Racial wage gaps in the United States
Infographic via http://globalpolicysolutions.org/resources/infographics/
Despite the efforts of equality proponents and the progress that has been made over recent years, inequalities in income still persist among races and ethnicities. In this post, we will be discussing the history and progress of racial wage gaps between the Blacks and Whites in the United States.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade employers from discriminating on the basis of race and was one of the earliest and greatest influences on the Black-White wage gap. In addition to the economic prosperity of the 1960s greatly contributed to rising Black wages, increased education for Blacks, and increased returns to education. This showed significant results as in 1940, weekly wages of the average Black male were only 48.4 percent that of the average White male. In 1990, that had risen to 75 percent, a 60 percent improvement over five decades.
While progress in wage inequality for Blacks has been made since the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Acts, inequality and discrimination still exist. A study conducted by Major G. Coleman in 2003 reported that as Black and White men have increasingly similar competitive performance ratings, racial wage differences increase rather than decrease. He also found that black wages are less than white wages in the same industry. When no factors other than race are considered, Coleman predicts the black hourly wage to be $7.49 and the white hourly wage to be $8.92, 19 percent higher than the black hourly wage. When Coleman controlled for human capital, such as education and skills, the difference decreased to 11 percent. Coleman attributed this 11 percent difference to racial discrimination.
Let’s strive towards ending income inequality due to race!
