User:Forestgreen0918/Racial pay gap in the United States

Occupational distribution disparities[edit]

See also: Occupational segregation

The way in which races are distributed throughout occupations affects the racial wage gap. White and Asian Americans, who have the highest median incomes, are concentrated more in professional, executive, and managerial occupations than blacks, Hispanics, or American Indians. Black and Hispanic workers are not only more likely to work in blue-collar or service jobs, but they tend to be concentrated in the lower-wage/skilled jobs, such as operators, fabricators, and laborers, rather than higher-paying precision production and craft jobs within those categories.

Occupational distribution varies for women of various races as well. White and Asian women are more likely to work in managerial and professional occupations, while black, Hispanic, and American Indian Women are more likely to work in service occupations. Thus, because certain races are more likely to have lower-paying jobs, gaps in median incomes between races arise.

A study conducted by Kenneth Couch and Mary Daly found that the occupational distribution between blacks and white improved between 1970 and the 1990s. In 1968, a black male was only 20 percent as likely to be employed as a manager as a white male and only 40 percent as likely to work in a professional occupation. In 1998, the percentages increased to 50% and 70 percent, respectively. Despite this improvement, however, occupational distribution differences still exist between blacks and whites. In 1998, a black male was still more likely than a white male to work in lower-skills jobs and less likely than a white male to work in high-paying jobs.

I plan on making an edit to insert the racial pay gap that surrounds the various professions within the healthcare system. The profession that I will focus on is Physician Assistant, which is a high degree in the healthcare system right below a doctor.