Black women most affected by pay inequality

New research shows that a significantly larger percentage of black Americans, and particularly black women, now earn lower than their peers nationally.

While 23% of all U.S. staff earn low wages, defined within the report as lower than $17 an hour, the proportions are much higher when race and gender are taken into consideration.

Some 32% of black staff earn lower than $17 an hour, compared with 21% of white staff, in response to a brand new evaluation by Oxfam, which describes itself as a world organization fighting inequality to finish poverty and injustice. And 35% of black women earn low wages, compared with 29% of black men, 25.9% of white women and 17.4% of white men.

This reportThe “low-wage crisis” has revealed some surprising findings. As many as 39 million U.S. staff—nearly one in 4—are low-wage earners. Single parents make up 42% of those earning lower than $17 an hour, compared with just 12% of oldsters in partnerships.

Among the toughest hit: women and communities of color

The findings revealed that women and communities of color, including Black staff, are most affected by low wages and stagnant minimum wage policies. The federal minimum wage for covered non-exempt staff is $7.25 an hour, According to to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Oxfam said the $7.25 rate has remained unchanged since 2009. Earlier this 12 months, it said the minimum wage had increased by $15 an hour in 22 states since Jan. 1.

The organization found that states which have not raised their minimum wage above the federal standard have higher rates of staff of color earning low wages, particularly within the South. Take Mississippi, where 34% of all staff earn low wages, 46% of black staff earn low wages. In Texas, the state with the most important black population within the country, 34.2% of black staff earn low wages.

The report highlights the urgent need for the federal government to handle in-work poverty and lift the minimum wage.

“Low-wage workers, who are disproportionately women of color, are the backbone of our economy. The least this country can do is pay them wages that cover their basic needs — which the current federal minimum wage does not provide, no matter where in the U.S. you live,” said Kaitlyn Henderson, writer of the report and senior researcher at Oxfam America.

She added: “We’re talking about childcare workers and domestic workers who take care of our families and farm workers who help put food on our tables. But decades of segregation have ensured that these jobs, which primarily employ women, immigrants or people of color, have been systemically underpaid and undervalued. That has to change.”

William Michael Cunningham said the shortage of federal motion to lift the minimum wage and reduce income inequality has led to wider disparities and greater hardship for communities.

He stressed that black women are sometimes doubly disadvantaged because of racial and gender discrimination, which ends up in higher rates of low-paid work in comparison with other demographic groups.

He noted that black women are disproportionately represented in low-wage sectors corresponding to health care support, retail and food service, adding that they earn just 63 cents for each dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men. “Black women also bear significant caregiving responsibilities, both for children and for elderly family members.”

Why African Americans Are More Affected

Henderson shared with BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP that the upper percentage of low-wage staff within the black community is because of the long history of racial and gender discrimination within the United States, which might be traced throughout the history of this country.

She explained that when minimum wage laws were introduced within the late Nineteen Thirties, industries that primarily employed black staff within the South, corresponding to farm staff and domestic staff, were excluded from wage protections.

She said those exclusions are repeated today, with continued occupational segregation. She stressed that this includes jobs that employ a disproportionate variety of staff of color, and particularly women of color, who’re paid lower wages.

“As we mentioned in our report, recently the Bureau of Women’s Affairs in the Department of Labor did a study that found that black and Latina women lose literally billions of dollars because of occupational segregation.”

Cunningham said the shortage of federal motion to lift the minimum wage and reduce income inequality has led to wider disparities and greater hardship for these communities.

Suggestions to assist improve future conditions

So what might be done to cut back these numbers? Henderson suggested that wages for all staff should be raised, and that exclusions from the minimum wage should be ended by passing the Raise the Wage Act to lift the minimum wage to $17. Oxfam said it was partly inspired to provide its latest report by the changing conditions of the act.

When it involves occupational segregation, Henderson says there are bills in Congress immediately that might directly address the pay gap, corresponding to the Paycheck Fairness Act. She says that might help women enter higher-paying jobs which are dominated by men — corresponding to the FAMILY Act and the Schedules That Work Act.

Cunningham believes the only most vital think about improving the economic situation of low-wage staff, especially black women, is robust policy intervention.

He says raising the federal minimum wage would offer immediate financial relief for low-wage staff. He also said there’s a necessity to offer higher access to inexpensive education and job training programs, including college, job training and apprenticeships. He also suggested strengthening child care support, access to health care and paid family leave.

While the situation stays dire, Cunningham said there was some improvement over the Trump era under the present administration. He pointed to a greater give attention to addressing racial and economic inequality through quite a lot of policy measures, although progress has been slow. He said some states, outside the South, have taken independent steps to lift the minimum wage, providing a greater lifestyle for low-wage staff.

“The persistently high percentage of low-wage workers of color in the South underscores the need for comprehensive interventions at the federal and state levels to address wage inequality and systemic barriers. Significant efforts are needed to ensure equal economic opportunity for all workers, regardless of race or geography.”