Browsing by Subject "Longitudinal study of income and wealth attainment for: Black and White women; 1965 - 2015"

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    Longitudinal study of income and wealth attainment for: Black and White women; 1965 - 2015
    (2019-05-02) Green, Tyeastia
    Black women earn less income, on average, than White women do. White women earn 81.9% of White men, and Black women earn 67.7% of White men (Reports, 2018). Wealth attainment between Black and White women is even more dismal. According to recent studies, single Black women, ages 20-39 with a bachelor’s degree, have a net worth of -$11,000 - $0, while single White women, ages 20-39 with a bachelor’s degree, have a net worth of $3,400 – $7,500 (Tucker, 2018). Career longevity does not appear to help Black women with wealth attainment, as they remain at a mere $12,000 in net worth at the age of 60, while White women, age 60, soar with wealth attainment averaging $384,400 (Tucker, 2018). The reasons given for these inequalities in the literature are historical disadvantage (e.g., wealth accumulation), segregation (educational quality differences, social network differences), discrimination, and individual differences (educational attainment, single motherhood, labor force participation). It is easy to look back on the past and know that discrimination based on race was the norm. Blacks didn’t have the same rights as Whites so it is conceivable that Blacks wouldn’t have the same wealth or income. But in 2019, we are still having the same conversations about equality between Whites and Blacks in regard to income and wealth attainment. Whites tend to believe that part of America is no longer an issue – that somehow the Civil Rights legislation erased all economic disparities between Blacks and Whites, and abolished racism, but the numbers suggest otherwise.