Why racial wage gaps are growing wider—and how to start closing them

 

 

Americans prepare to mark Juneteenth against a backdrop of renewed urgency around the nation’s racial divides. From the grassroots to the C-suite, the past decade—and the last year in particular—has seen a growing focus on the stubborn racial disparities that persist in the US economy.   Yet, a new report from The Conference Board finds that wage gaps have only widened between Black and White workers, even those of otherwise comparable backgrounds and qualifications. In 2010, for instance, Black men with a bachelor’s degree or higher earned 18 percent less than White men. By 2019, that gap had grown to 24 percent, driven by the striking underrepresentation of Black workers in high-paying industries and occupations.   Mind the Gap: Factors Driving Racial Wage Gaps and the Solutions to Close Them unpacks the factors behind these worrying trends—and the role companies can play in reversing them. The report reveals: ·    How deeply rooted labor-market segmentation has constrained the earnings of even highly educated Black workers, who are underrepresented among high earners in fast-growing industries—and overrepresented in sectors (government, health, education) that have been shrinking. ·    Why the rise of the tech industry in particular—where Black workers are especially rare—has been a key driver of racial wage gaps over the past decade, especially among college graduates.

 

 

·    The role of geographic mismatch in this tech divide. Growth in high-wage technology jobs has been strongest in cities (San Francisco, Seattle, Austin) where Black workers represent less than 2% of top earners—and relatively weak in Black population centers like New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Washington, DC. ·    How leaders in high-growth sectors can expand their access to Black talent—who may be unable or unwilling to relocate to relatively homogenous tech hubs like Silicon Valley—by opening satellite offices and embracing remote work on a permanent basis. I encourage you to read the full report for our exclusive data, nuanced analysis, and real-world recommendations around this critical issue.

 

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