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Title: Black-White Differences in the Gender Wage Ratio
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Hewes, Gina Marie |
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Black-White Differences in the Gender Wage Ratio Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2003. DAI-A 64/05, p. 1863, Nov 2003 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning Keyword(s): Black Studies; Economics of Gender; Economics of Minorities; Educational Attainment; Ethnic Differences; Gender Differences; Labor Economics; Racial Differences; Wage Differentials; Wages, Women; Work Experience Gender wage inequality among African-Americans is an under-researched area. What is especially interesting about the black gender wage ratio is that it shows more gender equality than does the white gender wage ratio. A theory of black women's labor force commitment is developed to frame an exploration of the race difference in gender wage inequality. It is hypothesized that the cultural context and economic necessity in which many black women grow up produce a strong commitment to the labor force; this commitment in turn results in educational attainment and work experience. These two factors, in their turn, are related to wages and thus the gender wage ratio. This theory is investigated using the 1996 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort. Findings indicate that the race difference in the gender wage ratio is robust, and not an artifact of race-sex group differential selection into wage-earning. Under many different conditions of sample inclusion and at all wage levels, black women do better relative to black men than white women do relative to white men. Black women are especially doing better, relative to black men, than white women relative to white men, at the highest wage levels. Furthermore, black women do have higher levels of work commitment than white women; in fact, their commitment level is similar to men's. Work commitment, however, has no direct effect in explaining the race difference in the gender wage ratio. Black women were found to have higher levels of education and work experience, relative to black men, than white women have relative to white men, and both of these factors were important in explaining race differences in the gender wage ratio. Especially important for understanding race-sex group differences in wage were family status variables. In particular, being married and having fewer children are associated with higher wages, but black women are the least likely to be married and have the most children, on average, of the four race-sex groups. These factors penalize black women in the labor market, producing wages much lower than might be expected based on their educational level and work experience. The findings are discussed in regard to policy implications and implications for future research. |
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Bibliography Citation
Hewes, Gina Marie. Black-White Differences in the Gender Wage Ratio. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2003. DAI-A 64/05, p. 1863, Nov 2003. |