Gender, Race and Economic Inequality

The wages of working women and particularly the wages of women of color lag behind the pay of their male counterparts. For women of color there is a double pay gap. As a group, African American women earn less than white women, this reality means they need to work longer to earn the same pay, and even longer to match the earnings of white men. The gender and race based wage gap affects families of color with long term consequences that affect wealth accumulation.

The relationship between race, gender and class has to be understood in the concept of today’s modern society, where this intersectionality of social characteristics creates a complex relationship between women of color in the different socioeconomic classes. Economic inequality in itself is a natural phenomenon, as we all compete for resources, and where a historical heritage of advantage has put certain groups at the top of the social ladder and some others at the bottom. This inequality does not only refer to material conditions, but to beliefs, attitudes, social relationships, and lifestyle.

Gender inequality comes from women’s disadvantaged position in society as a whole, where a process of social reproduction of traditions reinforce the type of social relationships and lifestyles we have. Racial inequality limits women through beliefs and attitudes, and they are caged in categories that are maintained by social inequality. Class inequality is advanced in highly capitalistic societies, where the upper classes exclude the working class from the means of production, leaving them in a disadvantaged position of dependence.

It is known that African American Women have lower employment rates than white American women. African American women exit full time employment at higher rates than white women because they are much more likely to be laid off or leave because the type of jobs (sometimes temporary or abusive) that are in the market for black Americans.

Structural factors can explain this level of labor inequality. African American women tend to be placed in a secondary labor market, where layoffs are more common and discrimination is prominent. Individual characteristics and lack of commonly valued social capital (in the context of the social trends of course) are another important factor to take into consideration. For example, African Americans on average have a lower number of years of formal education, making them less desirable for full time positions in more stable job markets. Finally, family structures can also play a role in the level of unemployment of African American women in comparison to white women. For example, black women are more likely to be single moms and have on average more children than white women.

As women’s earnings become increasingly important to their families, closing the gender-based wage gap is crucial to gaining access to wealth accumulation in communities of color, which are still deprived of economic security.

Works Cited

Savas, G. (2010). Social Inequality at Low-wage Work in Neo-liberal Economy: The Case of Women of Color Domestic Workers in The United States. Race, Gender & Class, 314-326.

Reid, L. L. (2002). Occupational Segregation, Human Capital, and Motherhood Black Women's Higher Exit Rates from Full-time Employment. Gender & Society, 16(5), 728-747.

Duffy, M. (2005). Reproducing Labor Inequalities Challenges for Feminists Conceptualizing Care at the Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class. Gender & Society, 19(1), 66-82.