    2163 Words  | 5 Pages

    Oates, Gary L. St. C. "The Color of the Undergraduate Experience and the Occupational Attainment of Blacks and Whites: Evidence from Longitudinal Data." Sociological Quarterly 45.1 (2004): 21-44. JSTOR. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.

    Read More

  • The Obstacles Of The American Dream

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Eileen Patten a white men make an average of $21 an hours, while an African American make and average of $15 an hours. While a white women make an average of $17 hours, and African American women make an average of $13 hours. Back in time only the wealthy white men were the only ones who got to work and got to go to school. The women stayed at home and took care of the children and made sure that the housework was done. With any race and women being able to get the education that they desire, jobs slowed opened up for anybody. There are laws that prevent one from not hiring one because on their gender or race that is called employment

    Read More

  • Gender Wage Gap Essay

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    Education and experience are considered “human capital” by economist. The knowledge and skills learned on the job make employees more productive. Historically women were less likely to go to college and graduate, however according to the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics Between 1970 and 2001, women went from being the minority to the majority of the U.S. undergraduate population, increasing their representation from 42 percent to 56 percent of undergraduates. If these trends continue women will make up the larger segment of the skilled labor force. Educational attainment is particularly important in closing the wage gap. The simple fact is that employees with a college degree makes more than employees with a high school education. The gender wage gap exists at all levels of education, and women with graduate degrees experience the widest wage ratio of 73 percent, earning almost $450 less per week than

    Read More

  • Evolution Of Gender Roles In American Culture

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    The evolution of gender roles in contemporary American culture has become a prominent topic in politics and society as a whole. A specific issue regarding gender roles is the difference between the paychecks of equally skilled men and women that have the same occupation. The controversy of this pay gap issue surrounds the truth behind it and the justifications as to why it may be appropriate. Therefore, the question I sought to answer is if the unequal pay between the sexes actually exists and when and how that gap will close.

    Read More

  • Unveiling the Reality of Pay Inequality

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pay inequality is a great social injustice of the 21st century. In cases covering inequality, there is a simple way to test if a person is being treated unfairly: If a white male were in this position, would they be treated the same way as a person of any other gender, race, religion, etc.? If the answer is no, then more likely than not, the treatment is unfair. The nuances of any specific situation in which this test can be applied can be argued endlessly, but in the end there is no reason why a person should not be treated equally.

    Read More

  • Inequality In Wealth Essay

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although these skilled jobs are necessary we must also introduce a stable institution that benefits the low skill jobs. Those working in the low paying jobs are often exploited. Standing states in his article that in order for change to occur for the precariat or flexible job positions they must be recognized, represented and redistributed. Upright highlights how women are largely employed in low paying jobs. Inequalities in the work place for racial minorities such as blacks and women are common and there are policies in place to prohibit it; however, Biebly says, “Organizational policies are not the same as organization practices” (pg. 80). Working women often face an additional level of discrimination and are often torn between home and work. Women try to fully integrate family and work and often find themselves quitting because of mutually reinforcing and interlocking factors according to Stone’s article. This self-reinforcing system higher women at a lower pay than their husbands, with jobs structured toward flexible positions, which in turn limits their overall earning capability. These conditions and other characteristics can lead to less gender and racial inclusion, according to Emeka unemployment among black communities have regularly been higher and can be linked to attributes such as, but not

    Read More

More about Causes Of The Black-White Wage Gap

Open Document